I was not particularly bright, I wasn't very athletic, I was a little too tall, odd, funny looking, I was just really weird as a kid.

I'm lucky to have been raised in the most beautiful place - Amherst, Massachusetts, state of my heart. I'm more patriotic to Massachusetts than to almost any place.

We're in an environment where everyone gets compartmentalized very quickly.

It's taken me a long time to learn to accept the risks and just be willing to try it over and over again.

Daring to me is having courage; it's a daily meditation to take breath and find strength.

I spent the first fourteen years of my life convinced that my looks were hideous. Adolescence is painful for everyone, I know, but mine was plain weird.

I certainly know I have been blessed with much more empathy than I ever knew I would feel for other people.