Well, fortunately we found out that the runner-up our particular year was going to get a record contract also. So it was kind of a - it was bitter sweet but it was an opportunity.

I know that I've got big ears and a big forehead and that my hair sticks up, but I'm happy with myself. I'm not necessarily trying to win a beauty pageant here.

I decided to study special education and fell in love with working with individuals with autism. That's what I planned to do with my life.

The message I'll share...is that inclusion is extremely important for kids with and without disabilities.

A song can be more than words and music ... when sung with soul a song carries you to another world, to a place where no matter how much pain you feel, you are never alone.

I like to talk. I'm a terrible dancer. I love my hometown. I have freckles and oversized ears. I'm a geeks. I have tried not to hide who I am or what matters to me.

It doesn't really matter to me how I make a difference, I just wanna make sure that I do.

I know this is going to sound cheesy and like I'm trying to be Miss America, but the most important responsibility a celebrity has is to set an example and be a role model.

And I think that when I finally decided to let go and let God and allow that to happen, I became a lot more successful than I could have done if I had planned it all myself.

I went to school for special education. I always assumed when I had the opportunity I would love to try and help kids with disabilities.

In my ideal world, no child would suffer. Charitable instincts would prevail. There would be global acceptance of all different types of people.

Hope is a bird that sings the songs of possibilities from the deepness of the heart.

Failure is a great teacher

Trying to win a power struggle is like trying to win a nuclear war. You may achieve your goal, but not without catastrophic casualties on both sides.

A camel is a horse designed by a committee.

Discipleship is the process of becoming who Jesus would be if he were you.

Love is a place & through this place of love move (with brightness of peace) all places yes is a world & in this world of yes live (skillfully curled) all worlds

My standup persona is like I'll heighten things, but I'm observing the world as it is in sort of a heightened emotional state.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

We need to stop spending so much of our time trying to make the right decisions and instead start spending our time making decisions and then making them right.

This body is the seat of all good and bad.