Jewel

“I think when kids just see well-crafted poetry, it's just obtuse to them. It's hard to relate to.”

“Well in case you failed to notice,In case you failed to see,This is my heart bleeding before you,This is me down on my kneesThese foolish games are tearing me apartYour thoughtless words are breaking my heartYou're breaking my heart”

“I developed a loyal following. No one knew I was homeless.”

“My innocence is not lost—it has been converted into wisdom. The sensation we call "breaking" is the pain that comes from resisting the truth. Life broke parts of me that needed to fall away for me to live an open and truthful life.”

“I love being in a band.”

“I've always had a love for poetry and when I got signed to a record label I thought, 'How odd that I'm doing a record before a book of poetry,'”

“I find you get out of people what you put into them.”

“I moved out of home when I was 15.”

“Some of my favorite poets had a tremendous sense of whimsy, so it's a writing style I guess I admire.”

“Being idolized and being torn down felt oddly similar. They both made me feel alone.Friendship and trust should be earned, and when you're famous, people seem to want to give them to you whether you've earned them or not, and it felt dishonest to me. Fame was not real. It was all a projection—fame made me a blank canvas that people projected their love, lust, troubles, self-worth, and desire upon. Fame and power do not change us, they amplify us.”

“My fans get passionate about certain songs.”

“I would love to write more children's books. There is such a high standard out there for children's books; there are really amazing writers. It is a fantastic creative outlet and such an amazing teaching tool. The thing I love about kids, too, is it is so imaginative and poetic.”

“We must all work together to end youth homelessness in America.”

“I get bored very easily. I have a voracious appetite and I do not feel alive if I'm repeating something I'm good at. So I'm always looking for new challenges.”

“My second record I used a producer, which was frustrating in a way, because I think a lot of the punky spirit and provocative nature of the lyrics didn't come across - the music was pretty.”

“Being part of the natural world reminds me that innocence isn't ever lost completely; we just need to maintain our goodness to regain it.”

“I don't exist without writing.”

“You have to know what you want to ever be able to have it.”

“Like every girl, I felt amazing pressure to look like the popular girls, but no one told me the popular girls were all air brushed in magazines.”

“I was raised really poor and so was my husband.”