When I was growing up in Pennsylvania, auditioning for Broadway was my dream.

I think there's something so attractive about mystery.

Even if something really hurt you, if it made you feel something it was worth it.

I'm very aware and very conscious of the path I chose in life, and very aware of the path I didn't choose.

I think who you are in school really sticks with you.

I think I first realized I wanted to be in country music and be an artist when I was 10. And I started dragging my parents to festivals, and fairs, and karaoke contests, and I did that for about a year before I came to Nashville for the first time. I was 11 and I had this demo CD of me singing Dixie Chicks and Leanne Rimes songs.

We don't wish for the easy stuff. We wish for big things. Things that are ambitious, out of reach.