Ahead of her highly anticipated album, Rare [1], Selena Gomez [2] is getting candid about her personal and professional journey over the years. In a recent interview with Wall Street Journal, the 27-year-old singer [3] spoke about some of the ups and downs she's experienced in different aspects of her life. Noting that she's been single for two years, Selena shares that she's perfectly fine with her current relationship status — a sentiment she echoes in her latest singles, "Look at Her Now [4]." She also expresses gratitude for best friend Taylor Swift [5], who helped her through some of her most strenuous low points, including her battle with mental health issues and lupus. Look ahead to see some of Selena's best quotes from the interview, then read the full story [6]!

• On her love life: "I need time by myself. I love going to my room at the end of the day. Just me and my dog. I got the full granny panties situation, stretched out in my bed. I've been single for over two years now. I'm OK with that."

• On her friendship with Taylor Swift [7]: "We clicked instantly and, man, that was my girl . . . There's so much of my friendship with Taylor that people don't know about because we don't necessarily feel the need to post about everything we do. She has showed up for me in ways that I would have never expected. Flown in because I was hurt and was going through something. Stuff that was going on with my family. It's been proven year after year and in every moment of my life that she is one of my best friends in the world. We don't agree on everything, but we respect each other with everything."

• On her mental health journey: "I feel like I was supposed to go through everything I've gone through. I had low self-esteem, and that's something I work on continuously. But I feel so empowered because I've gained so much knowledge about what was going on mentally. My highs were really high, and my lows would take me out for weeks at a time. I found out I do suffer from mental health issues. And, honestly, that was such a relief. I realised that there was a way to get help and to find people that you trust. I got on the right medication, and my life has been completely changed."

• On using social media: "I took a break off Insta for a year, maybe a year and a half. I'd rather stay away from anything that's going to make me feel like sh*t. Honestly, anything in the internet world. I got back on [Instagram] because I was releasing music, but I just told my best friend Courtney [Lopez] yesterday, I'm going to have to take it off my phone again soon. They know I have an addictive personality, and it can be unhealthy."

• On her physical illnesses: "The lupus was a huge thing that happened to me, then the kidney thing happened, and that was the scariest because, yeah, you could actually die. The moment I came out (of a two-hour transplant surgery) I remember starting to shake and my mom screaming and then being put back under. That's what makes you go, 'You know what, I'm just so happy to be alive.'"

• On returning to acting: "I want to do movies so bad. I want to do TV so bad. I find that I look too young most of the time, or people can't separate the two [the real Selena from a character], which bums me out. So I continue to audition, and I just have to wait for whenever my time is."