"I am a New Yorker, and 7:00 A.M. is a civilized hour to finish the day, not to start it." — Sonia Sotomayor

The truth is that since childhood I had cultivated an existential independence. It came from perceiving the adults around me as unreliable, and without it I felt I wouldn't have survived. I cared deeply for everyone in my family, but in the end I depended on myself.