Embracing my origin has made me the confident and grateful person I am.

Jeannie Mai

Categorized in : Me I Am Confident Grateful

So my mom really taught me to be fearless and I love her! She's just so much fun! She is completely the reason why I am a personality and a success to myself today.

myself personality success love

Like, in Asian culture, you have to be down with the family. You have to be down with all the crazy traditional or non-traditional things we do.

you family crazy culture

She's there for life, but even though it's hard to date with my mom around, I'm so thankful for it because the person who can't take Mama Mai is not the person to take me.

me mom thankful life

It's horrible dating with Mama Mai! She is nosy. When I was a kid she would be the first one eavesdropping on my phone calls: 'Hello? Who you call for? Huh?'

phone you mama dating

I was 103 pounds for 12 years, and what's crazy is that I actually wanted to weigh 100. Honestly, it was for no other reason than the fact that I thought it would be cool to say that I weighed 100 pounds.

say thought cool crazy

Feeling good about your body and feeling sexy comes from within, not from a number on the scale.

feeling good sexy body

On my show 'The Real,' we often encourage women to fight against body-shaming and own the skin that they're in.

skin fight women real

I was a cardio bunny and spent hours in the gym a day working up a sweat.

bunny day gym sweat

People say money changes people. So does ego and so does social media. And so does the press. I think that all of that mixed in between - you really gotta keep yourself grounded.

yourself you social-media money

One thing he always said, and I love this quote and I really believe it, my ex said, 'You don't truly know a person until they don't get what they want. That's when they show you who they are.' You wouldn't think that the person you were married to and were with for 10 years and taught you the quote would be the best number one example to prove it.

best you love believe

I embrace both my Vietnamese and American sides, 100 percent.

american percent embrace sides

There are several different traits that make up a person's identity. For me, being Vietnamese American is the entirety of who I am.

person i-am me identity

There's a difference between a job and purpose. If I did my job without purpose, I wouldn't have the intention to put things out there that should be heard. But I have a purpose.

difference job things purpose

You hear all the time that money can change people. Well, divorce can really change people.

you money change time

I was married to someone who had more money than me, but because I was the stronger earner and we lived in California - a shocking thing slapped me in the face when we divorced and I had to end up paying him my earnings.

face end me money

My family would try and trick us and I would come to a party and she would be there. When I tell you the 'Love & Hip Hop' scene is nothing compared to what was happening with me and mom... throwing things at each other, the cursing, the words.

me you family love

Selling the commodity of humans has to be the biggest business out there, as it is the most lucrative. I cannot go to sleep at night, unless I know that I am using all of my platforms to fight human trafficking.

i-am fight business sleep

Jobs give people a sense of independence, security and self-confidence.

self-confidence independence people

Technology's role in human trafficking cannot be ignored. But if we focus on how to prevent human trafficking, technology also has a powerful role. Like Ashton Kutcher's app Thorn, which directly spots human trafficking and connects you with officials.

you technology focus powerful

For those of us that wake up every day and go to our jobs, we know our worth because we know the value we add to the world.

value day wake-up world