I knew that it was harder to unite two lives than I had imagined growing up. I knew that relationships could be fragile.

I think it's important how I come across to my students. I want them to see how professional women dress.

I have visited classrooms near military bases to learn more about what schools were doing to support their military kids. I met with teachers overseas to learn about the particular needs they face thousands of miles from America. And I listened to my own granddaughter, who dealt with her father's yearlong deployment to Iraq.

I've always believed you've got to steal the joyful moments when you can.

I come from a well-educated and cultured, middle-class Maharashtrian family and have been brought up with social awareness.

I was born in India, and we came from a poor family and lived in a rural village. My dad came over to Canada as a refugee, and years later, we were able to join him.

The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.

When I was a kid, my father brought home the autobiography of Sid Luckman, the great Chicago Bears quarterback - probably an extra copy from the sports department where he worked. It was the first sports biography I ever read.