Mariah and Whitney Houston were my goddesses growing up.

My performance outfits are very Marie Antoinette, sparkly corsets... and full skirts. And then we do another look that's '50s-inspired. Poufy skirts, big bows. Very fun, girlie and young, but otherwise, when I'm not in costume, I dress really normal.

I always knew that St. Jude was an amazing organization but meeting the kids and seeing how the hospital works first hand was truly beautiful. It doesn't feel like a regular hospital all dreary and sad. It's a colorful, beautiful, comfortable, fun place to live and the energy is wonderful.

If anything, we should feel sorry for the people who want us to feel bad about ourselves, because they are the ones struggling for approval. In middle school, bullies tortured other kids because they thought it would make people like them more.

Writing, I'm convinced, should be a subversive activity - frowned on by the authorities - and not one cooed over and praised beyond common sense by some teacher.

An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.

You must have an opinion about yourself, some kind of meaning to yourself, a purpose, if you are really going to learn anything or develop into that which you desire to be.

I hated teaching Shakespeare. In order for the students to understand what was going on, you had to tell them the story of 'Macbeth' or whatever. Shakespeare is about character and language, and they didn't get any of that.