I worked while in high school and college so that I could pay for school. I also had loans.

My parents have always been very honest with me.

I learned at a very young age that my parents were undocumented.

When you're the child of undocumented immigrants, you learn to keep your mouth shut.

Immigrants are working hard to give our families a better life. Isn't that what the American Dream is?

It has never been illegal to be a refugee.

I'm not one for lying to children.

Crazy Jane is a complex individual who always has a lot brewing. She tries to hold things together on the surface, which is something that we all try to do. She uses these different personalities to try to cope with life.

I've experienced colorism in that way: where if you're lighter, then you'll potentially be accepted into society better than if you were darker-skinned.

It's important that we vote, because this is how we can bring about change and bring about reform, and, honestly, I don't see Donald Trump, anything that he's saying to be effective or comprehensive. Instead of really uniting our country - we are the United States of America - he is dividing us.

I definitely had to pave my own path, which wasn't always the easiest thing to do.

It's sometimes a little embarrassing to take selfies, but sometimes I want to take a selfie because I'm like, 'Oh I look cute. I like my hat. I like what I'm wearing, and I want to show it off.'

This is the kind of stuff me and my friends talk about. We sit around and drink coffee, and we're really angry: We're like, 'Where's the Latino Museum?' Where can we go with our families, where can we go with our friends to learn about our history?

I can be very moody.

It is a huge myth that our voices don't matter, that our vote doesn't count.

Sometimes I want to bury myself in bed, and I don't want anyone to know anything about me, and I don't want anyone to judge me.

While awaiting deportation proceedings, my parents remained in detention near Boston, so I could visit them. They would have liked to fight deportation, but without a lawyer and an immigration system that rarely gives judges the discretion to allow families to stay together, they never had a chance.

It's disheartening to see the hate speech and the divisive behavior. But at the same time, I have to believe that smart people and good people of this country don't give in to that.

People like seeing people being human and real, and I think that's been lacking on TV.

I worked a variety of jobs in retail and at coffee shops all through high school. And, though I was surrounded by people who cared about me, part of me ached with every accomplishment, because my parents weren't there to share my joy.

I am conscious of the community that I'm representing and don't play into stereotypes.

I am here, a citizen of this country, and I'm saying, 'Hey, the system failed me. I am a good citizen. I contribute to this country, and here I am sharing my story. What are you going to do now?'

I don't know why I was lucky enough to have people in my community take me in. To be able to continue school. Or why I was lucky enough to find work or go to college. I do know that kind of luck is one in a million.

If we value children and family, there's a great need for change, and we should try immigration reform - create a path for citizenship for people already here, update the visa system.