We can all agree that first loves can be a scary thing, and that growing up is hard to do.

Growing up, I mostly read comic books and sci-fi. Then I discovered the book 'Jane Eyre' by Jane Austen. It introduced me to the world of romance, which I have since never left. Also, the world of the first-person narrative.

I used to draw and illustrate, but I don't do that anymore because I just like to write. I like to leave the illustrations to actual professional illustrators.

Strong female characters - even if they don't necessarily make the same decisions that we might - make such great narrative material, especially when there's an equally strong male character in the mix.

Many Americans don't know anyone in the military, so they aren't aware that, on average, a military child attends six to nine schools by the time he or she graduates from high school. Through each transition, the children have to leave their friends, try out for new sports teams and adjust to a new school community.

My view of AMD is that we have a tremendous set of technology assets, people, capability, customer relationships. We're not going to define ourselves in somebody else's shadow.

Friendships are the family we make - not the one we inherit. I've always been someone to whom friendship, elective affinities, is as important as family.

Israelis can be proud of the vibrant democracy that they have created, and I know that many Rhode Islanders share my deep appreciation for the close friendship between our two nations.