Lira

"And for the first time, I saw how my own music had the power to connect with different races. In those spaces it didn't matter that I was black. It didn't matter that I was young. It didn't matter that I was female. It was just beautiful music. And it gave me a taste and the possibility of freedom, I think."

"We need to own our space. We need to own our career. We need to own our creativity. We need to know that it's possible."

"If you don't invest in yourself, who do you expect to do that?"

"I do believe in love—as a verb. Not as some airy-fairy feeling. As a verb. As something you do, you think and you speak."

"Accept your situation; that way, you can figure out how to navigate it from an empowered space."

"Make small goals – ones that you can see yourself attaining – and celebrate each step of the way. You’re alive. Life wants you to be, and that’s got to count for something. Appreciate life."