DOROTHY BUSH KOCH

Know thyself. Remain steadfast. Follow your dreams. These are great directives and perfectly fitting for graduates. But reality is that achieving dreams takes a solid education - education that remains elusive for too many Americans.

The traditional path to making a name for yourself in our family is running for elective office, and I couldn't do that because, for one thing, all the really good offices were taken.

Both the quantity and quality of the words children hear during their first three years of life make an enormous difference in how prepared they are to start school, and ultimately, their long-term achievement.

Access to a quality education in our country is a civil right for all Americans young and old. But to ensure it for scores of our fellow Americans, we must rethink education.

I was so fortunate to be raised in a household filled with books and - as you might imagine to be the case in the Bush home - plenty of conversation.

When I heard Jeb was running, I first thought, 'Wow, I'm not sure I could go through another campaign,' but Jeb is so smart.

No one knows exactly when I got the nickname Doro, but I've been called that as long as anyone can remember.

Our father never had to yell at us much when we were growing up. No one ever wanted to let Dad down.

It's easy to be popular when you don't make the decisions a president makes. And it's easy to be unpopular when you're the president because you're making decisions that at the time might seem unpopular; but when historians sort it out, it changes.

Doing what you thought was right for the country, rather than what was politically expedient, seems almost as quaint now as having civil disagreements with those whose viewpoints differ from your own.

Without question, my grandfather's example of public service throughout his life inspired Dad later to run for office himself. Wherever he went, whatever he did, Prescott Bush had plenty of admirers.

What Dad's taught me is that life doesn't end when you get to be in your 70s and your 80s, and he has a philosophy of life that just - 'What more can I do? How can I help?'

Reading to babies creates such a special parent-child bond and so strongly influences a child's language skills that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that doctors and nurses routinely discuss it with parents during pediatric visits.

Most people understand that the more words children are exposed to, the stronger their vocabularies will be. But fewer people are aware that the quality of the words also significantly affects brain development.

What a difficult time that must have been for my mother, only twenty-four years old, grieving for her mother, giving birth to her own daughter.

Politics lasts only so long - though today it's getting harder to tell where the campaigning stops and the governing begins.

As more time passes, people see my father for what he is - one of the last of a generation who went into government to answer a call to public service rather than to pursue a career in politics.

Life after the White House found Dad enjoying having his grandchildren around and letting go of all the enormous burden he shouldered throughout his public life.

Dad's astute knowledge of foreign policy impressed Gorbachev during the time of the Berlin Wall when Dad refused to gloat during the reunification of Germany.

By the time he arrived in Texas - via the red 1947 Studebaker Dad's parents gave him as a graduation gift - he was ready for the challenge of making his way in the oil business.

My grandfather was a popular senator, known as an advocate for fiscal responsibility, including the line-item veto for the president.

My grandfather Prescott passed down the idea that you would only run for office after you had built a financial base - then it was time to give back and go into public service.

My father has lived a remarkable life and has lived it with great humility.

One of the greatest honors in my life is serving as the sponsor of the new aircraft carrier bearing Dad's name.

I think my dad's done a great job of letting others have their turn when his term was over and not being out there grandstanding and trying to say, 'Well, this is what I think, and I need to get the news and be on the news and' - he's not like that.