2020 has been a year of changes for everybody, and that includes celebrities. While a lot of us have adapted to the work-from-home lifestyle by now, actors are in an interesting situation, because they’re one of the groups who simply can’t do their jobs from home. Because of that, celebs who are used to spending their time on set, surrounded by people are now isolated alone in their homes.

During a recent interview for the Variety and iHeart podcast, The Big Ticket, Selena Gomez went into detail about how her time in quarantine changes her, allowing her to work through her anxiety and prioritize what really matters.

“It‘s definitely the most time I’ve spent on my own probably since I was 16,” she revealed. ”At first it was super uncomfortable, more so because of the anxiety I was carrying because of everything that is happening. I also feel like I got the opportunity to learn a lot about my country in ways that I never have before. I feel like I’ve gained a sense of knowledge and a sense of feeling good about saying what I’m saying, and I feel good about what I’m standing by, and I’m not going to let other opinions conduct what I feel personally.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Gomez touched on other parts of her life, like her new hit series, Selena + Chef.

“It was actually just during quarantine,” she said when asked how the idea for that show came about. “I had just moved into my house, and I had this dream kitchen, and I just imagined making meals and doing all of that, but then I realized I only knew how to cook like five things.”

On a more serious note, Selena revealed why it was important for her to have people like Stacey Abrams and transgender activist Raquel Willis take over her Instagram for a day.

“When all of that started happening, I felt like there wasn’t much I can say,” she explained. “I’m obviously half Mexican, and I’m from Texas, and that’s a whole other community that gets attacked, but I felt it was necessary to give my platform to someone who does have that experience. It was almost disingenuous if I post something and give the credit to so-and-so. I want people to hear it from them and from multiple categories of the industry and of the government. Honestly, it was a no-brainer for me.”

Luckily, throughout such a difficult time in our nation’s history, Selena says she still has hope for the country.

“One thousand percent — that’s something I’ll never let go of,” she replied. “My friend sent me a news story that said statistically, my generation and maybe younger has shown less interest in voting than ever. It didn’t make sense because if anything, why wouldn’t we be more motivated to do that?”