I've always been incredibly proud of both of my parents and proud of the work I had done privately as a person, professionally and academically.

For most of my life, I did deliberately lead a private life and inadvertently led a public life.

I'm sorry, I don't talk to the press. Even though I think you're cute.

I certainly believe that all of my friends should have the right, as Marc and I did, to marry their best friend. I certainly expect my straight friends to help us achieve that for all New Yorkers, for all Americans, and for the children that, at least, Marc and I hope to have someday.

I am excited to work with NBC News to continue to highlight stories of organizations and individuals who make their communities and our world healthier, more just and more humane.

We proved we could be safe and secure at home, and still have more allies and friends in the world.

My grandmother, who passed away at the beginning of November, had a core adage in her life that 'life is not about what happens to you but about what you do with what happens to you.' She recently had been cajoling me and challenging me to do more with my life. To lead more of a purposefully public life.

I'd ask myself, 'What do I think is really unjust?' That should be a starting point for how you engage with the world.

My mother has often said that the issue of women is the unfinished business of the 21st century. That is certainly true. But so, too, are the issues of LGBTQ rights the unfinished business of the 21st century.

Millennials regularly draw ire for their cell phone usage. They're mobile natives, having come of age when landlines were well on their way out and payphones had gone the way of dinosaurs. Because of their native fluency, Millennials recognize mobile phones can do a whole lot more than make calls, enable texting between friends or tweeting.

My dad had always been a big decaf coffee drinker. But my mom had always been more of a tea drinker. So I grew up around a lot of tea. And I also really love tea. But I'm not one of those people who has ever felt the need to choose between coffee and tea. I think that is a completely false dichotomy.

As a kid, I was pretty obsessed with dinosaurs and the day that my parents took me to Dinosaur National Park, I didn't think life could get any better.

I have a boyfriend and a dog, and I still haven't figured out what I want to be when I grow up.

Fried chicken is my husband's favorite food.

I want to be the best daughter and wife and friend and person I can be. And I want to help empower the people around me to be the best they can be.

What inspires me most are people who imagine and implement solutions to challenges in their own lives, in their communities, in our country and around the world.

I'm really grateful I grew up in a house in which media literacy was a survival skill.

That's who my mom is. She's a listener and a doer. She's a woman driven by compassion, by faith, by a fierce sense of justice and a heart full of love. So, this November, I'm voting for a woman who is my role model, as a mother, and as an advocate. A woman who has spent her entire life fighting for families and children.

I have never thought of my life as being an enigma.

Determination gets you a long way.

I hope telling stories though 'Making a Difference' - as in my academic work and nonprofit work - will help me to live my grandmother's adage of 'Life is not about what happens to you, but about what you do with what happens to you.'

I had seen people who had lost everything and everyone they loved to war, famine, and natural disasters.

I hope to make a positive, productive contribution, as cheesy as that may sound.

The Democratic Party takes huge amounts of cash from corporations and unions to vote a certain way.