My dad is adorably optimistic, positive, pie-in-the-sky. He thinks every new song I write is my best. He sells T-shirts at my merchandise stands and hands out guitar picks to fans.

All of my songs are autobiographical.

Guarding your heart and protecting your dignity are a little bit more important than clarifying the emotions of someone who's only texting you back three words. I've learned that from trying to figure out people who don't deserve to be figured out. When someone seems mysterious, we like to romanticize that he's "deep" or "complicated." But a lot of the time, things are exactly as they seem....

People are going to judge you anyway, so you might as well do what you want.

People don't take you seriously if you scream, if you raise your voice, especially when you're a 19-year-old girl.

Songs for me are like a message in a bottle. You send them out to the world, and maybe the person who you feel that way about will hear about it someday.

I've stopped reading the comments below news articles and on gossip blogs because those are the ones that'll ruin your day in a second.