“I have an old friend who is 88, her name is Maxine. Maxine is my inspiration and hidden chaplain. She’s a real estate agent and she used to come to my cousin’s Mediterranean restaurant to eat there. She’s a smart person, and she’s had it hard. At the age of 88 she still volunteers at McCarter Theater; she’s an usher. After I raised the kids I said, ‘It’s time for me to go back to school.’ So one day Maxine asked me, ‘I heard you went back to school? What are you doing?’ I said, ‘Hotel management.’ And she said, ‘Oh wonderful, you love food, with a degree you’ll be able to do more and have a good job.’ I said yes, ‘I can’t wait to finish the associate degree and I’m done. Two years is enough.’ She said, ‘No, no, no listen to me. You have to finish your bachelor’s degree, four years.’ I said, ‘Maxine, I’ll be 40 years old. You think I want to be in school at that age?’ She said, ‘Violette, you will be 40 years old with or without the degree. What do you think is better?’ I tell everyone that story. She was able to convince me that I can do it just through a simple sentence.”