“No one makes me do anything I don’t want to do.”

If I fail, if I succeed, at least I live as I believe.

I have priorities. Maintaining my daughter is my first.

I’ve got a good man. He takes care of me. I don’t have to be scared of anything because I know he will kick every ass… disrespect him and you’ve got a problem.

I love to sing, but it’s just not fun anymore.

My daughter is my greatest inspiration.

I decided long ago never to walk in anyone’s shadow; if I fail, or if I succeed at least I did as I believe.

I have a mother that’s very strong and family that surround me and constantly tell me they love me.

When I heard Aretha, I could feel her emotional delivery so clearly. It came from down deep within. That’s what I wanted to do.

I would stay in my room for days, for days at times, just trying to get it together, to know what my next phase was going to be.

From the beginning, the camera and I were great friends. It loves me, and I love it.

Nobody likes to be picked on. Nobody.

I’m not crazy about arenas just because I can sell them out. It doesn’t do anything for my ego at all. I want to play places where people don’t have to sit in the nosebleed seats and wonder what the hell is going on.

I’m proud of being a mother, a wife, a daughter, and a sister, and a lover and a friend We’re all God’s children.

I’d rather be alone than unhappy

I believe the children are our future

I feel so blessed to just have done what I had done. To be able to just use what God has given me is a blessing. You know, never mind the Grammys, never mind the records, never mind all of that. Just to be able to sing.

To wish for change will change nothing; To make the decision to take action right now will change everything.

Jesus does not demand great actions from us, but simply surrender and gratitude.

When a man takes time to consider whether he will do a good or civil action, be assured he will never do it. The baser feelings, the calculations of interest and timidity, always prevail.

I am emboldened, not cowed, by the words and actions of Trump and his circle. I believe many others are as well. Together we will stand in opposition. I’m not going anywhere, and I won’t be silenced.

Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.

Feeling compassion for ourselves in no way releases us from responsibility for our actions. Rather, it releases us from the self-hatred that prevents us from responding to our life with clarity and balance.

Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all.

Should any terrorist strike or act of war occur in which American lives are lost, we must be on guard for any attempt by the government to turn that tragedy into justification for sweeping action.