I had a ninth grade teacher who told me I was much smarter and much better than I was allowing myself to be.

I don't think most teachers realize how much impact they have.

The high road is always respected. Honesty and integrity are always rewarded.

Without strength and courage it's really hard to perform at the highest levels of international figure skating, because you're alone on the ice and you only have seven minutes over two nights to prove yourself.

And so figure skating was a great vehicle for me to kind of be competitive at something, without having to be big.

Adversity, and perseverance and all these things can shape you. They can give you a value and a self-esteem that is priceless.

Rationality is not one of this industry's attributes.