I try to preface everything with "this isn't new." Because most social movements have happened before and I get that. Nothing I'm doing is new.

So much of my work is as Yara, not as a character. If you're attacking my work as a philanthropist or activist, you're attacking Yara. But because of "Black-ish" and this national audience we have, I get to have a larger or louder voice.

Part of why history is so important in my life is because it brings you an awareness that everything isn't new. It gives context to what's happening right now. History is cyclical but circumstances and technology change. So when social justice topics come up, they're not new. They're just being covered more. We have more ways to record it now.

I really love hip hop. My cousin Nas came out with an album Life Is Good, and I love that album, but I also love Maroon 5.

Week-by-week you grow with your character and it's an interesting challenge.

I feel like there's no need to put on a heel that's too high. There's nothing cute about wobbling. There's nothing cute about not wanting to dance or walk somewhere because you're in pain.

What modeling taught me at a young age was how to say "no," which is something girls - we're not always good at saying "no." We want to be nice, and then we forget to look out for ourselves. There have been moments when I was on a modeling job, and it was the most fantastic thing in the world. And there have been moments where I've realized, "Okay, I'm ten years old, and I've spent the past six hours outside in the rain." It taught me how to be specific about what kinds of projects I wanted to do, and what kind of work I wanted to do.