Truth is my weapon. Knowledge is my armor. Wisdom is my strategist. Love is my warrior.

A genuine smile is one of the world’s rarest treasures.

A fish that is afraid of drowning in a river is ignorant of its gifts.

A diamond earns its sparkle from the pressure it endures.

It is in the storm, not the calm, that a rainbow is born.

A determined seed cannot be hidden from the world, not even by dirt.

Calm skies don't make skillful eagles.

If you cry in the rain, only the sky will see your tears.

Birds keep singing beautiful songs, even if they have no audience.

Today's storms help you appreciate tomorrow’s sunshine.

Train the ears to hear more, the eyes to see more, the hands to do more, the feet to accomplish more, the mind to think more, the heart to feel more, and the soul to love more.

Inspiration is a spark. It is nothing unless we use it to build a fire.

Don't be afraid of the dark, it's a place where you can hide.

It's weird doing red carpets it's uncomfortable. But you can have a sense of humor about it.

What I will not do is continue to perpetuate stereotypes. I'm the daughter of a maid why do I have to also play a maid? My mom was a maid so I didn't have to be a maid.

I literally designed and built the sets myself, and I kind of liked it. I always gave myself eight weeks to do that - sometimes even 10 - and the shooting took five or six weeks.

Your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room

Sometimes you are being interviewed by someone and you think, if I knew this person they'd be my best friend. Other times you're being interviewed by a complete jerk.

My life has changed financially and I have a name, but I try to never forget people on my journey.

More birds have adapted to a changing world than have failed. Very few have the narrow tolerance of the ivory-billed woodpecker or the Bachman's warbler.

I try to create as many circumstances outside of set that help me fall into character when I get onto set.