There's not really too many artists that young girls and young people can look up to and be inspired by. So I take it as my responsibility, sometimes, to be the person who has the voice to give people some truth about what we're doing.
What it meant for me to win the Emmy is I found it. It's not just the award. It's what it's going to mean to young girls - young brown girls, especially. When they saw a physical manifestation of a dream, I felt like I had fulfilled a purpose.
I don't keep a journal anymore. I did when I was younger, and I think its good for young girls to try and express what they are feeling on paper; it's cathartic.
I thoroughly enjoy the work I do in helping motivate and empower young girls to celebrate and love their natural selves.
I won't allow magazines in the house. When I was younger, I wanted to have my hair cut like so-and-so in the class above me at school, not somebody in a magazine. You see young girls trying to dress like so-and-so because they've seen lots of pictures of them.
I'm in a relationship with myself. I think a lot of young girls should do that.
Because I was a dancer when I was a kid, I have so much empathy for these young girls who are so drawn to something lovely in music and in movement, and yet they encounter a world full of judgment and criticism of 11-year-old artists and bodies.
I don't want to just sell out shows to young girls who like my movie franchise. I want to sell tickets because people respect me.
I think when Madonna did sexy stuff, she looked more in control. And I think it looked more like she was breaking boundaries. Today, it feels like it's pandering to everything that's wrong, and I don't think it's nice, especially for young girls.
On the way to work good-hearted young girls sometimes offer me their seats, which I accept and bless them in return, a transaction satisfying to all concerned.
I can see how the young girls really get hurt when their moms are critical, or vice versa when they're overly critical of their moms. It can be so painful.
My films do have a big following among young girls, and I want to instill confidence in them, a sense of self-appreciation - to make them feel they can be spirited and say what they feel.
For whatever reason, various outlets and individuals are committed to making the world think that young girls don't talk or care about feminism anymore, that it's totally over. But it's not.
In everything I do, I like to set the idea for girls that they can do anything. I was really moved by Hillary Clinton's speech when she lost the election - she didn't want young girls to feel like it wasn't possible and wanted them to know a female president will eventually happen. That's important.
It was Jesus who gave me peace when the shark severed my arm. I trust in Jesus whenever I'm going through a hard time. I see all the beautiful things that have come out of my situation. I'm able to share my story with young girls who have few role models, and I can help others cope with what they have been through.
I recognize that I have a unique position to be a role model to young girls because I am doing something that they consider glamorous, which is acting, and yet I took a time to really get my education and study mathematics, and I think math is the cat's meow.
Women and young girls are constantly judging themselves by standards that aren't real.
We've got too many young girls, who don't know how to parent, turning themselves into parents.
They go on about banning size zero, but I think Hollywood stars are the worst perpetrators. Most models are naturally long and gangly, while a lot of these young girls in Hollywood have gone on extreme diets. Their concave chests and bony arms are terrifying. It's scary to think that normal teenagers are tempted to copy them.
Intelligence is sexy. Don't play dumb, especially young girls. Don't play dumb. And let people see that you are intelligent.
I want to encourage other young girls not to grow up too soon. Just enjoy the now.
Whenever I see young girls wearing way too much makeup... you're young, you don't need that much.