I went to a girls' school, and it was awful. The combination of my teenage anger and their jealousy meant I was always getting into fights. There was a lot of pulling of hair and scratching of faces and rolling around on the floor.

I am inspired by anything beautiful. Sometime it's a pair of eyes or flowing gorgeous hair, other times it's the sky or a sunset. I've been inspired by supple skin or the texture of a soft shirt.

I have started my own foundation. It's called Follow Your Art. It's at its infancy but my goal is to mentor teenage girls through one of the most difficult times in their lives.

My first job was a McDonald's commercial. It made me want to wake up at 4 A.M. to do something I loved. I haven't been the same since.

I've always felt as much outside the Jewish experience as in it. It astonished my family that I wrote about things Jewish.

In our family, we've always been owned by border collies, or dogs of one kind or another, and have rescued many dogs. We've lived in the woods and sometimes have had as many as 70 sled dogs. Or had six or seven dogs living in the house. Dogs have saved my life on more than one occasion - and I mean that literally.

It would be ridiculous for me to say I am unlucky, but, like any other family and any other girl, I've had my ups and downs.

Being an American is a state of mind, and to be in a family is to feel the power of belonging, the power of your roots. Family is a tree, the strength of a tree, the roots, the leaves, the past and the present, the future, the fruits, the seeds.