I think, to me, I always want to tell the truth. I never want to sugarcoat things. I've never been accused of pulling punches.

The truth is, through all these years of public service, the 'service' part has always come easier to me than the 'public' part.

Some people call me a moderate, some people call me a progressive. In truth, what I've worked on in the Congress and always - going to presidential campaigns - are these big, bold progressive ideas.

As a freelancer, as a writer, and running my company, people have always tried to negotiate me down. Some might think that I might accept their offers because they think I don't have many options. The truth is, I always have options available to me.

I was always told that Republicans would marginalize me, push me aside and treat me like dirt. This could not be further from the truth. I have been welcomed with open arms, and even when I have disagreed on some issues, my views have been respected.

It has never been about me. That's not the way I am. With Scotland, it has always been about the squad, the lads who were trying to get some big results to start the Euro 2020 campaign, rather than lads who were away from it, who people didn't know the truth about.

I'm used to always being different, in any context. People always want to know how I grew up, so I just say I grew up Muslim. That's the truth. Two Muslim girls can write me two extremely different letters - and they do. Some are very supportive, and some question what I do.

I like taking different elements - clothes, shoes, lighting - and creating a total transformation. But it's never about hiding: it's about drawing something out from deep inside of me that's really true. I'm always trying really hard to tell you the truth. That's what this is all about for me.

People are always asking if I was mad at Houston. Honestly, I'm not. The truth of the matter is that when I was there, I didn't perform and they actually did me a favor by cutting me loose. They could have really held me there, not let me leave, bury me in Triple-A, put me behind some prospects and I would never even play.

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