If you want the meaning of families and life and religion and philosophy rolled into one package, all you need to read is The Brothers Karamazov.

I couldnt really relate to the fraternity or party scene, to the people out in the mall every day protesting one thing or another. I felt like there was no one I could relate to.

What I was reading was already part of my psyche, but finally someone else was saying it's okay to walk alone.

It's a challenge to demonstrate that you can prepare some really interesting food with humble ingredients.

I have always looked at it this way: If you strive like crazy for perfection - an all-out assault on total perfection - at the very least you will hit a high level of excellence, and then you might be able to sleep at night. To accomplish something truly significant, excellence has to become a life plan.

Students need to learn how to think critically, how to argue opposing ideas. It is important for them to learn how to think. You can always cook.

I wasnt using college as a stepping stone to law school or some other career. I just wanted a liberal-arts education.