Lesson on the Playground

What was that experience like for little Nikki Haley? What did it do to you emotionally? How did it shape you? You know, I think everybody has a story and I don't run from my story. I'm very proud and thankful for the way I was raised because that is how you become who you are. And we were, you know, the only Indian family in a small rural town in South Carolina. I always tell people we weren't white enough to be white. We weren't black enough to be black. They didn't know who we were, what we were, or why we were there. And I would get teased on the playground. And I remember when I would come home, my mom would always say, your job is not to show them how you're different. Your job is to show them how you're similar. And it's amazing how that lesson on the playground has played throughout my life, whether it was in the corporate world, whether it was as governor or ambassador, or even candidate for president. When you face a challenge, if you first talk with people about what you have in common, people let their guard down, and then you can start focusing on the solution. And so, you know, while it was hard growing up, you know, those same people who didn't understand anything about our family, they grew to accept us. And, you know, once they accepted us, then they started to show us, you know, what a neighborhood and a community is. And, you know, that same area and that same state elected me as their governor. So it goes to show the progress that we are seeing in this country, that, yes, we're always gonna have challenges, but look at the blessings of how far we continue to come and how much progress we continue to make. And I think that's the part is you have to embrace people and embrace their differences. And then, but I don't think you ever have to complain about the situation you're in. I think you have to find your way to make it a positive.