It was ability that mattered, not disability, which is a word I'm not crazy about using.

I guess not being able to hear just made me adventurous and daring. And in most cases, that didn't make my parents very happy with me.

I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, and in spite of what most people might have expected from a young girl growing up deaf, life for me was like one long episode of The Brady Bunch. Despite whatever barriers were in my way, I imagined myself as Marcia Brady skating down the street saying “hi” to everyone, whether they knew me or not.

I listen to Billy Joel. He is fabulous. I saw him with Elton John when they toured together, it was so great.

I have always resisted putting limitations on myself, both professionally and personally.

I was the youngest and only girl in a family of two older brothers.

It seems we're always in transition and that it's more about trends than it is about what's meaningful.