To me, lawyering is the height of service - and being involved in this profession is a gift.

I came to accept during my freshman year that many of the gaps in my knowledge and understanding were simply limits of class and cultural background, not lack of aptitude or application as I'd feared.

In my experience when a friend unloaded about a boyfriend or spouse, the listener soaked up the complaint and remembered it long after the speaker had forgiven the offense.

Through reading, I escaped the bad parts of my life in the South Bronx. And, through books, I got to travel the world and the universe. It, to me, was a passport out of my childhood and it remains a way - through the power of words - to change the world.

I have never had to face anything that could overwhelm the native optimism and stubborn perseverance I was blessed with.

When you marry young, you run the risk that you'll grow in different directions.

Success is its own reward, but failure is a great teacher too, and not to be feared.