Having cancer empowered me to take more risks. I knew beating cancer was going to shape me, but it wasnt going to be all of me.
Hoda KotbOne day, right after my mastectomy, I went for a walk in Central Park, and there was this mob of people blocking the road. I thought, 'Oh, great, now I'm stuck!' but then I suddenly realized that it was a breast cancer walk.
Hoda KotbI don't want to be 'the girl with cancer' ... I just didn't want that to be my only thing. But it is part of me. And it's a big part of me.
Hoda KotbTone is often the most important part of a conversation - and listening is so much more important than what you say.
Hoda KotbPeople think that you have to do something huge, like go to Africa and build a school, but you can make a small change in a day. If you change Wednesday, then you change Thursday. Pretty soon it's a week, then a month, then a year. It's bite-size, as opposed to feeling like you have to turn your life inside out to make changes.
Hoda Kotb