#topfive2019

“I take self-love very seriously. And I take it seriously because when I was younger, I wanted to change everything about myself. I didn’t love who I was. And the reason I didn’t love who I was is because I was told I wasn’t lovable by the media, by [people at] school, by not seeing myself in beauty ads, by not seeing myself in television...by lack of representation. My self-hatred got so bad that I was fantasizing about being other people. But you can’t live your life trying to be somebody else. What’s the point?”

“Contrary to popular belief, Shane and I did not major in ghost hunting at our respective universities. It was just something we are very interested in. And I think the TAPS guys, the Ghost Hunters guys, they were plumbers before they became ghost hunters. So I think it’s fun to just watch people who are very passionate about something and weirdly make a career out of it. It’s fun that we both kind of made something out of this weird little passion we had.”

“I have so much that I want to do. Most of my goals are trying to bring in people, who are not traditionally associated with the movie industry, to tell their stories and help facilitate that. I also want to help with a non-profit school to teach young people, folks who have just gotten out of prison, or anyone who is diverse to learn skills in different departments, so that we can better diversify the industry that I work in. And then I have personal stuff – I’m passionate about martial arts, so I’d like to spend as much time as I can getting better at that. I haven’t even scratched the surface of what I can do creatively.”

“We hid on a boat. We were pretty lucky. My dad, he, uh…he knew somebody at the embassy. So…we got one of the last flights out on a US military plane that had just…dropped off all this rice. My dad’s brother was with us. But…everyone else we knew died. Every relative. Every friend. Everyone. So I understand what it’s like to survive a genocide and not talk about it all the time. The killing fields. I mean, it’s the whole reason I’m even here in the first place. I get to be…one of the lucky ones. Like, really…really, really lucky. And now I’m jumping out of a fortune cookie every night, pretending like everything’s fine.”

“I don’t feel that way anymore, necessarily, but there are moments where I’m still like, I can’t believe this is a thing. Why is this a thing? No one should spend their time doing this. I think there’s something about watching me go through a stressful process that’s stress-relieving for people.”

“I wanted her to look at me. But...she couldn't pull her eyes away from you and your stupid hair. And I didn't understand, because you would get bagel crumbs all over the floor. And you asked dumb questions. And you were a douchebag. And - and you didn't even like her and I would go home...and just scream into my pillow.”

“When I was four, I didn't even know about the world, and now me and Ma are going to live in it forever and ever until we're dead. This is a street in a city in a country called America, and Earth. That's a blue and green planet, always spinning, so I don't know why we don't fall off. Then, there's outer space. And nobody knows where's heaven. Ma and I have decided that because we don't know what we like, we get to try everything. There are so many things out here. And sometimes it's scary, but that's okay, because it's still just you and me.”

“I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and I think I realized that’s the source of my anxiety. Anxiety isn’t the end of the story, it’s actually coming from a frustration when things don’t go to plan. And I’m a real list ticker; I always make lists for everything. So it’s really about that, about letting go of things not being perfect. Because we are always going to have problems, there’s always going to be something new to do tomorrow that’s boring and annoying or difficult. That’s just part of being an adult, actually. You may as well just enjoy your time here, because those are always going to exist.”