“I always hated when people told me not to aspire to certain things because I was a woman. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be told this simply because of my skin color. One of the many things I’ve learned is that when you’ve been holed up in a safe house with someone who doesn’t look like you or speak the same language, but who was ready to break bread with you and even fight by your side—you quickly realized that there were a lot more important things to gripe about. At the end of the day, people were just people—blood, sweat and tears, heart and soul.”