1. She values health for health’s sake, not for beauty’s sake.

“Women in particular need to keep an eye on their physical and mental health, because if we’re scurrying to and from appointments and errands, we don’t have a lot of time to take care of ourselves. We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.”

2. She believes in the importance of identity.

“One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don’t invest any energy in them, because I know who I am.”

3. She understands the difficulty inherent in being a working mother…

“The work-life balance is a harsh reality for so many women, who are forced every day to make impossible choices. Do they take their kids to the doctor…and risk getting fired? Do they work weekends so they can afford to send their kids to better childcare…even though it means even less time with their families? Do they take another shift at work, so they can pay for piano lessons for their kids…even though it means they have to stop volunteering for the PTA? It just shouldn’t be this difficult to raise healthy families.”

4. …and what that “personal is political” phrase is all about.

“Policies that support families aren’t political issues.  They’re personal.  They’re the causes I carry with me every single day.”

5. She’s realistic about activism.

“When you’re really trying to make serious change, you don’t want people to get caught up in emotion because change isn’t emotion.  It’s real work and organization and strategy… that’s just the truth of it.  I mean, you pull people in with inspiration, but then you have to roll up your sleeves and you’ve got to make sacrifices and you have got to have structure.”

6. She admires and respects her daughters.

“…that they’re so steady. And that they’re kind—to each other, and to other children. It’s important to me that they have empathy. I want them to be able to think, “Well, I could see how that person feels and why that would hurt.” And to make decisions not just based on their own needs but on what’s going on around them.”

7. She has hope for our nation.

“I’m more optimistic. More hopeful. It comes from traveling all over America and connecting with so many different people. And this was long before anyone thought Barack had a chance. This was the kindness of strangers. I think we should all have to get to know one another around kitchen tables. It changed me. It’s helped me to give other people the benefit of the doubt.”

8. She sees how Americans have more in common than we tend to admit.

“I saw our shared values. We fundamentally want the same things for ourselves and for each other. We want our kids to be safe and to grow up with some resources and aspire to a slightly better life than ours. No one’s looking for a handout. People just want fairness and opportunity.”

9. She knows the importance of the multiple roles women hold…

“Work-family balance isn’t just a policy conversation; it’s about changing the expectations of who we have to be as women and parents.”

10. …and she knows how difficult juggling these roles can be.

“Up until this point, as a woman, I’ve been told, “You can have it all, and you should be able to manage it all.” And I’ve been losing my mind trying to live up to that. And it’s impossible. It’s impossible. We’re putting women and families in a no-win situation.”

Quotes from here, here, here, here, here, and here.