“Considering my family background, I suppose it's only fitting that my life's work is music. I come from a pretty musical family. My dad is a singer and guitar player, and while we were growing up he made it a point to teach me and my siblings how to play instruments. I eventually became a classically trained pianist. Being the lead singer and songwriter for Evanescence is an amazing experience -- it can be emotionally and physically draining. But I can't imagine doing anything else.

I love what I do and I love that I have such a huge impact with my music. I start out writing my music for me, my lyrics are about things I have experienced and want to translate into art. Knowing that it makes such a huge impact for you - my fans - is intensely rewarding. However, if there's one thing I'd like you to know about me, it's that I'm really a normal person. I'm not supernatural or anything like that. When it all comes down to it, we're all just normal people - living and being a part of each other's lives. And this applies to people with epilepsy, too. If you look at me when I'm off-stage, you can't distinguish me from any other person. The same goes for a person with epilepsy. If you look at them when they're not having a seizure, they look and act no different than you and me - and they are a part of our lives, and we a part of theirs.”