I was driven when I was younger. Driven at West Point where it was much more competitive in that women were competing with men on many levels, and I was driven in the military and at Harvard, both competitive environments.

I introduced myself to then-Lieutenant General Petraeus and told him about my research interests; he gave me his card and offered to put me in touch with other researchers and service members working on the same issues.

Even when you've made mistakes in life, you can still contribute and pick up the stuff and move on.

A few months into my research, General Petraeus, who was then leading Central Command, invited me to go for a run with him and his team along the Potomac River during one of his visits to Washington. I figured I could interview him while we ran.

For most of my childhood, I grew up in the countryside of England, where it was very suburban - there weren't a lot of people who were multicultural like my family. It was a place where the blonde and brunette girls in school were considered gorgeous. And because of that, I remember feeling like I wasn't good enough.

Men never cling to their dreams with such tenacity as at the moment when they are losing faith in them, and know it, but do not dare yet to confess it to themselves.

Rick Perry is my family. I love him.

Charan is very mature, and I see myself in him. He also gives equal importance to family, and as an actor, too, he does his job well.