My generation is one of the first generations of “choiceful” women – women who have actually had the choice of how they architect their lives – and I don’t think shame should have any place in that. But as that generation, you get cuts and bruises.
My mom would leave her job, and there would be throngs of people screaming and banging on our car. I come from a very private family, but I was born into a public family.
Sometime in my second year at Brown [University], I took an acting class. And the lightbulb went off for me. I fell in love with it. I realized that everything I was afraid of about myself, all my fears, could be used in that world.
I was shy, but it came out in a big personality. My turning point was when I let my hair go naturally and I got contact lenses. I am really blind, by the way. I have these big eyes that don’t work!
My mom didn’t adhere to any of those typical rules. She woke us up for school every morning, and was there at dinner or would call at bedtime. She never left for longer than a week. She recorded while we were sleeping.
Just embrace your hair! I really feel like I am not an advocate for people doing what I do. I’m an advocate for people discovering and finding what works for them.
I sometimes think to myself, you’re not going to meet a new friend of any kind at home in front of the TV with your DVR. As much as it’s great, and there are so many good shows on TV, and I have great books that I’m reading, get out and interact with people.
After college, I shot a pilot for a show on Lifetime, which was basically House of Style for a TV lover. I think I got paid $1,500, and I was like, “Mom, I’m moving out! I made it!” I did two seasons of that, but I felt like a talking head and wanted to do more.
![Tracee Ellis Ross Quote - Sometime in my second year at Brown [University], I took an acting class. And the lightbulb went off for me. I fell in love with it. I realized that everything I was afraid of about myself, all my fears, could be used in that world.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/sometime-in-my-second-year-at-brown-university-i-t-683x1024.jpg)
![Tracee Ellis Ross Quote - Somehow [Kenya Bariss] has figured out how to explore these very weighty, sticky, sharp topics, and still be funny and not make fun of the topic.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/somehow-kenya-bariss-has-figured-out-how-to-explor-683x1024.jpg)
