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I think in a lot of situations I had got songs stolen from me, or treated badly.

Over the years, music put a weapon in my hand and words in my mouth, it backed me up and shielded me, it shook me and scared me and showed me the way; music opened me up to living and being and feeling.

Music gave me something that was not only good for me - it gave me something to work on, something to be proud of and something that I really loved and have a love for - but also music was good for other people because you put joy into the world.

Music gave me a sense that I was worthwhile and that I had something of value to offer the world even though everybody was telling me that I didn't.

Music was my oxygen. It's what saved me from being a really lonely and scared teenager.

I was on a path that could've really led to disaster, and the one thing for me that really kept me focused and gave me something to believe in and a sense of self-worth and a discipline was music.

There's a point where you think, 'What else will I do if I don't do music?' It becomes your identity when it never should have been. But food ignited a fire in me, and I came right back to music because it no longer felt like a job. It was a really powerful thing for me.

I believe there are certain things that God uses to get us out of a bad situation, and I believe music was one of the things he used for me.

It took me until my teenage years to realize that I was medicating with music. I was pushing back against my stupid school uniform, instructors who called me by my last name and my classmates, who, while friendly enough, were not at all inspiring.