I never saved my money. Whenever I worked in the past, I would spend it on my family or my husbands.

Money to me is just the biggest blessing in the world that allows me freedom.

I'm not obsessed by how I look or with being reed thin, but I do think that as a woman in my 50s, I have 40 years ahead. Looking after yourself goes hand in hand with looking good.

I wanted to be able to go shopping without people looking to see if I really was one of the world's 10 most beautiful women. I longed to be myself.

I actually happened to be in Haiti right before the earthquake in 2010. I was there already with the organization I work with now, Artists for Peace and Justice, visiting the primary school that I had adopted, the Academy for Peace and Justice in Port-au-Prince. I came back, and within days, the earthquake happened.

Like the old soldier of the ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Goodbye.

For me to be creative, I have to have peace.

Before the Civil War, Canada was at the top of the underground railroad. If you made it into Canada, you were safe unless someone came and hauled you back. That was also true during the Vietnam War for draft resisters.