Michelle Buteau

You should be.

Um... No. It's... It's... I'm a joyful person. You know? Not only my mom and my grandma Mavis and my great grandma Hazel, like all these women in my family, everybody in my family has had to really fight for their joy and their peace. And they fought so I could be here. And so that's not lost on me.

Um... No. It's... It's... I'm a joyful person. You know? Not only my mom and my grandma Mavis and my great grandma Hazel, like all these women in my family, everybody in my family has had to really fight for their joy and their peace. And they fought so I could be here. And so that's not lost on me.

You know, when you start from a place of, like, let's have fun, you know, how can we find comedy on the other side of pain? Then I do believe that I will always be okay, you know, because sometimes it is perspective. And we have to be aware that things are happening. And there is injustices. But, like, how do we find our joy in the day? You know what I mean?

You know, when you start from a place of, like, let's have fun, you know, how can we find comedy on the other side of pain? Then I do believe that I will always be okay, you know, because sometimes it is perspective. And we have to be aware that things are happening. And there is injustices. But, like, how do we find our joy in the day? You know what I mean?

Because then if we're not happy, then they've won.

Because then if we're not happy, then they've won.

I loved dancing. I wanted to be a fly girl on In Living Color. I definitely would have been Snoop Dogg's video hoe if I had the chance. I was out one night at a teeny bopper club and that's where I saw him. I remember the smoke machine was working. It felt like we were at a bar mitzvah somewhere in Jersey.

I loved dancing. I wanted to be a fly girl on In Living Color. I definitely would have been Snoop Dogg's video hoe if I had the chance. I was out one night at a teeny bopper club and that's where I saw him. I remember the smoke machine was working. It felt like we were at a bar mitzvah somewhere in Jersey.

And literally when the smoke cleared, I'm like, who is that tall boy with the khakis on and the big old chain and the curly hair? How do I talk to him? And I kind of just sort of like inched my way over to him on the dance floor. I remember like doing this move where we're like, we both sort of like roll into each other's body and I can be like, get a whiff of his Jakar Noir.

And literally when the smoke cleared, I'm like, who is that tall boy with the khakis on and the big old chain and the curly hair? How do I talk to him? And I kind of just sort of like inched my way over to him on the dance floor. I remember like doing this move where we're like, we both sort of like roll into each other's body and I can be like, get a whiff of his Jakar Noir.

And I was like, and like, my heart was beating so fast. I could hear it. And I'm like, Oh my God, this is what love is. I feel like a Puerto Rican Molly Ringwald.

And I was like, and like, my heart was beating so fast. I could hear it. And I'm like, Oh my God, this is what love is. I feel like a Puerto Rican Molly Ringwald.

We were walking out to the parking lot and we realized we both had the same car. Mazda protégés, both leased by our moms.

We were walking out to the parking lot and we realized we both had the same car. Mazda protégés, both leased by our moms.

Oh, definitely. I'm like, what? Like, out of all the cars in the world, out of all the dance clubs, you and me.

Oh, definitely. I'm like, what? Like, out of all the cars in the world, out of all the dance clubs, you and me.

He worked at Best Buy selling DVDs and he was also a drug dealer. And in my mind, I was like, oh my God, he's so cool. He's so good at math. Like he counts so quickly.

He worked at Best Buy selling DVDs and he was also a drug dealer. And in my mind, I was like, oh my God, he's so cool. He's so good at math. Like he counts so quickly.

The plan was, I mean, looking back on it, it seems so basic, but just to be with each other and to have fun and to have kids and to go out to dinner after a movie on a Friday night. You know, Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory just kind of exists in a really cute apartment with beige carpet and white blinds.