“I am not naive, and I do realize that racism is alive and well in the ...” — Maysoon Zayid Quote

“I am not naive, and I do realize that racism is alive and well in the United States of America. I am also fully aware that when segregation ended, we didn't all live happily ever after. No one can convince me, however, that life in America would be better if blacks and whites had stayed separate and unequal.”

“In 2006, I hung out with The Carter Center as they monitored the Palestinian elections. Nobody thought Hamas would win. Hamas did not think Hamas could win. The lion's share of folks I spoke to who were voting for them were not actually voting for Hamas but against Fatah.”

“When I ask people what they think of when they hear the term 'cerebral palsy,' I usually get one of two responses. They either think of a smiling, crumpled child in a wheelchair on a poster or commercials on late night TV with lawyers enticing parents of CP kids to sue the pants off their obstetrician.”

“If you elect a religious party into power, you no longer have a democracy.”

“I think that social media has really empowered bullies because you get to do it from the comfort of your own home, completely anonymously, with no ramifications.”

“As long as my mouth, hands, and brain still work, I'll be out there doing it. I'm going to keep going 'til I'm not there anymore. This is what's keeping me alive and feeling young and inspired.”

“When I was a model at 15, I was eating one red pepper a day, and if I had a big day of castings, I would survive off a bag of Haribo, which gave me the 500 calories a day that would keep me alive. I was congratulated daily on my appearance - the more vertebrae upon my back you could count, the better my auditions went.”

“I decided to write books, just to prove to myself that I was still alive, if nothing else.”

“I'm always more scared of things not changing, of not being as alive as I could be.”

“Every religious tradition is rooted in mysteries I don't pretend to understand, including claims about what happens after we die. But this I know for sure: as long as we're alive, choosing resurrection is always worth the risk.”

“Really, I'm only alive out of curiosity. I'm very curious about where we're all marching.”