"Austin Powers in Goldmember' was my favorite movie growing up. My mom wanted to burn the DVD. She ha..." — Quinta Brunson

Becoming a performer, comedian - anything other than a teacher, really - seemed very far-fetched. So I kind of split off into this separate world, where secretly I was doing improv classes.

A lot of us go through tough stuff, but we're not sitting there sad about it all day. We have to get to the next day.

I knew I didn't have the patience to be a teacher.

I was just in school more than normal people were at school, and my mom wasn't just a mom to me - she was a teacher. And she wasn't just a teacher to me, she was a fully-formed person.