Fashion is very important to me. I dress androgynously - I absolutely despise dresses and skirts and tights - and I started wearing glasses in the third grade.
Reading has been a part of my life ever since I was born.
I've learned to use big words. Because I'm an avid reader, I can prove myself as a smart and diligent person.
I wasn't seeing black girls in the books I was assigned to read at my school. I was tired of only reading about white boys and dogs and wanted to collect books featuring black girls.
I come from a community that has a lot of white kids, and I notice how, a lot of times, they don't understand our differences and how I come from a different culture and my ancestors are different and my history is different.
If I meet someone who's Native American and I don't know anything about indigenous people in New Jersey - which I kind of don't, which is not really good - I can learn more and more about their lives, and that makes me a more open person and a more accepting person.
Yes, you can be passionate about school and fashion simultaneously. The two are not mutually exclusive - one doesn't cancel out the other.
When I speak at events, I often wear my dad's ties and my mom's earrings. It's a small, almost secret way of having them with me when I'm up there onstage, talking to a roomful of strangers. It makes me feel safe.
I am purposeful in how I present myself to the world. I want my ideas to be taken seriously, and so I present myself in a way that allows people to see me and listen to what I have to say.
I think reading about black girls if you are a black girl is important. And for those who don't like to read, seeing yourself in a book can help them learn to love it.
It's important to read books and see people who look like you. It helps you know that you are not the only one or the weird one because you're a black girl and you are not seeing anyone who looks like you in these books.
My parents have taught me the value of reading and self-love through books that have characters that look like me and talk like me.
You always need to make sure that you're looking at every angle and every perspective so that people, when they read the story, know what's happening. You have to write for everyone.
'Marley Dias Gets It Done - And So Can You' is a book about how girls who are 10 and up - and everyone who is 10 and up, basically - can use their gifts and talents to help the world in a way that's unique to them.
I don't want to bring negative energy to myself, and if people feel one way about me, I don't want that changing how I feel or what I believe.
'Star Wars' is my favorite movie series ever. I like the old ones better than the new ones, but I like all of them.
I want young girls to know that their passions are important and that they should pursue them, regardless of whether or not they think that they'll be successful in terms of the mainstream.