I would say my best decision I ever made was to pursue my dream and give it my all. Thankfully, I have not yet made really bad decisions, I'm the kind of person to play it on the safe side.

I love playing with makeup. Makeup has become a thing where it's an art form. It's not a thing where you use it because you need to feel beautiful or because you don't like the way you look.

My mother's proud of where she's from, and her history, and her past, and same with my dad. I have roots in Africa. Like, I am from Africa as well as from Germany, and I am very proud of that.

X Out has helped me keep up my confidence, and I know it can help anyone who would rather have fun than worry about blemishes. If you want clear, seriously good-looking skin, X Out is for you.

A feminist is a person who believes in the power of women just as much as they believe in the power of anyone else. It's equality, it's fairness, and I think it's a great thing to be a part of.

I've loved Michael Jackson since the minute I was born. He's probably the most talented person ever. He was able to create such an amazing career and be probably the biggest star we've ever had.

A good hair day is when my curls are popping. Sometimes my curls and waves, they like to go a little wild sometimes. They have a mind of their own. But some days, they just fall right into place.

I do not believe in a label on a shirt or a dress should tell me that I can't wear a T-shirt or a pant because it should say "women's"or "men's" on it, you know? That's just not how it should work.

I've been blessed with good eyebrows, and I've worked very hard for them. Get a good brow pencil, fill them in a bit, make them perfect, and I guarantee you'll feel better. At least it works for me.

I always have my own music on my iPod, especially songs that I am going to record. Besides that, I have lots of others ranging from Chris Brown to Beyonce', Michael Jackson, Rascal Flatts and Adele.

I am scared of spiders! And I still get a little afraid every time I have to do something new or have to get out in front of a big crowd. The first time I sang "Swag It Out" live, I was really scared.

There are things that people say that hurt my feelings or whatever, especially with social media right now. It can be the most amazing thing, and it can also be the most negative and detrimental thing.

It is important in this journey to remember that just because someone has inflicted hurt upon us, it does not give us the right to do the same. Body shaming and hurtful tactics will never get the job done.

I didn't like my hair and makeup one time on a photo shoot, and my publicist told me, 'You should just be happy with it - they haven't had a black girl on the cover since forever.' She's no longer my publicist.

When you're put in a position to really affect young people who are going to run the world one day, if you're able to be in their life at a young age and make a positive impact, I think that's a beautiful thing.

I grew up watching "That's So Raven" and "Lizzie McGuire," and I said to myself that I could do that one day, and here I am. This is a dream come true and I am just ecstatic to be here living out my childhood dreams.

I don't go to parties even when I'm invited. I've always been an 80-year-old woman inside. I remember going to my first school dance petrified. I just wanted to leave. Like, This is cool, but I'm ready to go home now.

I was actually supposed to be a basketball player, not an actress. My parents had me playing basketball on competitive teams when I was in kindergarten. Even though my heart belongs to the arts, I'm a tomboy at heart, too.

It's important to raise your voice in things you feel passionate about and things that you know about. Don't raise your voice just to raise your voice if you have nothing behind it and don't know what you're talking about.

I couldn't choose between all of those things! I looooove acting and dancing on Shake It Up, and I am currently in the recording studio working on my music. And one of my dreams is to walk down the runway during fashion week!

We are the people and America is really nothing without the people. We have to take control and we have realize as young people that this is our future. We have to live here and this where we'll one day raise our own children.

There were a lot of times people would do my makeup, and it would be awful, and I would be orange. Nothing matched. So then you learn how to do your own makeup. I watched a lot of YouTube videos when I was little and taught myself.

I have a phone obsession. It's really hard on set sometimes because I'll be checking Instagram, and then I have to remember, 'Oh, crap, I have to shoot a scene or rehearse.' Every now and then, I have to turn it off and live my life.

My parents got me in trouble when I was in school because someone was getting bullied, and I didn't do anything about it. I just watched it happen and then came to the school, and I got cussed out for not helping and not being a part of it.

I've had a lot of voices tell me what I should be making. Personally, I would much rather live and die by my own hand. If my stuff sucks, then at least I made it suck. I didn't allow some person, some old dude in a suit, to make it suck for me.

I'm very proud of my skin and my face, and I have no problem not wearing makeup. I don't wear makeup because I feel like I need to cover myself up or because I don't feel confident. I wear makeup because it's fun; it's like painting on my face.

I am so honored to join the company of a roster as celebrated and diverse as Covergirl's. I can't wait to share some of my own beauty tips with fans and work alongside Covergirl to continue empowering girls and women to celebrate their individuality.

You can shop the clothing line from the app and everybody who subscribes gets 15% off everything. It's a closer look into my life, what I'm like, what I do. I like to make people laugh, so a lot of the content is me being a doofus, which is who I am.

