By the time I was 14 and had started high school, I was a midwestern teenager living the life of a workaholic New Yorker. Going to school from 7-3 didn’t cut it for me. I had to be in every club and organization. Choir, drama club, key club…you name it. I had to be physically active. I had to have a social life — with 18 year olds who had cars and stayed out late. I had to be active in my church, leading youth group and attending services three times a week. And more importantly, I had to pursue my songwriting and music career, which kept me out way past bedtime at bars for shows and open mics.

I was getting by on around 4 or 5 hours a sleep a night and I was doing it without caffeine. I had straight A’s and…a lot of my friends openly hated this about me. I was a nonstop go-getter, over-achieving on minimal sleep before I even had my driver’s license. When I was 16, I launched my own handbag line and my shows became more steady. By the time I was 17, I had a serious boyfriend to throw into the mix as well as a ‘real’ job, a position running the choir, and college application stress. Yet, I was still going strong, riding on an ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead‘ slogan. Read More »