“The rest of the world looks at you and sees who you are. They see you are a multi-ethnic group of Americans that are, in fact, together and united into one so — resolve: to defend your country and to help those who need help. That’s why you’re here.”

“Surround yourself with people who make you happy. People who make you laugh, who help you when you’re in need. People who genuinely care. They are the ones worth keeping in your life. Everyone else is just passing through”

“And it is you, the young people of Europe, young people like Laura, who will help decide which way the currents of our history will flow. Do not think for a moment that your own freedom, your own prosperity, that your own moral imagination is bound by the limits of your community, your ethnicity, or even your country. You’re bigger than that. You can help us to choose a better history. That’s what Europe tells us. That’s what the American experience is all about.”

“… It is not healing to see your childhood home, but it helps you measure whether you are broken, and how and why, assuming you want to know.”

“If you want to see the brave, look at those who can forgive. If you want to see the heroic, look at those who can love in return for hatred.”

“People should never think that you have to be a very special person to help those who need you.”

“Be helpful. When you see a person without a smile, give him one of yours. ~”

“I see. Is Jim with you now?”
“Yes, he is. We’re having rough sex. You’re interrupting.
“What are you doing here?”
“Looking for Jim in your bed.”
“He isn’t here.”
“I see that.”

“If you respect yourself in stressful situations, it will help you see the positive … It will help you see the message in the mess.”

“When you grow up in that (multi-ethnic) environment, you see the world differently. Being a mixed-race child, I didn't always see colour in people, I really didn't. It was other people that made me see the colour all the time.”