One of the hard things coming from an immigrant family - or any family that doesn't believe in the arts - is that you have to disappoint your parents. That's hard for people to do if you're a good kid.
If you notice, no child star made it big when s/he grew up because the child's image was still fresh in people's memory. They could not digest the fact that the child star had grown into a man.
The biggest pop star in the world shouldn't be a boring white kid from Canada - the biggest pop star in the world should be a creative black kid from Texas that doesn't know how to come out to his family - that's a way more interesting story, and it gives a new type of kid some hope.
I was like any other kid: very normal, I can say. I just was a simple kid that came from a humble family and was taught by my father to be a family man and be committed to them. I stepped into boxing following my older brothers.
I think every child deserves a family as loving and committed as mine. Because the sense of family comes from the commitment we make to each other to work through the hard times so we can enjoy the good ones. It comes from the love that binds us; that's what makes a family. My family is just as real as yours.
A rescue mission doesn't involve going in and just taking a child and leaving. You can't just choose any child at random. Every kid has a case that is based on that child's original family. So, we made it over to a village, found the child; we were interacting with the child.
People don't understand being a child star is very hard because first off, to be a child star, you have to be very unique. These kids are talented to be able to do it at such a young age. At the same time, you go through the pressures of bullying and a lot of people not understanding.
I work hard and I will always work hard. But I feel very lucky with the way that it has all come together. I still have my hands and I can still write songs. I still have my body and I can still dance. I owe God so much because things are going so well.
I was more of a Star Wars kid, actually. I always thought Star Trek was a lot of talk, and it felt a little self-important. It was hard for me to get into it.
Being a family member is hard no matter where you are. It's hard to be a kid. It's hard to be a parent. It's hard to be a brother or sister. It takes patience and kindness and forbearance.
Thank God my life is normal. I work hard to make it normal. My husband and I don't want Hollywood drama. I go to the market and do the dishes. I'm not treated differently because I work on TV.
The thing about adolescence is that you are emerging from a state of obscurity. You are coming out into the world from your family. Your family can seem normal because it is your family and all you know, but in fact it is a mess.
I don't know the definition of a star; I am just an actor. I prefer doing hard work, as I feel luck can't do much in absence of hard work. I am a lazy person - when I entered into this industry, I thought it was a cakewalk, but I have realised it needs a lot of patience and hard work.
It's hard enough to work and raise a family when your kids are all healthy and relatively normal, but when you add on some kind of disability or disease, it can just be such a burden.
Learning to be extremely disciplined has been the key for me. I work really hard during work hours and family really hard during family hours. Family does always come first though, in any situation.
I know competition is there, and it can come my way by new, fresh faces that are around or are coming up. It pushes me to work hard. I know if I don't work hard, I will be left behind. So, I continue to work hard.