Past 'Drag Race' alum that I've spoken to, their biggest advice to me was, 'Expect the unexpected,' and, 'There's no way that you can prepare for this,' so I thought I was at least ahead of the curve knowing that I wasn't prepared.
But life inevitably throws us curve balls, unexpected circumstances that remind us to expect the unexpected. I've come to understand these curve balls are the beautiful unfolding of both karma and current.
I was ahead of the gender curve, but I wasn't ahead of the intersectionality curve, and I get it now. It's important to me.
Drag Race' was, like, my outlet and finally being able to see myself in television and that was through Manila Luzon, who was a 'Drag Race' contestant. Manila was the first Asian queer person that I ever saw on mainstream media and 'Drag Race' really did that for me.
'Drag Race' doesn't claim to represent drag as a whole. 'Drag Race' is a reality show. If you see real drag shows, we just do drag and respect each other's art and who your real identity is - name, gender, hair color, anything.
When you don't know what to expect, prepare for the unexpected.
You do not move ahead by constantly looking in a rear view mirror. The past is a rudder to guide you, not an anchor to drag you. We must learn from the past but not live in the past.
Nothing prepared me for the loss of my mother. Even knowing that she would die did not prepare me.
Pray for the best, prepare for the worst, and expect the unexpected.
I was doing drag as just a hobby on the weekends to let my hair down. I never thought of drag was going to be my career and what I would be doing for the rest of my life. Once I made it onto 'Drag Race,' I'm like, 'Oh, OK - this is my calling.
I don't expect a lot of people who love drag to also be like, 'I love 'Drag Race,' and then I got to hear my Chris Stapleton album.' Not necessarily an obvious crossover.
When I got the phone call that I was going to be on 'Drag Race' I thought I was going to win. I thought I was going to win 'Drag Race' before I was even cast. I'm not even being funny. I'm being serious.
There will always be people who are ahead of the curve, and people who are behind the curve. But knowledge moves the curve.
You've got to expect things are going to go wrong. And we always need to prepare ourselves for handling the unexpected.
The ocean is a supreme metaphor for change. I expect the unexpected but am never fully prepared.
I love that drag is political. For me, one of the reasons I started doing drag was reading about how in the past, drag performers were able to organize the queer community and move us forward.
I was really grateful that The Vixen, especially, was on season 10 because she was having conversations about race. You can't ignore it, especially in the drag community, in the 'Drag Race' world.