Talk to any black person in my age group, and they'll say 'A Different World' is why they went to college. The show literally changed my life, and it boggles my mind that it doesn't get the kind of love it deserves.

I definitely have been very mindful of what kind of leader and creator I want to be. A lot of that has to with looking at the writers that you work with. They're all like your children. They all need love, but different versions of it.

I knew very early on I wanted to be a television writer. My teachers told me I was a strong writer and had a voice. I really leaned in to that.

The truth is, for me, when I was a young black girl who knew I was different, was watching TV, I would always be staring at the TV set looking for myself, and I didn't see me. And when you don't see yourself, you start to think that you don't matter, or you start to think that something is wrong with you.

Being a black lesbian myself, I roll my eyes a little bit when I see black lesbian characters on shows where it's purely there for decoration. You can just hear it in the writers room... 'What if we make her a lesbian?'

I'm writing my story so that others might see fragments of themselves.

Being born gay, black, and female is not a revolutionary act. Being proud to be a gay black female is.

The '80s really were - talk about no rules. People just did whatever they wanted; they could look however they wanted. There was just a lot of bigness and brightness.

To be yourself is truly a revolutionary act, and I think more and more people should try it, because it's gotten me a pretty cool life.

The things that make us different, those are our superpowers.

I've had moments of deep self-involvement that didn't come from a place of loving myself but quite the opposite.

I never sort of thought of myself as a comedy writer, by nature.

If you're writing, you're starting in private. It can really be this amazing, private, freeing experience. Forget that it's for other people - that comes in later.

I think if you feel like you were born to write, then you probably were.

I kind of look like every other girl, walking around.

I'm glad if my work can make a difference.

I think breakfast is the one meal when you don't have to eat animal, maybe.

It's very easy for me to say what success is. I think success is connecting with an audience who understands you and having a dialogue with them. I think success is continuing to push yourself forward creatively and not sort of becoming a caricature of yourself.

There are so many reactions to art that make sense to me - but 'ick' means something.

You're raised to think being a mother is an inevitable step in your development but you start to ask yourself questions, because not every woman does want to have children.

I thought I wanted to be a journalist or a novelist.

The work that's interesting to me in other people is really confessional.

I think romantic comedy, when done right, is my favorite genre. It's just a genre that's very human.

There's always an article coming out, saying, 'The new thing is funny women!'