My mom once teased me about my table manners, saying, "What if the Queen showed up for dinner?" We were living in Italy in the 80s, so talk of the royal family was common. That memory got me thinking about what shaped me. Growing up with both Catholic and Baptist influences didn't exactly jive with the nihilistic and chaotic reality of day-to-day living, fueling my writing with frustration and anger. Comforts are nice, but can stifle creativity and don’t encourage the artist to, as 311 put it, "Come Original." The battle with inner doubts rages on; ego, fear, they’re paper tigers.