Life has been very hard on me, but, at the same time, it has taught me a great deal.

I've been through a lot," . "It's been a tough journey.

You know, personal experience…you’ve got to learn to be tough, you’ve got to learn to survive.

The resilience that I had to show to learn how to walk again after my leg was amputated to then become an athlete when nobody would even have me on high school teams. So taking that resilience and turning it around and saying how can I give that resilience to other people?"

But...as bad as it was, I learned something about myself. That I could go through something like that and survive. I mean, I know it could have been worse — a lot worse — but for me, it was all I could have handled at the time. And I learned from it.

What it taught me was forgiveness. It taught me that when people present themselves in a certain way, there's probably some back story or issue or reason for the way that they are. It's not you. It's them. And a lot of times, its about something that's completely out of their control

The struggle of my life created empathy - I could relate to pain, being abandoned, having people not love me.

It's been a hard-earned journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance.

I encountered challenges that tested my resilience, but they also taught me the value of resourcefulness and the importance of giving back to the community.

I learned compassion from being discriminated against. Everything bad that's ever happened to me has taught me compassion.

I learned about the strength you can get from a close family life. I learned to keep going, even in bad times. I learned not to despair, even when my world was falling apart. I learned that there are no free lunches. And I learned the value of hard work.

I learned the value of hard work by working hard.

Life has taught me to struggle, to appreciate people not matter who they are. It doesn’t matter whether they are high up there or whether they are low down there.

Young people should also learn to endure, be patient and rugged, and be understanding.