Growing up, I'd just be at home, playing tennis, spending my allowance on an ice-cream truck.

Tennis has been around for so long - women have been playing the majors since the 1800s. Other sports have not had professional leagues for women for as long.

Tennis is definitely a star for women in sports.

Women's tennis has been around for a very long time - we're talking about the 1800s. But women's soccer hasn't had such a long history, so now they're right at the beginning of really trying to make things equal. We need to continue not only to advocate for women but to have men advocating for women.

All my friends were liberals and I grew up in a really liberal family.

My family background is Mexican, and I was born in Chicago. It's pretty much family tradition every time we get together for Christmas and major holidays to sing. Our family time is centered around the food and a little bit of performing for one another.

If you look at the British royal family and take away the scandals and the goofy stuff that's going on, people love to have this king to look up to - the royals are like celebrities.

Solitude is very important in my work as a mode of inspiration, but isolation is not good in this respect. I am not writing poetry about isolation.