...because a life without meaning, without drive or focus, without dreams or goals, isn't a life worth living.

It doesn't matter how greatly you've been hurt or how much you're hurting, it's what you do with the pain that counts. You could cry for years or you could choose to learn and grow from it.

...because a life without meaning, without drive or focus, without dreams or goals, isn't a life worth living.

I kind of did this thing in high school, a spoof of 'Sweeney Todd' called 'Shirley Todd,' and I had a great time doing that.

Don't be afraid to be human - you're human, you're going to have emotional days. You're going to have days when things suck and then some days when things are great, but don't feel guilty because you're experiencing that. Don't feel guilty from being human.

You'd think after thousands of years on this planet the human race would have released some kind of handbook for teenagers, telling them how to get through teenagehood and get help for their issues. Yet here we are, struggling through it in our own ways.

In what grade do we stop believing in ourselves? I asked. In what grade do we stop believing, period? I mean, SOMEONE has to be a Nobel Peace Prize winner. SOMEONE has to be a ballerina. Why not us?