My parents told me in the very beginning as a young child when I raised the question about segregation and racial discrimination, they told me not to get in the way, not to get in trouble, not to make any noise.

But it was my parents I longed for mostly. I wanted to be a little girl again and cuddle into them, wriggling in between them like I'd done in their bed when I was three or four, snug and warm in the safest place in the world.

Instead I had Hell.

As a young child, I was never a crier. I never cried to get my way, or even when I was in pain.

I was taught as a young child by my parents and family to love myself.

As a young child, I suffered from poor health. My parents encouraged me to swim, which really improved my condition.

Girls see these defined roles they're supposed to follow in life, but when I was a young child, my parents told me I could be anything.