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For many of us who were born and raised in this country, including me, it's sometimes easy to forget how special America really is.

I was always told I was special. And I was also assured that I had a gift and a purpose.

My family's story isn't special. What's special is the America that makes our story possible. Ours is a nation like no other, a place where great journeys can be made in a single generation. No matter who you are or where you come from, the path is always forward.

My father was an artist. When life was harder and he couldn't get jobs, he painted houses, but he was artistic. When I went to see his work, it was special. Somewhere along the line, I felt I was special. I didn't know why.

My family do not think I'm special - not one, one bit.

What has always made our country special is that it doesn't matter where you come from; it matters where you're going. Our job is to make certain the pathways are open to both our boys and our girls.

What makes America special is that people come here, assimilate and become American with all of the rights and responsibilities citizenship bestows.

It is my belief that we all have the need to feel special. It is this need that can bring out the best in us, yet the worst in us.

America is truly special because it's founded on an idea. It's the ideological and philosophical equivalent of a formless God, in other words, you know? It's, again, the only great country in the world that it is formed out of words.