When I was back in Cuba, who could have imagined I would be invited to the White House!

I try to give my kids everything I never had.

I have lots of girlfriends - all over the country! You think I'm kidding? I'm dead serious. Girlfriends everywhere.

Whether I'm single or in a relationship, I'm the same person. The same human being.

During a visit to California, when a friend of my grandmother's told my parents that I must be deaf because I was not responding to sounds, my father was absolutely convinced that I was simply being stubborn.

Parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles are made more powerful guides and rescuers by the bonds of love that are the very nature of a family.

Who I am at the core and what I think represents me is really reflected in my family.

My best friend is the most important girl, outside of family, to me. I met her when I went to college and we bonded immediately. I'd do anything for her at any time. We phone each other every day.