I was 16 before I met another passionate collector. One summer, I visited England; a new friend took me calling on his dotty, brilliant old aunt. She occupied a quaint house in Kent. Its walls were lined with glass-fronted cases full of what? Ancient shoe buckles.

For anybody living out their twenties, Sex and Career remain major topics: being sexy can help give you a career, and having a career can make others finally find you sexier.

I don't think anybody who has any wisdom regrets a minute of their life, as long as it takes you to the next minute, when things get a little better, and even when it doesn't.

When I grew up, there were locked cabinets in public libraries. You needed parental permission if you were under eighteen. I was let down by the overblown reputations of some hardcore fictional works.

I have been a teacher myself all my life. I have an intense passion to share with people. Our only salvation is in knowledge, in learning.

Education is a vacine for violence.

The greatest gift I've ever received is being a teacher.

Toward the end of 11th grade, my acting teacher asked me if I was thinking about going to college. I said, 'Yeah, I think so.' He said, 'You should audition to Julliard.' I was like, 'What's that?' I'm accepted to Julliard, and I realize within the first couple of weeks just how lucky I was to be in the program.