One of my greatest joys is poetry. I read it almost every day, and I've even taken a stab at writing some of my own. A poem I wrote for my mother when she was dying really helped me get through that hard time.

Our mothers give us so many gifts. They give us the precious gift of life, of course, but they also leave treasured lessons that can guide us along our journeys even when they are no longer with us.

The gift my mother gave me was the gift of possibility. From an early age, she instilled in me a belief that I could do anything I wanted to do. It wasn't a matter of, 'Can I?' or 'Should I?' It was just, 'You can, you must, you will!' She wanted me to believe that anything was possible.

Women somehow get portrayed as one type. You're either a feminist or you're not. You're a working woman or you're not. I'm raising two girls, and I say to them, 'I need you to be strong and soft. You can be smart and beautiful... You can be all of these things.'

You don't wanna walk around and say, 'I'm somebody's niece, I'm somebody's cousin, I'm somebody's daughter. Who are you?' And I think that's always the challenge when you grow up in a well-known family, is ultimately, you have to face yourself in the mirror and say, 'Who are you? What have you done?'

When the world is so complicated, the simple gift of friendship is within all of our hands.

Part of what Special Olympics is trying to do is break down stereotypes that still exist for people. There is still a lot of fear.

We all know what happens to first ladies who shoot their mouths off.

At work, you're replaceable... but as a parent, you're irreplaceable.

Don't think of him as a Republican. Think of him as the man I love, and if that doesn't work, think of him as the man who can crush you.

I appreciate your support, particularly this year, for sticking with me.

I don't believe in gutter politics. I don't believe in gutter journalism.

I like cookies, any cookie you put in front of me - animal cookies, sugar cookies, anything crunchy.

I was happy being a journalist. I didn't realize losing my job, my identity went with it.

Poetry has always been made to seem kind of cultish. But the truth is, everybody really loves it! It's much more mainstream than anyone thought.

You can spend the rest of your life trying to figure out what other people expect from you, or you can make a decision to let that all go.

I decided that I was going to be the Kennedy who makes her own name and finds her own job and works like a dog. My comeuppance was when Arnold got elected - I became the Kennedy who was married to the governor.

I feel very blessed to have four brothers. My brothers always say, 'Oh, you know, we prepared you for the world of journalism. We prepared you for Arnold. We prepared you for everything.' And in a way they're right. Because you know, they take no prisoners. They were very tough.

I like to make jokes; I consider myself a funny person. I just think making jokes about people who are in a situation beyond their control is not funny to them or their families.

I lost myself in the process and I realized how much I had identified myself with Maria Shriver, newswoman. When that was gone, I had to really sit back and go, 'Well, actually, who am I today?'