How Loren Gray Learned That Her Opinions Matter and She Doesn't Need Anyone to Feel 'Whole' (Exclusive)

Gray's debut album Guilty is out now

The only thing Loren Gray is "Guilty" of is showing her fans who she really is.

The social media personality released her highly anticipated debut album Guilty on Friday. In light of the release, Gray spoke to PEOPLE about how the record symbolizes growth and healing.

"I feel like the story [behind Guilty] was me coming into my own and using music as this therapeutic tool to get my thoughts out. I'm a person who has a hard time expressing my emotions and my communication skills are typically very poor," Gray, 21, tells PEOPLE exclusively. "Ask any of my ex-boyfriends."

Throughout its creation, Gray was able to process several different aspects of her life. In "Never Be Perfect," she realized that she's "not always the best person to be with or the easiest person to be."

"I have a tendency to push people away," she admits. "[I also confronted] this side of me that doesn't always want to get out of bed in the morning and doesn't want to be Loren Gray every day."

Related:TikTok Star Loren Gray, 18, Opens Up About Being Sexually Assaulted at Age 12

On the flip side, she also wanted to include songs like "Told You So" and "Takes 2" for an empowering moment to jam out to with her friends.

"This was the first time that I've really felt free with my friends writing a song. I wanted to have songs that would be fun to listen to," she says. "I do a lot of karaoke. Every party I've ever thrown at my house, there was karaoke and everyone has to participate. So I wanted to have those moments too."

Guilty was a pandemic project that Gray started writing at 18 years old. Looking back, the biggest thing she learned in the process is that she is "good enough."

"I started being very self-critical. I've always been that way, but it was heightened during that time. And also learning that I don't need anyone to be whole," she says. "I feel like I was always looking for a boyfriend or someone to cling to, and I had a hard time standing on my own two feet. I feel like I've sort of come into my own in the sense that I don't feel like I need anyone to be Loren anymore. Loren can stand on her own. Loren can fend for herself. Loren has gotten herself this far."

Gray released her first single titled "My Story" in 2018. Now, following the release of her debut album, she reflected on how far she's come since then.

"Loren in 2018 releasing 'My Story' cried the night that song came out, I hated it. And looking back, it's cute. I was young, I was 16, I was new," she remembers. "Even though there wasn't really a place for me at the time to have an opinion because those opinions weren't heard, I wish I would have known that I was deserving enough and also smart enough."

"I felt like a lot of times when I was sitting in rooms with people, I was made to feel really dumb, and my opinions didn't matter. And what I was saying was worthless, but I knew what I was talking about," she continued.

As an OG content creator, Gray knows what she wants and stands for — and she's ready to share that side of herself with her listeners.

"I've been on social media for how long now? Seven years going on eight years. And people have always gotten to see my life play out very publicly," she says. "But so often I feel like the truth and the feelings that you feel when all of these things are happening sort of fly under the radar. I want people to be able to connect to me on that level."

Guilty is out now.

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Read the original article on People.