Hope and change are hard-fought things.

Oh, I can't play soccer, and I'm not a great swimmer. I won't drown, but you won't see me doing laps in a pool.

My children are very blessed.... That's why I think that mentoring is such a critical part of the role I can play in this position. I see how little bits of exposure and big bits of exposure really change my girls significantly, and I want that for more girls around the country and the world.

It's important for us not to lose sight of the fact that this is a family that's grieving and there's been a tremendous loss. And we all have to rally around that piece of it.

And I come here as a daughter, raised on the South Side of Chicago - by a father who was a blue-collar city worker and a mother who stayed at home with my brother and me.

The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.

Know that America belongs to you, to all of you.