Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said all she wanted to do for most of the past week was take her dog, "curl up with a good book and never leave the house again."
Clinton made her first public appearance Wednesday night in Washington after conceding the presidential election to Republican Donald Trump a week ago.
She appeared at the Children's Defense Fund's Beat the Odds program, which honored five young people who overcame tragedy to become excellent students and are on their way to outstanding professional careers.
Clinton admitted that coming to the event "wasn't the easiest thing for me." But she said the five young men and women the fund was saluting never gave up after facing violence, poverty and abandonment.
She called the Beat the Odds event a very "poignant" night for her, noting that it was the first event she and former President Bill Clinton attended after he won the 1992 presidential election.
Children's Defense Fund President Marian Wright Edelman called the Wednesday event a "love-in" for Clinton because of her contributions to the fund and her lifelong dedication to child welfare.
Despite the outcome of last week's election, Edelman pointed out that Clinton won the popular vote and called her "the people's president."
