I got to express myself in a whole new way as a different person on camera, in a different way as an actress, and I loved it.

I write about what's on my mind. It's like a stress reliever.

I didn't realize when I first started writing how much it would set me free from certain situations in my life. It's incredible.

I had bulimia for a few years. I was really sick. I don't know that person; I can't believe that was me.

I try to remind myself of the things that I like about myself that make me who I am.

It's all about, no matter where you come from, that you can be who you want to be and achieve what you want to achieve. I want people to learn to love who they are. Because that's the hardest thing in life, being able to see yourself the way other people see you.

I wrote 'Road Less Traveled' to make myself feel better and process what I was going through.

I really feel like I found myself, and when I found myself, I found the music along with it.

I'm a huge country music fan, and there are so many girls that I look up to, especially Carrie Underwood, which everyone knows because I've shouted it out for a while now.

I'm not fake, and I don't want to mislead people about who I am. I can be serious, too, and I cry a lot. It's just who I am.

I won't change who I am for anything.

I love acting. I want to act as much as I can without interfering with the music.

Honestly, I never thought I would ever tell anyone that I had an eating disorder. It was my deepest, darkest secret.

There were blogs that called me Miss Piggy. It's a really hard thing to see as a teenager, especially when you already have problems. Reading what people had to say about me online definitely made it worse. People can be vicious.

I had really bad polyps on my vocal cords, and I've had them since I was a kid, but the bulimia made it 10 times worse. They were bleeding constantly, and it was straining on my voice. And just the lack of nutrition - my vocal cords couldn't keep up because I was so unhealthy.

I've never acted, but I'm an entertainer. So I kind of used what I know from being onstage. I've done a thousand and two interviews, and I've been on camera a million times, so I'm not uncomfortable on camera, but it was interesting for me to be someone else.

'Pretty' is not the amount of makeup on your face or the shirt you're wearing or the size of your pants - that is false.

For whatever reason, people just like to come out and say whatever they want to say about you when you're on TV.

When I first heard my song 'Georgia Peaches' on the radio, I opened up the car windows and started screaming to the other people on the road, 'My song's on the radio!' Of course, I wasn't driving.

I think we're all insecure about something, but there's a way to deal with those emotions healthily by seeking professional help earlier on.

My mom quit her whole life and came to live with me in California.

I keep the people who I know love me really close.

I don't let people say mean things to me! I don't surround myself with people who'd want to do that.

I've always dreamed of doing a music video.

I don't mind if people say I was on 'American Idol,' because I was, and that is a part of my past, and I'm super proud of it, but I don't want that to be all there is to me.

I was 15 on American Idol, and everybody had something to say. It was like I had my really awkward phase on national television, you know?

I want that to be my overall message - that we just need to love each other. We need to love other more.

No matter where you're from, what you've done, who you are, what your family's done, it's like, you cannot be healthy without love.

I don't think that anyone was trying to keep me from writing the first album. It's just when you're on 'American Idol' or a TV show like that, you wanna capitalize on that momentum, and you want to use that to your advantage, obviously, so the best way to do that is to get the music out as fast as possible. And there's no time to create, really.

I just feel like in society and in public, we have this unspoken expectation that we're all trying to meet. And there's so much pressure to try to fit in.

People always ask me who my role models are and who I want to be like, and I don't wanna be like anybody; I wanna be me. I look up to a lot of people, and they have had great influences on me, but I wanna be original and different.

Self-confidence is something I've always lacked in. But finally, at some point, I just decided to be honest.

We all have our things that we go through, and I wanted to be an artist that people could listen to and feel like they're not alone. I want to be empowering.

People would say to me, 'Who do you want to be as an artist?' And I would just look at them because I didn't know.

I got really tired of fighting who I am, and I did that for a really long time; I was trying to be this perfect girl, perfect family, perfect body, and those people aren't real.

My mom married a family friend, and my dad married someone that's eight years older than me, so it was just like, these - like, I literally live a country song, so I had to write one.

I like any song that can tell a story that people can relate to.

My mom would walk through a fire pit for me, and I'd do the same for her.

My first kiss was in 7th grade. It grossed me out. I kind of freaked out!

Some people are willing to betray years of friendship just to get a little bit of the spotlight.

I think a good friend, to me, is all about trust and loyalty. You don't ever want to second-guess whether you can tell your friend something.

There is never just one thing that leads to success for anyone. I feel it always a combination of passion, dedication, hard work, and being in the right place at the right time.

People are just obsessed with other people's lives. I don't know whether it's kind of a way to escape their own, or something to follow... I really couldn't tell you.

Imperfection is relatable.

I'm not a sexy person. I'm OK with it. I've never been the sexy girl. Whenever I've had a boyfriend, he's always been like, 'Oh, you're cute.'

Blogging is a great way to show your talents and interests to prospective employers, while adding an edge to your resume. If you blog consistently it shows your dedication, passions and creativity - all of which are key attributes employers look for in job candidates.

None of my friends call me L.C. That was just a high school nickname, and nobody refers to me like that anymore.

I'm sure a lot of people don't take me seriously.

Listen to advice from people who have been there and done that. It is so hard to believe that when you are young, but parents, mentors, teachers, they can all be so valuable when it comes to advice.

It's very hard to lose someone who's the closest person to you in your life.