When 9/11 happened, 12 of our neighborhood firemen were killed. I looked around at the country that had adopted me and I became an American.

If I feel frustrated in a situation, I take a deep breath and walk away.

The one thing I know for a fact - some days are bad, some days are okay, and I'll go with it. If it's bad, I stay in and ride the wave and somehow, God gets me through and I'm fine. Dealing with grief doesn't work from one person to the other, it's so personal.

People might want to think, "We don't need it," but you know, we can't stop it. It's a movement, which means that it's moving, whether you like it or not, it's going to move.

The relationship I have with Bethann [Hardison], it's so unique. It's based on trust. But most importantly, Bethann is the one who will call on me if I'm doing something wrong. That's a very specific relationship.

We grew up as poor people but we never knew poverty. I still love and miss the Somalia I grew up in. Things changed, when my father became a diplomat later on.

My worst year. The only thing that I know for a fact now is that if it's really a bad day, then I draw the curtains, and I lay in bed. There is no way of dealing with grief. And I have no idea. This year I had double of them, my mother and my husband. I just take it one day at a time.