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 family is all obsessed with comedy. I grew up watching a lot of comedy in the house. I used to watch Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy with my dad. But my mom is more into slapstick stuff.

I made a supreme effort not to do that thing that parents do, which is to bore people without children to death by going on and on about how funny their children are, so there's none of that hopefully.

When Mahesh is not around for weeks together, I have to take care of everything - kids, home. But the fact that I am able to survive and not feel alone is very challenging. It's about a healthy companionship and being true to each other.

I grew up around a lot of various religions, so it's a part of my consciousness in a way. Everything from heavy Catholicism to followers of Indian spiritual masters to Unitarian universalists - all in one family. Though the family aspect was stronger than any particular dogma.