My mom was really vigorous about making sure that we saw things and that we questioned things. Education was so important to both of my parents.

Garner credits her parents—especially her mother—with cultivating curiosity and an active, questioning engagement with the world. “Saw things” suggests exposure to experiences beyond the routine (travel, museums, books, current events), while “questioned things” points to a household that valued critical thinking rather than passive acceptance. By emphasizing that education mattered to both parents, she frames learning as a family ethic and a form of empowerment, implying that her later confidence and public-mindedness were rooted in early encouragement to observe closely, ask why, and treat knowledge as a priority rather than a privilege.