Growing up, I tried to be involved in school a lot, and I had good grades. I was an active kid, and I loved being social.

Growing up in Florida was really amazing. I spent most my time at the beach.

Empowering girls is extremely important to me because, growing up, I needed those empowering women to show me the way. When my parents divorced when I was 11, my mom was a force to be reckoned with. She showed me how to be self-sufficient and independent.

Growing up, my parents loved Bon Jovi and Boston and Rush and all that, but it wasn't really connecting with me. I was still in my boy-band phase - Backstreet Boys for life!

Democracy is not so much a form of government as a set of principles.

To say that most of us today are purely expansive is only another way of saying that most of us continue to be more concerned with the quantity than with the quality of our democracy.

I don't want to claim that my government can find solutions to all the problems facing the people.

Homeowners and business owners across the country agreed to pay premiums, communities agreed to adopt building codes to mitigate flood dangers, and the Federal Government agreed to provide insurance coverage to policyholders after a disaster.