I've always dressed myself, even when I was younger. My parents didn't pick out my clothes or anything. They let me do that, which I think is an important thing because it allows for kids to experiment and figure out what they like, even at a young age.

Fashion is very much emotional. When you see it, or when you wear the right clothing, or you wear whatever, it's supposed to make you feel something. You're supposed to feel some type of emotion, and I feel like I try to do that when I'm on a red carpet.

I use my platform for more than just myself. Art is a reflection of human emotions. To neglect the political is to neglect what essentially is your job of storytelling. I would rather be known for the content of my character than for the project that I did.

Shake It Up is a buddy comedy based around dance. It's about two best friends Rocky and CeCe who live out their dream as background dancers on a show called Shake It Up Chicago. They have to navigate life as young teens going to school and dancing on the show.

I like playing with fashion and bending the "rules," or what was "rules" - there are no rules anymore, you know? Fashion is way bigger than that and it's about wearing what you want and wearing what makes you feel comfortable and what makes you feel confident.

I feel that if you shelter your kids from everything, one day they are going to be out in the world on their own, and they are going to have to figure it out. You can't give them a test if you never taught them anything that's on the test. They're going to fail.

Well, I am not sure of when my album will be released but my music has a lot of different sounds. I'm a hip-hop/R&B girl at heart, but I love pop music as well, and I even have an affinity for country music. So I would say my music might have something for everyone.

When I was younger, I went through a phase when I didn't like my hair. Because the school I went to was primarily Caucasian, there wasn't anyone who had my hair texture. I remember one day I straightened my hair, and that was the first day that people gave me compliments on it.

That's the person I plan on being for a very long time: someone who stands up, someone who is an advocate for people, [even if it's for] something that some people think is only hair. I think it's more than just that. I want to be a spokesperson for self-love and for diversity.

When I first started out in the industry, I was 12 or whatever, and I wanted to be on something so bad, and I didn't know what I was going to be on. At the time, I was in school, and I was working on drama and theatrical stuff, so I never thought that I'd end up going to comedy.

I think a lot of women can see themselves in me and a lot of people in general are empowered by seeing someone wear what they want, do what they want, maybe get criticism or get praise, whatever, but still continue to wear and do what they want. I think that a lot of people need that.

That's what is really cool about this whole new wave of makeup artistry and people on Instagram and YouTube: It's about doing it for yourself and experimenting. People don't wear makeup to impress people or because they'll be seen in public. It's more of a hobby now, just because it's fun.

My generation, we really have to step up to the plate and vote. Tweeting is great - people say, 'Oh, I don't want this or that' - but at the end of the day, tweeting isn't a ballot. Just saying that you don't like someone on Twitter is not going to turn a state blue or red. You have to vote.

Every day when I'm thinking about something or want to do something, I say, "Hey, can we shoot some stuff?" or "Hey, can you come with me to the grocery store?" or "Hey, can you..." Just so I can share my personality and who I am, and also use it as a platform to do bigger, more important things.

I was very inspired by working women, and also women who aren't working yet! I want them to have shoes that feel luxurious and special and well-crafted and thought about. But also, they should have shoes that won't break the bank. You don't have to spend three years saving up for beautiful shoes.

I wanted individuals who were clearly themselves and I just got to put some clothes on them, but they basically came "done," you know? How they feel comfortable. I just wanted them to walk down the streets of New York and I said, "You know what? Don't even pose, just walk and we'll take pictures."

I want my mom to be able to wear my clothes, I want my older sister to be able to wear my clothes, and the people in my life aren't necessarily built like I am, you know? They're built in a million different beautiful bodies, shapes, and sizes, and so why would I exclude anybody from being able to have it? This is the point.

Other than the obvious, like Cher and Diana Ross, I actually find a lot of inspiration from time periods. So it's not necessarily people, it's the essence of the time period, whether it be the '90s or the '70s or the '40s. The specific time and what vibe it gave you, what the emotion of that time was, and trying to get that emotion again.

Sizing was also important to me; I wanted to make sure that nobody felt alienated or felt like they weren't thought about in the process of this brand. I wanted to make sure that everyone felt included, which brings us to the gender neutral pieces - the idea of wearing what you want and whatever makes you feel comfortable and confident. I think that's the overall feeling of the Daya collection.

Every year my mom takes her 5th grade class on an outdoor education trip, and ever since I was born, I came with her. One thing I remember the most was this long, old rickety bridge held by two redwood trees. In order to get to the camp fire, you had to cross it. Each time I went across I made my brother carry me on his shoulders. It freaked me out sooooo much, even a little now when I think about it.

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