“Forever, For Now” isn’t a stereotypical over-the-top love song. When Tilsen wrote it at the beginning of her current relationship, all she wanted to do was put those strong feelings into a melody.

“I wasn’t sure how long it would last or how it would go, but basically I had the concept come into my mind when I was just thinking about how when we have these strong feelings it can feel like they're going to last forever,” she said. “When you're really sad, you feel like you're going to be sad forever; like you're never going to feel good again. If you're really happy, you feel like your life is amazing. When you feel like you're falling in love with someone, it can feel like you're always going to feel this way.”

However, experiencing the feeling of falling in love can also bring the feeling of doubt. Sometimes relationships do end and moving on can be painless or painful, but that ‘for now’ feeling is what inspired Tilsen.

“It's definitely not a ‘first love’ song,” she said. “It's ‘I've been through it before’ so it has this slight cynicism to it. I hope that people can relate to that feeling of not knowing what the future holds with a new relationship, knowing that it could end but also wanting to take that risk.”

She brought the concept to a writing session and by the end of it had it completely fleshed out, minus production. The unique aspect of creating “Forever, For Now” is that she wrote it with the person the song is about. She said it was an interesting dynamic that is hard to explain, but loved the process and actually waited for months before divulging that the song was indeed about them.

Tilsen has definitely continued to finesse her writing skills as she pursues her musical journey. She always prided on being as honest as possible in her songwriting, and has become even more honest as she better understands who she is.

In addition to gearing up for an EP release in early 2022 and a to-be-determined folk pop album, she has also dove into several other projects including collaborations with Midsplit and Deep Chills.

“With the [songs] that I'm writing for other producer artists, I am maintaining my Tilsen writing style and making sure that it aligns with all my other work even if the production varies from my usual pop production,” she said. “For the pop folk album, that's going to be more divergent from the writing style that I typically have because it's going to be more storytelling. I've found it really fun to write that way, it's a new challenge.”

Between exploring new avenues and honing in on how honest her songwriting can be, Tilsen continues to bring her authentic self to each of her songs. Each one gives a new look into her mind and her heart, and brings the listener one step closer to sharing an emotional connection with the songwriter.