I think what I am is a "convener"; I like to convene people around ideas.

Suddenly in high school, I'm in a predominantly Jewish atmosphere. Jewish people were my gate to white America.

For me, first of all, I love people, I love ideas.

Those in the margins are always trying to get to the center, and those at the center, frequently in the name of tradition, are trying to keep the margins at a distance.

When I was a kid, my grandfather said that "if you say a word often enough, it becomes you." Thinking of that later in life gave me this idea that I could try to become America by learning the words of people from many aspects of the country.

I love studying how people are. Not just what they're saying, but how they are, what they're doing.

What you are will show, ultimately. Start now, every day, becoming, in your actions, your regular actions, what you would like to become in the bigger scheme of things.