Tulsi Gabbard

I...

At a really young age, I experienced two very formative things.

One was, and the most important, was that I felt that I was happiest when I was doing things for other people.

and trying to be of service.

And, you know, whether it was like, you know, our family used to go and like make a bunch of plates and feed homeless people in the park every Sunday.

You know, I grew up around the ocean and learned how to, like the first time I learned how to swim was in Ala Moana Beach on the island of Oahu.

And so me and my friends would go and we'd pick up trash off the beach on the weekends.

You know, something as simple or little as like help pushing someone else into a wave in the surf and just watching the joy on their face.

It made me happy when I could do things for other people.

And I knew from a relatively young age that I wanted to do that with my life, to be of service to God and to be of service to others.

Not once did the thought of politics cross my mind.

I am the fourth of five kids and by far of the five kids in our family.

an introvert and shy, using the word shy puts it mildly.

My younger, I just was like, I don't wanna talk to strangers.

Answering the phone at our house was like, no, I don't know who's gonna be on the other line.

I don't wanna talk to them.

my sister, total extrovert, younger sister, I would make her, like mom says, hey, did you guys go to the grocery store and pick up some milk or whatever?

And I would just make her go talk to the clerk.

I just was like, I had my friends and I'm good.

And so the idea of, you know, I hated cameras.