I was given a stethoscope in a child's 'doctor's bag' at about age six and I loved it! One could hear the heart beating through that plastic toy.

Pigeon-holes are only comfortable for pigeons.

Problems arise in that one has to find a balance between what people need from you and what you need for yourself.

I am grateful that my horizons were not narrowed at the outset.

My arias make me take off as if I were on a trampoline.

It is still more likely that a woman's power would be seen as aggression, and a man's power would be seen as assertion.

There's no anger ever in a spiritual. There's always the dream of a hope of a better day coming. That God understands the troubles that I'm experiencing.

There has never been a time when I was not committed to, involved in, or caring of, the social and political issues of my world.

One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.

I want to sing more in Spanish. I want to sing the songs of Granados; the songs of Montsalvatge. To do things that truly I've not done before.

I walk an 11-minute mile without huffing and puffing.

Balance only happens in dynamic tension. Balance is giving not equal but appropriate attention to each of the various categories of your life.

The hidden secret you are hiding is unbearable. The strength to come out is unbelievable. The joy once you come out is incredible. The relief I felt after coming out was life changing.

Shall I show you the sinews of a philosopher? What sinews are those? - A will undisappointed; evils avoided; powers daily exercised; careful resolutions; unerring decisions.

Prisons are needed only to provide the illusion that courts and police are effective. They're a kind of job insurance.

Circles in water as they wider flow The less conspicuous in their progress grow, And when at last they trench upon the shore, Distinction ceases and they're view'd no more.

The learned are seldom pretty fellows, and in many cases their appearance tends to discourage a love of study in the young.

You were born to rock, you'll never be an opera star.

It's always been a dream to have my own sunglass line and I'm so excited to be able to finally offer it to my fans!

Be a voice for the future and a voice for the planet.

P.S. You'll have to meet with Dan's principal when you get back. He got in trouble for doing ninja moves in class. Don't worry. This happens all the time.