CAROLINE KENNEDY

I feel that my father's greatest legacy was the people he inspired to get involved in public service and their communities, to join the Peace Corps, to go into space. And really that generation transformed this country in civil rights, social justice, the economy and everything.

John and I were lucky because our mother was a strong woman with high expectations and a strong sense of values. She encouraged us to pursue things we were interested in and not think about what other people wanted us to do.

It is not easy to stand up against your constituents or your friends or colleagues or your community and take a tough stand for something you believe is right. Because you always want to keep working and live to fight another battle and it might cost you your career.

I know my mother so well, so it's hard for me to remember that people have a certain image of her, but they don't really know her personality.

Well I've been writing books. So that, by its nature, is kind of a solitary occupation. And from time to time I have research help, but mostly I've done those completely on my own.

Poetry is really a way of sharing feelings and ideas.

When you're going through something, whether it's a wonderful thing like having a child or a sad thing like losing somebody, you often feel like 'Oh my God, I'm so overwhelmed; I'm dealing with this huge thing on my own.' In fact, poetry's a nice reminder that, no, everybody goes through it. These are universal experiences.

Education was the most important value in our home when I was growing up. People don't always realize that my parents shared a sense of intellectual curiosity and a love of reading and of history.

I grew up in New York, I love New York.

I have a lifelong devotion to public service.

I feel like my grandparents and parents gave me a tremendous amount. And if I can pass some of that on, then I'll be very happy.

I've been a Democrat all my life.

Many people remember that spirit that President Kennedy summoned forth. Many people look to me as somebody who embodies that sense of possibility.

I'm not as shy as everybody makes me out to be.

I know how important it is to, you know, to be my own person.

The biggest problem is people are afraid of poetry, think they can't understand it or that it will be boring.

Going into politics is something people have asked me about forever.

One of the greatest gifts my brother and I received from my mother was her love of literature and language. With their boundless energy, libraries open the door to these worlds and so many others. I urge young and old alike to embrace all that libraries have to offer.

There's so much to think about when you're becoming an adult, and there's so many great poems about that apprehension and excitement.

Sharing the holiday with other people, and feeling that you're giving of yourself, gets you past all the commercialism.

There are many ways to serve.

I think that the presidency really brings out the best in a lot of people.

I've raised three kids. I'm a lawyer. I've written books on the Constitution.

Now more than ever, I have learned that, when people die, they truly do live throughout those who love them.

When you make the right decision, it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks.