My very first account was @BlackBarbie, which is what my friends called me growing up. Then I thought, 'You can either call yourself that, or you can find something that will matter to dark-skinned girls.' So I came up with @melaniin.goddess.

I was teased a lot, growing up, because of my skin tone.

I was born in Senegal in 1996. My mom moved to New York when I was two years old, so I was raised by my aunt back home.

Kids used to tease me and call me 'fille des etoiles,' which translates to 'daughter of the stars.'

My dad was somewhat of a naturalist and used to teach us about different birds and trees. So did a fifth grade teacher who made a lasting impact on me; to this day, I remember his lessons about counting the needles on pine trees, seeing if they are twisted or straight, and about checking the tips of oak leaves to see if they are pointed or lobed.

I had kind of left college. I wanted to study to be a sports teacher, but I had that little inner voice within me that said, 'You should be doing something else,' and I followed that gut instinct.

President Obama is a principled man who has worked hard to put healthcare and a good education in the reach of millions of Americans and believes that everyone who works hard and plays by the rules, should have a fair shot at the American dream.

Learning is a result of listening, which in turn leads to even better listening and attentiveness to the other person. In other words, to learn from the child, we must have empathy, and empathy grows as we learn.