I always had music growing up, but music was also like a journal. It was like my personal diary or personal journal. A lot of the things I couldn't express to an individual, I would express them in my music.

Coming up in the streets, I had to learn how to read people early on. I'm a very analytical person. I observe a lot of the things that people don't notice.

I always knew who I was, and I always ran from my true purpose... I know what my job is. And I always ran from it.

True wealth is not of the pocket, but of the heart and of the mind.

We need to focus on issues where we all agree, which is spending discipline and control and making sure that government, both in Springfield and in Washington, doesn't take more from your family budget.

When you're confined to a hospital bed, there aren't many appointments you can make. You await visits from friends and family members. You enjoy the coconut ice cream they smuggle in. You tolerate the erratic and invasive visits of doctors and nurses, hoping that one of them will bring you closer to going home.

You get your heart stomped by the opposite sex, and you're hurting so badly that you write 'Sometimes When We Touch.' But then what happens when you've been married for 25 years? You can't rely on those emotional male-female roller coasters. You have to start using your imagination and the powers of empathy more.

Honestly, I had no idea I was different from other kids until I started kindergarten. To my family, I was just Lizzie.