If you look at Obama - I think that what you saw during those eight years, and in those last few weeks, was that he really loves people and he is going to miss them. And that he deeply appreciate the opportunity he was given.

When I first got to the White House, I was super anxious all the time about not knowing the answer to every question. And Obama was actually the person who let me be me. He was like, "Alyssa's not the person who wears the Ann Taylor suit. She's not the kind of person who always says the exact right thing." And I'm a bit of a wild animal. I brought a different perspective and I was a little bit more irreverent and casual.

If you look at Obama - I think that what you saw during those eight years, and in those last few weeks, was that he really loves people and he is going to miss them. And that he deeply appreciate the opportunity he was given.

Find someone who you really believe in - that can be at a state level. The one thing I can encourage women to do the most is to start at the state level.

I wanted young women to know that I was very lucky that I worked for people who literally let me be me. If I had ever been anyone other than me, I would have come off as a fake, a phony, a fraud, and never would have gotten where I ultimately ended up. You can be yourself and be in politics, and they should know that. That was kind of why I wanted to do it - because I didn't see any freaks in politics like me.

Is there a reason there's not a tampon dispenser in the West Wing basement?" And it was like, "No." Nobody had really just ever thought about putting it there. It's an important story to tell because, well, it was important to do because we needed them, but I think that it's more, like, you should always ask questions.

I saw Obama's thought process behind the few moments of free time he had and how he used them. So, I knew that him taking the time to call me meant he really cared and really deeply understood how upset I was. That's what made it so meaningful.