U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor was given a list soon after being diagnosed at age 7 with clinical diabetes. It was a list of things she could do and a list of things she never could.

An avid Nancy Drew reader at the time, she was devastated to find “police officer” was not in her future, as she had visions of being a detective one day. But her interest in Perry Mason a few years later reminded her of an occupation that was on her approved list: a lawyer.