On a personal level, my mom is my biggest inspiration. She's always been an idol for me. I used to dream about growing up and being like her.

Growing up, I was quite self-conscious about getting too tall, but then I realized, 'You know what? I can use it to my advantage. Big is beautiful.'

To all trans youth out there, I would like to say respect yourself and be proud of who you are.

I feel that for a lot of my career, I had success, I was adored, but I was also this alien creature. I want to show that I have the skill like any other female model, and I'm asking for the same equal treatment and equal respect as any other female model.

Not everybody gets to travel halfway around the world to see a whole different perspective. If we can see that on TV, we'll know that society is bigger than the small world we all live in.

Terror, married to technology and accommodated by progress in travel, has turned evil individuals into traveling ballistic missiles.

Although my book is banned I am still allowed to go to China and travel. There is no longer the kind of control that Mao used to have-there have been deep fundamental changes in society.

My poor vision gives me a soft-focus morning. For the first half hour, I kind of wander through my house, and everything is a blur. I put my contacts in when I'm ready to deal with the world.