. . . But experience has taught me that you cannot value dreams according to the odds of their coming true. Their real value is instirring within us the will to aspire. That will, wherever it finally leads, does at least move you forward. And after a time you may recognize That the proper measure of success is not how much you've closed the distance to some far-off goal but the quality of what you've done today.

If I go home, get a gun, come back and shoot you, that may not be legal under New York law because you would have alternative ways to defend.

I have always been actively involved in my community, belonging to organizations that promote the interests of Latinos. But I also know that the issues we confront are the same issues, in many respects, as the larger community. So what we do helps not just us but everybody.

I got a label because I was Hispanic and a woman and [therefore] I had to be liberal.

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

The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever.

Sometimes, idealistic people are put off the whole business of networking as something tainted by flattery and the pursuit of selfish advantage. But virtue in obscurity is rewarded only in Heaven. To succeed in this world you have to be known to people.