They always say that the more personal a story is, the more universal it is – and in a way, I think that's why storytellers find a need to tell their stories. It's a chance to connect with people, to air the inner workings of one's mind.

"The Innocence Got Old" is about truth seeking and regret. It's about wanting to keep a part of you that's pure and innocent in order to live freely, but realizing that masking truth and hiding from hard realities can be more damaging than protecting.

When I first played this song for a friend, it was without any background. I feel that when you release a song, it's not supposed to be about you, it's supposed to be about the person who's listening. My friend immediately interpreted the song as a political piece. I like that. I think it's timely now especially. Let's not play the fool anymore, says the song. Let's be real here – we're not talking around sh*t anymore – I want to know what's the truth before I lose everything. I can see how this song feels political, because I definitely identify with that these days with the 2012 election upcoming.

But that's not what the song was originally about: My best friend from childhood got addicted to drugs when we became teenagers. I knew this, but we kept on like it was just a phase. Things like that, in suburbia, don't seem to have repercussions. We were in a beautiful, conservative beach town where everyone had a glazed smile. It was a waxy existence and we had no interest in turning rocks over to see the scum that lived under them.

It was the 90's, and we were into grunge music, metal, and punk. We were angry and felt guilty for being angry because our lives on the surface were shiny and perfect. We just wanted to be kids, but the problems we faced made us feel like we weren't kids. We felt bad about this. I feel this is common of girls today. Girls today feel conflicted about growing up and don't know how to talk to each other about personal issues. We are supposed to be innocent and golden and pure, and it's bullsh*t.

"If I could have…" – runs through my mind every day. I miss my friend more than anything. She died when we were 21 from a drug overdose. I stopped talking to her right before then in order to live my life away from drugs and drama. I was immersing myself in school as an escape and living in New York City. We had grown up together from preschool, and she was my best friend and like a sister to me.

Losing her, I lost everything. She was the only person I have endless childhood memories with and she is gone now. The innocence got old. It was a charade. We knew it. I live differently now. Seek the truth. You aren't too pure to handle it. It's the purest thing you can do.