I bring the experiences of women. As a daughter, as a mother, as a wife, as a sister. That is who I am. Those experiences are part of me. And it is part of our American journey that we have moved through so much of what used to hold people back because of gender, because of race.
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've never thought that being Scottish should mean there was any kind of barrier to me getting where I wanted to go, and I still feel like I can keep improving.
Women feel empowered when they can do the things that are supposed to be only for men, you know? It breaks boundaries, it's liberating, and it's empowering when you feel like, 'Well, I can do that, too.'
The best role is something that's challenging. Fun is great, but when it's challenging, you get to overcome barriers, and when you see the finished product, it's very rewarding.
You have a 12-foot fence. You know what'll happen? Thirteen foot ladders.
Disability should not be considered a hindrance to achieving one's goals.
Brooks too wide for our leaping, hedges far to high. Loads too heavy for our moving, burdens too cumbersome for us to bear. Distances far beyond our journeying. The horse gave us mastery.
Being deaf or having any disability is not tragic. But the stereotypes about it are tragic.
The theme that runs through my movies is the fact that we create barriers for ourselves....because we say, Well, I can't do that. But in the end, you can't do it unless you can imagine yourself succeeding at it.
I believe that as long as a single man may try, any unjustifiable barrier against his efforts is a barrier against mankind.
I remember my daughter Deni coming along, and she was so pure and caring of everybody and everything. And somehow, this little being managed to get around all the obstacles - the gun turrets, the walls, the moats, the sentries - that were wrapped around my heart. My heart at that time needed her.
Civil Rights opened the windows. When you open the windows, it does not mean that everybody will get through. We must create our own opportunities.
If I can do a romantic comedy with women, that's Everest to me.
Obstacles are found everywhere, and in overcoming them we nourish ourselves.
There are people I would like to work with. It's a bit harder, because I live out in the sticks anyway, and plus being in a wheelchair means that I can't really circulate. So I tend to stick to my own thing.
Everyone has obstacles to overcome, but those with great faith can conquer whatever stands in the way.
the most important thing one can do for children is not accept the limitations they are so willing to impose on themselves.
What I wanted to do [in Allied] was get two characters who fall in love for real, across the barricade, and then it transcends the war.
I am truly humbled. Not only that I am going to be known as the final Top Model but as a final Top Model who is deaf! And that is an amazing tagline. This proves that deaf people can do anything and everything.
Imagination gives the man the ability to poject himself through time and space and rise above all limitations.
It's really important to have life strategies and part of that is sort of knowing where you want to go so you can have a map that helps you to get there. And the traditional way tells us oh we get into school and someone else advises us, helps us, but that often does not work for African Americans female and male. Because what works for the dominant culture often does not work for us.
I'm satisfied with what I've done. I'm not satisfied with what has happened in my career, some of the real roadblocks I had to overcome.
I want to be a great role model to let the kids, especially black kids, that it's possible to make it in this sport. I think we, as a black community, quit playing the game because we think it's a white man's sport. Or we think that since other black people don't play it, so why should I play it.
People with disabilities have abilities too and that is what this course is all about - making sure those abilities blossom and shine so that all the dreams you have can come true.
