Time & Perspective Quote by Marlee Matlin

There is a quiet flex tucked inside Matlin's shrug. "Who knows?" reads like modesty, but it doubles as a rebuke to the culture that keeps demanding an explanatory essay from disabled artists: prove the origin story, translate the difference, make it legible. She offers possibility instead of pathology. Sign "made me more in tune with my body" reframes communication as choreography, not deficit - a reminder that language is physical, and that Deaf culture often lives in motion, timing, and spatial intelligence.

The line also smuggles in a theory of performance that sounds obvious until you remember how rarely it gets credited to Deaf performers. If your primary language is embodied, the stage isn't just a platform for attention; it's a natural extension of how you already speak. Matlin's phrasing lets desire lead: "I just know..". is certainty without permission, the kind that matters when access is treated like a favor. She doesn't say she wanted to "overcome" anything. She wanted to belong somewhere that finally matched her mode of expression.

Context matters: Matlin came of age in an industry built around voice, where Deafness is often cast as plot device or inspiration porn. Her impulse toward the stage isn't sentimental; it's strategic. The quote insists that art can come from lived technique, not tragedy, and that the body isn't a barrier to performance - it's the instrument.