Lexi Underwood

“And then I always find myself going back to watch 'A Different World' reruns. I bought each and every single season of 'A Different World', so most of the time, if I'm watching TV then I'm watching 'A Different World'.”

“In black and brown communities especially, mental health is not normalized. No one talks about that kind of thing.”

“I begged my parents to let me go to LA for three months just to try it out. Three months turned into five years.”

“A way into a creative mind is to really step into their shoes. Do what they love most or try out their art.”

“Music is a big part of my sleep routine. I listen to peaceful and calming music every night, and have my go-to playlists and albums I play at night.”

“The first time that I ever experienced a microaggression was probably in kindergarten. It's something that starts off from such a young age.”

“I remember the first time that my Nana introduced me to Eartha Kitt. Seeing a fierce Black woman on screen being unapologetically confident - just her essence that she had was so captivating.”

“Ever since I was little, I was so infatuated with everything concerning the arts.”

“I went into the audition room with the mindset that 'Little Fires' was going to be my last audition. I put my all into it, but I didn't get my hopes up.”

“Celeste Ng is such a gifted writer.”

“You can't do people wrong. You can't do people dirty or put people's life in jeopardy and expect to walk away freely and just continue to live this happy and prosperous life. That's not how the universe and the way of life works.”

“I've always been taught to never wait for somebody to give me the opportunity, but to create opportunity for myself.”

“A dream role of mine that I'm currently talking to some people about - I'm trying to get an Aaliyah biopic made, but a proper one, and see if we can get the family's permission and get all the rights to all the music.”

“Growing up, usually when I saw a black female on television, she was either a broken character or sidekick.”

“Because when you have all white men in the writers' room trying to tell the perspective of cultural appropriation or what it's like to be black or Asian in America and not necessarily knowing what it's like, that's when everything gets mixed up.”

“Every time I'm feeling anxious, I go to my little meditation corner in my room and write down whatever I'm feeling. If I'm feeling terrible, I write that I'm feeling terrible and I accept that and I keep going, but I'm not going to wallow in that moment.”

“My mom and dad have two very different tastes in music, so they were playing everything from Prince to the Beatles to Aaliyah.”

“I can't control how other people are going to react. I can't control what other people are going to say to me.”

“Whether it's microaggressions or blatant racism, it's always been a fight. We've been fighting oppression for 400 years and it will continue to be a fight.”

“I've been meditating since February 2019, and it's something I do every night.”