“I grew up in a household where we all celebrated who we were. There wa...” — Ilhan Omar Quote

I grew up in a household where we all celebrated who we were. There was no space to make people feel different or 'less than.'

I try not to think of my life in terms of separation.

We say this is a land of immigrants, and we forget that this was a land that belonged to people. And those of us who are new immigrants and those of us who come from generations of immigrants have to realize we are not that much different from one another.

For me, as an immigrant who didn't speak the language, when I would have struggles as a kid, my dad would say, 'Once you are able to communicate with people, they're able to connect with you beyond your otherness.' That is really the message I've carried throughout my life.

The punk era, at its best, celebrated questioning the norm and the promotion of originality. Both concepts have always resonated with me.

I feel lucky to have grown up in a time where self expression and personal identity is celebrated more and more every day.

The mouthier I got, the more I'd be celebrated.

I'm always interested in getting to know people, and that means vilified people as much as those celebrated. You find out that heroes aren't always so heroic, and villains have some bit of humanity in them.

The best memories are the ones where I celebrated Deepavali as a kid.