You only get out what you put in. Karma – it all comes round.

Evolve or perish.

Block out the noise and trust your gut.

And now, weak, short of breath, my once-firm muscles melted away by cancer, I find my thoughts, increasingly, not on the supernatural or spiritual, but on what is meant by living a good and worthwhile life — achieving a sense of peace within oneself. I find my thoughts drifting to the Sabbath, the day of rest, the seventh day of the week, and perhaps the seventh day of one’s life as well, when one can feel that one’s work is done, and one may, in good conscience, rest.

Yes, for a lot of my life actually. It’s always been something I’ve struggled with, even now. My relationship with sleep and nighttime has affected me in so many ways, in more ways than I knew. So, I decided to write about it.

It was very challenging at first, as I came straight out of high school where my lifestyle was so different to that of a professional musician. I lived such a secluded life – I went from school to home, school to home, and never travelled anywhere. I hadn’t figured out who I was, as I hadn’t explored anything yet. To jump into the completely opposite lifestyle so quickly and so young was difficult – I was very afraid, and didn’t know how to say no.

To just chill out and not worry. Growing up, I worried about every little thing. I was like, "oh I'm not good enough, I'm not confident enough, I'm not pretty enough, I'm not this and that." I would cry about my appearance, and cry about a bunch of things that don't matter to me now. I would just say, the stuff that matters now won’t matter in a few years, and just chill out and enjoy your life.

When I walk into rooms to write, I just try to make it about enjoying it and having fun rather than thinking about it too hard… But I think it's fun and so much more rewarding when you go in with no plan and just follow your gut and it works.

It’s the world that's messed up, and it’s the world’s twisted view of what beauty should be. They need to change, it’s never you.

I started going to therapy, which has been really helpful just to get it out. Of course for me as a songwriter, writing helps.