"Sometimes, it's just easier to say yes to that extra snack or dessert, because frankly, it is exhausting to keep saying no. It's exhausting to plead with our kids to eat just one more bite of vegetables."

"At the end of the day, when it comes time to make that decision, as president, all you have to guide you are your values, and your vision, and the life experiences that make you who you are."

"Clearly this is a tough economic time, and a lot of families are hurting. So when we talk to parents, we talk about small changes for kids and things that don't cost extra money. Like adding water and eliminating sugary drinks and sodas. That's going to save money right there. Or adding a few more vegetables."

"My experiences at Princeton have made me far more aware of my 'blackness' than ever before. I have found that at Princeton, no matter how liberal and open-minded some of my white professors and classmates try to be toward me, I sometimes feel like a visitor on campus; as if I really don't belong."

"There are many ways to be free. One of them is to transcend reality by imagination, as I try to do."

"Fortitude is the quiet voice at eventide saying: I will try once more tomorrow — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"My top priority for 2012 will be to make a renewed push for women's economic empowerment and political participation."

"It is a subtle truth that the distance between ambition and reality is bridged solely by consistent effort."