It's interesting because what I do and what I sing is, to other people, pretty unique. I feel I'm creating my own path... and I'm working on growing as a performer.

Singing is my main goal, and I think philosophy will help me write songs.

I just sing. But I have a fun hobby: I love to do archery. I'm pretty good on target. I'm not sure about the distances - maybe only 7 or 10 feet, so far, but I've scored the bull's eye several times, but usually always hit the target.

I still have my school friends who are actually friends. It's nice that they don't think much about my singing career. They think it is cool, and they are happy for me, but they don't really bother me about it. To them, I'm still just the schoolgirl from next door.

I was born into an Irish Catholic family in the New York area in this great, wonderful, and safe country, but the Holocaust has always haunted me, and it has long stood as a stumbling block to faith. How could such a thing be? How is that consistent with the concept of a loving God?

My dad played guitar, and he taught me enough to play some Beatles' songs. But primarily, I was a bookworm. I loved reading and still do. My whole family does. It was part of the family culture. Accomplished literacy was a value.

It's so sad, actually, how teachers and parents tell their kids, 'You're never gonna be anything.'

I am writing to make sure that kids don't lose very important traits like curiosity that can drive social change because oftentimes I think parents emphasise more on doing well in school, which is important, but perhaps that sometimes comes at the cost of a child's natural curiosity.