Each time I see a split infinitive, an inconsistent tense structure or the unnecessary use of the passive voice, I blister.

I think that even someone who got into an institution through affirmative action could prove they were qualified by what they accomplished there.

I've spent my whole life learning how to do things that were hard for me.

Although I grew up in very modest and challenging circumstances, I consider my life to be immeasurably rich.

I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences. Today is one of those experiences.

An alcoholic father, poverty, my own juvenile diabetes, the limited English my parents spoke - although my mother has become completely bilingual since. All these things intrude on what most people think of as happiness.

This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.