“Being out there in the ocean, God’s creation, it’s like a gift He has given us to enjoy.”

Strive to find things to be thankful for and just look for the good in who you are!

Getting back on the surfboard after the [shark] attack was the hardest thing and I did it! After that, the hardest thing was my first competition.

Love God; love others; do your best in all you do, even if you fall short!

God has a lot more to give and to offer than the world has to give.

Love is bigger then a tsunami, stronger then any fear.

I gave my heart to Jesus when I was five-years-old and since then it’s been a special relationship. To me it’s not a religion; it’s just talking to God, reading his word, and doing my best to honor him in everything I do.

I can’t change it, That was God’s plan for my life and I’m going to go with it.

We all need that extra friend outside of our immediate family to talk about that extra stuff you wouldn’t normally talk to your parents about.

I’m actually not star-struck… I like to give people their own space and admire them from a distance.

My strength came from my relationship with Christ and from the love and encouragement of my family and friends.

I wouldn’t change what happened to me because then I wouldn’t have this chance, in front of all of you, to embrace more people than I ever could have with two arms.

I believe in Jesus Christ, and I believe He gave me the passion and determination to continue surfing. You fall off the horse, and you get back on. I had to go for it.

Life is full of what-ifs. You can’t let it hold you back. If you do, you’re not really living at all… just kind of going through the motions with no meaning

To lose your everyday life of surfing and being creative on waves, enjoying the ocean – that’s scary to me. It was essential to at least try surfing again and get out there and see how it went.

God will give us the strength to be able to handle things. I mean, you can try to do it on your own, and sometimes you can pull off some stuff, but in the long run, it’s much easier with Him by our side.

Compassion can drive us to do amazing things and give us perspective.

I discovered that He had simply given me a different voice to praise the inexhaustible beauty of the made world.

Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing, I would choose pain.

Unhappy women are given to protecting their sensitiveness by cynical gossip, by whining, by high-church and new-thought religions, or by a fog of vagueness.

As you will find in multivariable calculus, there is often a number of solutions for any given problem.

You can’t win fame; you have to earn it. If you’re given fame without working for it, then you’re not going to be ready for it.

My persona has given me a certain notoriety, if not international celebrity.

Dealing with the government does not mean you have to give a bribe.

I’m proud to be part of the Dr. Pepper Scholarship Giveaway. It’s a great program that gives me the chance to brighten the day for some lucky college students with free tuition.