To put it in layman's terms, crazy is crazy. And crazy will find a way to do something crazy. Racist is racist. And racist people will find a way to project their racism onto the world.

So much of parenting is following your instincts, and taking the time to actually know your child.

Marriage is not a priority for me. I'm not saying I'll never do it. It's just not where we are as a family . . . I'll be at home with my man, having a perfectly loving time, and I'll see all these comments on some site about how wrong I am for not being married. I don't feel less loved or less loving because I'm not married.

I try to do the same thing when I'm with young actors who are new and unsure. I try to do the same thing for them that I saw Laurence [Fishburne] and Angela [Dasset]do for all of us on Boyz n the Hood.

I can tell you it makes a big difference to have a director who is collaborative. What motivates a character in my mind could be completely different from what the director's thinking. You have to have those conversations ahead of time and throughout the process. It affects the performance.

I would say that I learned that the heartbreak wasn't as much about me as the fact that my partner wasn't right with himself. I see where his life has taken him, and realize that the handwriting was on the wall. There were things that I had blamed myself for, but it was really more about his choices, his needs and his journey as a person. His desire for too much of everything made it a challenging relationship.

I can look at myself in the mirror every night knowing I've never ever pretended to be someone I know I'm not for the sake of showbiz industry. I believe that it's important to live by your truth in order to be able to sleep peacefully when you rest your head at night. I've gone off and taken breaks, not necessarily by choice, but life has a way of giving you breaks, even when you don't want them, especially in this industry. So, I've had a chance to raise my children and to be a mom, and to come back to do more in film and television. I really cannot complain.