There are tough moments, but I see them happy and jovial, and I know that's the environment that speech and debate breeds. I valued my high-school experience and wanted to bring that to the kids.

Speech and debate are not just a stylistic skill. I so whole heartily believe that kids, by the time they graduate, need to be able to get up in front of a group and say something meaningful. That translates into all courses and all manners of life.

(We wanted a) normal atmosphere, a normal family environment. We wanted her speech skills.

Once you're in that mindset, when you're recording in a house as opposed to a clinical environment of a studio, you get beyond that, and you try to capture a performance more than sonic perfection, which is what we were interested in.

I've had a couple of pinch-me moments.

The way to find out about happiness is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy, when you are really happy — not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy. This requires a little bit of self-analysis. What is it that makes you happy? Stay with it, no matter what people tell you. This is what is called following your bliss.