"Granddad smiled at me before he said anything. It was a smile he gave when he was worried about disappointing me. "It's going to be hard," he said. "It's expensive. You might not come back for a long, long time." I nodded and took that in. I knew my mom had always worked hard for everything we had, and that Granddad and Mema helped us out, too. And I knew soon I'd be working at something. But I was determined I'd get back there before long. And, man, when I finally did, it was even better than I could have ever dreamed. But that was the amazing thing about my family: Even when something seemed kind of far-off, and maybe impossible, they always let me know it might be hard to get there, it might take work, but I should always dare to dream. And so now that it's paying off, I feel like all of this is for them as much as it is for me. It makes everything that's happened even better."

“I didn't take any of the social stuff at school that seriously. My main way of dealing with it was this: I was really quiet in school. I sat in the back and watched everyone and didn't say much. But for some reason, the kind of kids who care about being popular in high school are never content to let you do your own thing. As I got older, some kids still gave me a hard time about the way I dressed and the fact that I wasn't obsessed with the rodeo and country music like everyone else was. The one good thing I can say about this time is that it made me get clear on something: Either they were right or I was right. And I knew they weren't right. I knew there was a whole world out there, with all different kinds of music and people, and I knew I was going to get out of this small town someday and join it. And when I did, I was never going to look down on anyone. I was going to let everyone be who they wanted to be and not worry about it. I'd be too busy enjoying my life.”

“Everyone in my family was so amazing and supportive. Granddad and Mema let us move back in with them so Mom wouldn't have to worry about a mortgage payment or rent and our other expenses would be minimal. Their house was nice, but it was a little cramped with all of us there. Mom and I kept our clothes in big plastic bins in our bedrooms because we didn't have a lot of space. I knew what a big deal it was, what my mom and my grandparents were doing for me, and I felt so lucky to have them.”

“There were some dark days in school. Some people still made fun of me for my videos. I tried to hold on to the positive feedback, but sometimes it was impossible not to let the negative stuff get to me. Maybe they're right, I thought, when I heard some dudes talking about me. Maybe I am stupid for putting myself on YouTube. But luckily, there was something inside of me that wouldn't let me believe that. People are going to give their opinions about you, I thought. Some people are going to make fun of you, no matter what. So you might as well do whatever you want and enjoy it. So that's what I did.”

“I was really starting to think of myself as a singer. People who watched my videos treated me like one. They weren't just telling me they liked my singing. They were also giving me tips about what I should sing and how I should use my voice, you know, trying to help me out. It was cool. I realized something was happening. Maybe I can take this further, I thought. So I really dialed in, knowing if I kept working hard at it, and practiced and trained, that I would keep getting better and better.”

“I decided I wanted to finish high school from my room at my grandparents' house. I didn't care about going to football games. I didn't care about going to prom. I liked singing and wanted to concentrate on it more. I know that getting an education is important, and I felt that being homeschooled would give me more flexibility to concentrate on music. I knew what I wanted to do with my life. Of course, this was a big decision. My mom literally cried about it for weeks because she was so worried about whether or not I had the discipline to do all the work basically on my own, and whether she had the dedication to be my teacher. Finally, she sat me down for another one of our serious conversations. "I've been agonizing over this decision," she said. "I know it's the right thing to do." "It'll be fine, Mom," I said. "It'll be great.”

“There was one place I really wanted to go, more than any other: New York City. Maybe it was from watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV for all those years, or because I knew so much amazing music and culture and food came out of there, but that was always it for me, and I just had to see it for myself someday. Finally, in the summer of 2010, my granddad took me on a trip to NYC, just me and him. We had a great time. We walked around, checking out everything, got some classic New York City hot dogs from a street vendor, and saw the Statue of Liberty. Best of all, we spent time with my mom's first cousin Mac Demy. He's a real musician with a small studio in his apartment and an album available on iTunes. I was immediately into learning everything about his musical career. It was like this whole new world opened up for me, and I wanted to find a way to join it. He even said I should write a few songs and come back and record them the next summer. The whole time I was there, I had so much energy. It was like the best place in the world, and I wanted more and more. "I love New York," I told Granddad. "I want to come back again.”