Diversity is not just about the fact that the pictures look better. I mean, they always do look better!

My message to women - including women of color - stand strong. Refuse to be minimized or patronized. Let all the small guys out there be intimidated by you.

My message to women - including women of color - stand strong. Refuse to be minimized or patronized. Let all the small guys out there be intimidated by you.

Racism, sexism, and age-ism are all alive and well in the U.S. House.

Racism, sexism, and age-ism are all alive and well in the U.S. House.

I actually had a number of different careers. I worked on Wall Street; I was a Master's in Business. I left that to work in the public sector.

I actually had a number of different careers. I worked on Wall Street; I was a Master's in Business. I left that to work in the public sector.

I became an immigrant, civil and human rights advocate, then the first South Asian elected to the Washington State Legislature and the only woman of color in the Washington State Senate, and then was elected in 2016 to the United States Congress.

I became an immigrant, civil and human rights advocate, then the first South Asian elected to the Washington State Legislature and the only woman of color in the Washington State Senate, and then was elected in 2016 to the United States Congress.

President Trump has harnessed the fear and prejudice that have accompanied every wave of immigrants in United States history, and stoked those fears to further his own agenda.

President Trump has harnessed the fear and prejudice that have accompanied every wave of immigrants in United States history, and stoked those fears to further his own agenda.

What makes America great is our commitment to our values of inclusivity and opportunity for all.

What makes America great is our commitment to our values of inclusivity and opportunity for all.

Immigration is about more than just who comes here and who is allowed to stay. It is about who we are as a country and what we are willing to stand up for.

Immigration is about more than just who comes here and who is allowed to stay. It is about who we are as a country and what we are willing to stand up for.

I really get my best work done in the morning, so if I have to edit speeches or comments, that all happens before I get to work.

I really get my best work done in the morning, so if I have to edit speeches or comments, that all happens before I get to work.

I usually wake up really early because I keep myself on East Coast time.

I usually wake up really early because I keep myself on East Coast time.

I like to have my cup of green tea.

I like to have my cup of green tea.

I like being on a plane with no phone service because I get so much work done.

I like being on a plane with no phone service because I get so much work done.

I would attend a State of the Union by a president with whom I disagree if I felt she or he was otherwise respectful and adhered to basic moral values or basic tenets of civility and respect.

I would attend a State of the Union by a president with whom I disagree if I felt she or he was otherwise respectful and adhered to basic moral values or basic tenets of civility and respect.

Compromise for compromise sake is never good, unless it is grounded in principles.

Compromise for compromise sake is never good, unless it is grounded in principles.

I am grateful for my family, friends, and all those who send constant love and support - you are my energy and my hope. You teach me, love me even when I'm wrong, and let me ride the challenges and come out whole.

I am grateful for my family, friends, and all those who send constant love and support - you are my energy and my hope. You teach me, love me even when I'm wrong, and let me ride the challenges and come out whole.

Those who have the most power - whether famous TV anchors, rich Hollywood moguls, judges, Members of Congress, or the president of the United States - must decide how to exert that power: for corruption or for good.

Those who have the most power - whether famous TV anchors, rich Hollywood moguls, judges, Members of Congress, or the president of the United States - must decide how to exert that power: for corruption or for good.

When women are told that sexual harassment is 'part of the job' or when assistants of both sexes enable harassing behavior, they have bought into the culture that says such behavior is not just permissible, it is a desirable expression of power.

When women are told that sexual harassment is 'part of the job' or when assistants of both sexes enable harassing behavior, they have bought into the culture that says such behavior is not just permissible, it is a desirable expression of power.

Having a strong race lens means you understand racism is threaded through and institutionalized in all of our systems and our very perceptions, threaded through how someone looks at you, treats you, thinks about you and your potential.

Having a strong race lens means you understand racism is threaded through and institutionalized in all of our systems and our very perceptions, threaded through how someone looks at you, treats you, thinks about you and your potential.

Regardless of who is elected president in 2016, we all still live together. Each of us has a different role to play, but we all have to hold the collective space for movement-building together. It's the only way we move forward.

Regardless of who is elected president in 2016, we all still live together. Each of us has a different role to play, but we all have to hold the collective space for movement-building together. It's the only way we move forward.

Trump can embrace dictators and gulags, but we the people stand for human rights, for dignity, for keeping families together.

Trump can embrace dictators and gulags, but we the people stand for human rights, for dignity, for keeping families together.

I am not a woman on Monday, an immigrant on Tuesday, a worker on Wednesday, and a mom on Thursday, I am all of those things all of the time, and I am going to fight for all of those things all of the time.

I am not a woman on Monday, an immigrant on Tuesday, a worker on Wednesday, and a mom on Thursday, I am all of those things all of the time, and I am going to fight for all of those things all of the time.

I love teaching. I love working with kids... maybe some day I'll go back to the classroom. I'm not ready to say it'll never happen.

I always love it when I hear back from kids who say they discovered Percy Jackson and now wear their learning difference as a badge of honour.

I get letters from college kids who have read Percy Jackson when they were younger who tell me, 'I just passed my Classics exam.' The books are accurate enough that they can serve as a gateway to Homer and Virgil.

I think I write for reluctant readers. Of course I want everyone to enjoy my books, but if the kids in the back row who normally don't pick up a book are engaged with what I'm writing, along with the kids who are big readers anyway, then I really feel like I've done my job.

Life is only precious because it ends, kid.

I'm just a kid, Chiron," I said miserably. "What good is one lousy hero against something like Kronos?" Chiron managed a smile. '"What good is one lousy hero'? Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain said something like that to me once, just before he single-handedly changed the course of your Civil War.

I guess it wasn't everyday they see a yellow lifeboat with no engine going a hundred knots an hour, manned by three kids.

Either the kid was naturally hyper or he was hopped up on enough caffeine to give a heart attack to a water buffalo.

As he fell toward the highway, a horrible scenario flashed through his mind: his body smashing against an SUV's windshield, some annoyed commuter trying to push him off with the wipers. "Stupid 16-year-old kid falling from the sky! I'm late!