Growing up, I didn't think it would be possible to be an actress - I didn't see a lot of Latina faces on TV or in movies. But that didn't stop me from trying. I realized early that anything I really wanted was worth working for.

I really needed a show like 'Jane' when I was growing up, so being able to portray a positive Latina character means a lot to me because I feel like it's helping me to contribute to someone's dreams.

My mom struggled for a long time growing up poor, and then we were on welfare when I was a kid. So to see her kids, not just me, be successful and making money and happy and healthy and in good relationships - it means so much to her after all that she's been through.

Acting was always a secret desire of mine when I was growing up.

Years ago nobody was elected on the economic ticket. It was either the education platform, or it was health or it was other issues. It is only recently that economic values have superceded every other human value.

The dream doesn't lie in victimization or blame; it lies in hard work, determination and a good education.

We do not need to proselytise either by our speech or by our writing. We can only do so really with our lives. Let our lives be open books for all to study.

What charitable 1 percenters can't do is assume responsibility - America's national responsibilities: the care of its sick and its poor, the education of its young, the repair of its failing infrastructure, the repayment of its staggering war debts.