Morgan Richardson, age 15

Mt. Vernon, NY

I'd say that when my father died, that changed my life... But my mom was very strong and she took over the business that he had, a karate school. And she has always supported me and my brother, so nothing we've ever had has been a burden and she teaches us that nothing is impossible.

I love to dance, honestly. Everything that's happened to me for the past day, or week, or however long it was; when I dance I just kind of zone out of what's going on . Aside from that I really like to help my mom. That makes me happy, whether it's around the house or at the karate school.

I don't have anything that I am afraid of. I mean, there's moments that come along. I gave a speech at my school for our graduation from middle school. Speaking in front of people is at one point fearsome for me, but it is also exciting.

The toughest thing about being a teenager is the decisions you have to make every day: Do I want to be a dancer? Do I want to pursue my academics more? And then there's just generally other issues. Like peer pressure. Luckily, because I'm so committed to ballet and school, I don't come across them because I don't really have much time to.

I don't think that it is right to have sex until you're married. I just think that is unethical and we've learned that ever since middle school. I don't understand why people can't obey that rule.

I honestly can't think of someone else I would want to be. There's people I would like to be like-- like Aesha Ash, the only African-American in the New York City Ballet-- the only female. There's people like Oprah. You want her generosity. There's people like models out there-- you want their looks. There's people I just want to be like.