For me, I just never put all my eggs in one basket, so to speak. I know that music and acting now are things that I want to do for the rest of my life. But, if suddenly that was to stop, I'd actually be okay. It's not the be all, end all of my life. I know who I am, outside of this, and I think that's a really big thing to have.

When I was on 'Idol' and 17, everything was so new. Everyone is so nice and wants to see you succeed.

My whole journey has been about self-acceptance.

Being on 'Idol,' you have no choice but to be an open book.

Hollywood large is so different than real-life large.

It's cool to have parents and family who will always tell me the truth no matter what. They'll tell me if I'm doing something stupid!

My goals are to tell meaningful stories through songs and touch people's lives... and hopefully make a living doing it.