Growing up in Sweden, musical education is something really special. There are music schools everywhere, and the education is very advanced.

As a kid growing up in Sweden loving American music, I always dreamt of migrating here and working with brilliant artists like Donald Glover.

Growing up, I was listening to a lot of Metallica, a lot of instrumental guitar music because I started out as a guitar player.

I was able to learn a new language - a new musical language is learning a new language, because it's so extremely different from Western classical music. African music is completely different.

Music is a job, but I figured out ways to get my mind into a place where I could be creative. I actually discovered meditation. It enabled me to clear my mind of all the drama and focus on the music.

To me history ought to be a source of pleasure. It isn't just part of our civic responsibility. To me it's an enlargement of the experience of being alive, just the way literature or art or music is.

The Dover Street Markets bring brands of all disciplines together to sell their products in an open atmosphere that, most importantly, incites creativity. They are, along with the 'Comme des Garcons' stores, usually located in areas off the beaten track.

A creative writing program is only as good as its teachers, and I was fortunate in having two great writers as mentors.