“I hope to become a better teacher. I love teaching.”

“My dad had always been a big decaf coffee drinker. But my mom had always been more of a tea drinker. So I grew up around a lot of tea. And I also really love tea. But I'm not one of those people who has ever felt the need to choose between coffee and tea. I think that is a completely false dichotomy.”

“My earliest memory is my mom picking me up after I had fallen down, giving me a big hug and reading me 'Goodnight Moon.' From that moment, to this one, every single memory I have of my mom is that regardless of what was happening in her life, she was always, always there for me.”

“My marriage is incredibly important to me. It's the place from which I engage in the world every day, and the place to which I return every day.”

“I hope to make a positive, productive contribution, as cheesy as that may sound.”

“My parents have been incredibly supportive from perhaps the first real independent decision I made to become a vegetarian at 11, which was certainly not consistent with their diet at the time.”

“I walk my dog every morning.”

“My parents were definitely on the incentive side of parenting. Like, they told me that my father had learned to read when he was three. So, of course, I thought I had to, too.”

“I had seen people who had lost everything and everyone they loved to war, famine, and natural disasters.”

“I hope to become a better teacher. I love teaching.”

“So, if anyone ever tells you no, of anyone says your voice isn't important or your dreams are too big, remember these women. They persisted and so should you.”