It's exciting to watch people do and write and say what they feel like doing, writing and saying.

If they can learn to say Tchaikovsky and Michelangelo and Dostoyevsky, they can learn to say Uzoamaka.

I loved Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi. Its about a first-generation African family living in America that has to return home to Nigeria when their estranged father passes away.

I kept hiding my smile in pictures throughout middle school and most of high school until picture day came my senior year.

In performance, you dont always feel that sort of family bond right off the top. It sort of develops and grows over time.

I love De la Renta. I love CoSTUME National; I think they're just incredible. And I love Marc Jacobs, too - they're also great, just a great brand.

My only want and wish, really, was to tell a good story. I wanted to do good work, tell a good story, and give the character a voice. Those were my only expectations.