I was a good student. My mom is a teacher, and her side of the family is all teachers. She put a big emphasis on getting good grades.

Music comes out of me most naturally and would be the hardest to give up forever.

Getting on stage, for me, was a huge thing when I first started. And back in high school, everyone was in rock bands and I was a singer/songwriter. It just seems kind of lame.

Education is one of the most important tools that you can give somebody.

There is also something exciting about the risk. Somewhere in me is a sadist that likes pain, I guess.

Kids think books are cool, especially when they see that people they think books are cool are reading.

It's like a dream sometimes, a song just pops into your head and you can't tell if it's something you heard or it's new and you got to write it down.