I listened very, very carefully to the world around me to pick up the signals of when trouble was coming. Not that I could stop it. But it made me observant. That was helpful when I became a lawyer, because I knew how to read people's signals. When a witness hesitated, my mind would race to the conclusion that he was trying to hide something. What was it? I'd dissect the story in my brain and nine times out of ten figure out a hole they were trying to avoid.

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

I do know one thing about me: I don't measure myself by others' expectations or let others define my worth.

I don't believe we should bend the Constitution under any circumstance. It says what it says. We should do honor to it.

Remember that no one succeeds alone. Never walk alone in your future paths.

The challenges I have faced - among them material poverty, chronic illness, and being raised by a single mother - are not uncommon, but neither have they kept me from uncommon achievements.

I listened very, very carefully to the world around me to pick up the signals of when trouble was coming. Not that I could stop it. But it made me observant. That was helpful when I became a lawyer, because I knew how to read people's signals.