When I was growing up, my parents would apologize when we didn't have enough money for something. I'd always tell them that it was O.K. and that I had learned to work hard because of them.

I just think it's crazy that we don't think that the youth are valid. They're the ones who really know what's going on.

My mother struggled immensely with mental illness, and so did I. She grew up bipolar, but it was never diagnosed nor recognized. It was shrugged off like a 'symptom' of being female - of her being weak. I also experienced this growing up: I felt that the great pain I experienced was a dramatisation.

Feminism is a lens I see the world through and what I believe in. I don't ever use it as a tool of promotion.

I haven't been very enthusiastic about the commercialization of children's literature. Kids should borrow books from the library and not necessarily be buying them.

Me and my family all like Shanghai, and I'm slowly getting used to the city and the atmosphere.

I grew up in Tuscany in a very poor family. My father was a farmer and my mother was a farmer, but, my childhood was very good. I am very grateful for my childhood, because it was full of gladness and good humanity.

Being in a band is like a small family. You travel together, make music, and share time with each other.