Selena Gomez's life has been constantly under scrutiny ever since she started her showbiz journey at the age of seven and the former Disney star says it is strange to grow up in the public eye.
The 23-year-old singer, however, is keen to prove herself despite the constant focus on her personal life.
"I have lived some life. I now get it. My goals have surpassed me. I just want to keep striving. There have been a lot of ups and downs.
"It is really awkward growing up in front of everybody. I am just trying to figure out how to do it," Gomez said in an interview in Cancun, Mexico while promoting her latest film "Hotel Transylvania 2".
Her romance with pop star Justin Bieber was a constant fodder for paparazzi but Gomez says she does not regret it and her song 'Heart Wants What It Wants' was her way of talking about it.
"It is obvious I have been in love. I don't regret anything. I wholeheartedly loved someone and I don't regret that at all.
"The song was my way of talking about what everybody was talking about. It was not bashing. It was like 'I don't care what people say, this is what I felt, this is what I feel and this is how I am going to say it'. Then I left it alone."
Gomez says "Revival", her latest album which released last month, has been a "big goal" for her.
"This album has been a big goal of mine. I am executive producing it. I wrote more than half of the album. Now I can say 'I have been through things because when I am 15, why am I singing about heartbreak? I don't know what it is. I don't think I have even remotely felt that'. But the kind of life I have lived, I have a lot to say."
Gomez says people may find it hard to believe but nothing has come easy to her. The "Spring Breakers" star says she believes in fighting for good roles but there are days when she struggles with self-doubt.
"I go to auditions and fight for roles. I have to prove myself constantly and nothing is offered easily to me. I don't think it ever has been no matter what people say or think.
"I don't think people have seen half of what I can do but I believe in myself... Somedays I don't, I am super insecure. But I feel I haven't even scratched the surface of what I can do."
Playing Mavis in "Hotel Transylvania" has been a great experience for Gomez and the young star says there are a lot of things in her role that she identifies with in real life.
"Her dad loves her but she also kind of wants to explore, meet people and get out of her comfort zone. I think that's very much like me."
Like Mavis' father, Gomez says her parents were very protective too while she was growing up in Hollywood.
"I was not allowed to go to after parties and events. I was only allowed to do my work and go home. They were the only people in the world who would say 'no' when everyone would say 'yes' to me."
The Sony Pictures Animations' "Hotel Transylvania 2", directed by Genndy Tartakovsky and produced by Michelle Murdocca, released in India today.
