"Best advice I know for that age is to pick your friends wisely. And the second best advice is to listen to your mom when it comes to picking friends."
"The point of acting, especially when you do it on a stage, is to make your audience feel. Your job is to invoke feeling and sustain social awareness in other people. So if they walk away not learning anything, not feeling anything, then you have not done your job."
"You know who gets the most respect in West Africa? Pregnant women, because they are carrying life and the elderly, because they are carrying wisdom."
"It's all relative. We think whatever is going on right now is so important. Like an exam tomorrow. But you go to someone who is five years older and they'll say 'that's not going to matter'. But that's okay. Worry about this stuff. Don't get engulfed in it. Keep it in perspective. That'll keep you sane, but it's also perfectly normal to worry about the present."
"Try to find the balance between your social life and the life you eventually want to have. It's so easy to become wrapped up in different campus clubs, going to the bar, meeting up with friends for movies. But before you get consumed in the socialness, figure out how you end the college experience becoming better than you ever thought you could. Get in your zone, go to your advisers, figure out what you're most interested in, pick up projects, and capitalize on opportunities."
"Somedays I'm out here and think why do I even bother coming? I didn't even make enough to pay for the propane. But the thing is, people see me everyday out here, every Monday to every Friday. So they may not buy lunch today, but they know that they could tomorrow because I'm going to be here."
"There are so many things you cannot do a darn thing about. The trick is knowing when to bend with them and when to be strong."
"This boat is one of the serendipites of life. But there's also the other side. I remember being evicted from the first apartment I rented. All my valuables put out on the sidewalk. The feeling wasn't good. Since then I've become a landlord. And out of maybe 100 tenants, I've never sent a late notice on eviction. Just because of that situation. I never wanted anybody else to experience that. Not under my blessings anyway."
"Things change so much over time. If you think you're gonna do something forever, be flexible. Don't be too locked in. Just be really creative with job opportunities and always stay open minded. What you're able to do is more important than what your degree certificate says."
"Money, it's simple...try saving $50 every 2 weeks from when you're 25 to when you're 50, you'll be surprised how quickly that adds up."
"Young folks worry about a lot of things. There's a quote that goes, 'I've known a lot of worries in my life and most of them never happened.' That's it right there. Places to live, jobs, college, your journey - when it's right it happens, and when it's not right it doesn't. Just lay out the map work and know that it's going to be okay."
"What I would say about moving, and I've lived in many, many different states and countries thoughout Central America and Europe, I would say that if your first job is an opportunity to go to another state or anywhere different, you should go."