“All I ever wanted to do was write songs and get on a bus and go play them for people.”

“As a young girl, there were the obvious messages about what girls could and couldn't achieve. And to compound the limitations I felt being leveled upon me, I realized at the age of nine, that I was gay.”

“Being born in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in the very rural parts of Kansas led me to believe that everything was simple, everything made sense and that anything was possible.”

“Human beings are not designed to be alone. None of God's creatures are.”

“I came along at a time when the industry was eating its young.”

“I felt like a sinful person when I dated men and allowed them to feel for me in a way I knew I could never naturally feel for them. That felt wrong and a lie.”

“I grew up in a very modest house. We were poor-we lived on the poverty level. We all got jobs as young kids.”

“I guess we guess our way through life. How many times do we really know for sure?”

“I recruited my dad to be my bass player and fired him on several occasions. He stayed on as a bus driver.”

“I think I'm no different from any artist in music. At least once, you want to see your name up on the top.”

“I wish I had a great relationship with my mother.”

“I would like to say when I turn the project over to the label that I have been successful. And that's truly the way I feel. But, in addition to the self-pride in 'making' a good album, to be honest, I'd love to have a hit record.”

“I'd like my writing to be recognized with a Grammy.”

“If I have a hit, then I hope the people who like the hit song go out and buy my album so they can hear it all.”

“If I wanted to be a pop singer, I would have done that 20 years ago. I love country music.”

“I'm a Scorpio, and who knows if there is any validity to it, but I'm very emotional. I have high highs and low lows.”

“I'm not a Democrat, I'm not a Republican-I'm an American, I'm a human.”

“I'm very much a traditionalist, but I think it's important to know about tradition so that you can evolve the music you are deciding to make.”

“In the first decade of my life, I came to know and love God, as I was raised in a Christian home and community.”

“It's a great feeling to be recognized by your peers. It's an even better feeling to be welcomed and accepted by country radio and its listeners. If desire is any part of this equation, then I'm a contender!”

“I've learned a lot about my voice, and about things I can do with it. Maybe that's why my sound has become a little more pop.”

“I've saved every dime I've made in my life.”