Carolyn Chute Quotes

If I hadn't had acting, I would probably have imploded.

I think depression creates in me an urgent need to write, but I also believe that daily stress, and even the positive 'stress' of intense happiness, can compel me to express myself through the written word.

Art is a way to express yourself and through that you can escape a bad situation.

Writing is my salvation. If I didn't write, what would I do?

Generally, all my life, I have had strong friction with life - I was a problematic soldier, I was kicked out of the army, I was in fights. There was something about writing that was a way of experimenting with this emotion.

I was going mad. One day, I just started writing, and it was like therapy because I was in a position where I couldn't rage. I never expected to be a writer; it's a different world than I ever expected to be in.

I write first for myself as a therapeutic process, to get stuff out and to deal with it.

Music was a big outlet for me. Being able to play an instrument and sing was definitely a good way for me to escape things I was dealing with: family issues, growing up, being a kid and not knowing what I wanted to do with my life.

For me, music is therapeutic, so the songs that came to me the easiest came from the most devastating moments of my life.

I'm not the sad sack that people might think I am. But I think that if I didn't write and perform, I probably would be.

I started rapping because my mom died when I was about 11 years old, and I was a very rebellious kid. I've been kicked out of every school I've ever been in since 6th grade on, expelled and dropped out in the 11th grade. Music was the only thing that I could really use to express myself, so I started rapping.

I write a lot because, if I don't, I start to panic, and I calm down when I write.

I know for me, music was the best drug for anxiety. So that's why I wanted to write the music that I do, because it always suits my anxiety. It's a huge part of my life, and being able to make music that can help people with their anxiety is a huge thing for me.

If something's upsetting me, being able to go in and work on new music makes all the difference in the world.

I write instead of going to the shrink!

I think that's why I love music so much; I think if I didn't have music, I would be in a bad position.

Often, I write to feel better and to heal - to cope with things that I'm dealing with. I'm either writing to get out of a feeling or to get into the feeling, to feel it more. Usually it's the perfect remedy, but if it isn't, I focus on other parts of what I'm making that don't involve writing. If neither are working, I simply forfeit the day.

I write songs when I need to. That's how I write songs: when there's something that's bugging me. If something's troubling me, and I don't really know how to articulate it to people directly - my friends, my family, or my girlfriend - then I'll write a song about it because I know I can articulate it that way.

Music really helps - singing is huge because it releases all the endorphins and gives me a real thrill. But I still have bad days.

I reckon I'd be probably, like, in the gutter somewhere if I didn't have music.

I feel like, as a girl, I would have reacted or maybe been more depressed about some of the things that would have happened in my life if I didn't have music.

If I was a very stable person, I would not have to do comedy. Nobody would have to listen to me.

Creativity, for a lot of young people, is a coping mechanism. It's the only place they feel comfortable. It's the only time they feel like they're being heard or can make a difference, is if they can go into a room and do a drawing or go to a garage and play a song or retreat to this world.

Music became my way of processing things and a way to gain confidence.

When I was a little girl, my imagination was what helped me deal with some sort of negative elements in my childhood.