Alana Springsteen Wants to 'Get It Right' on Part One of Debut Album 'Twenty Something: Messing It Up'

"I've been on this journey of really getting to know myself. Your 20s can be an emotional rollercoaster, and I processed all of that in stages," the country singer-songwriter tells PEOPLE

Alana Springsteen isn't afraid to make a mistake.

And, for a 22-year-old woman still just beginning what is an already successful career, both literally and figuratively "messing it up" can be scary.

But Springsteen, who hails from Virginia Beach, is choosing to embrace that uncertainty and the inevitable volatility of her 20s, and she's doing so with a six-song collection that constitutes part one of her debut album.

"The past two years have been so eye-opening. I've been on this journey of really getting to know myself, and your 20s can be an emotional rollercoaster," Springsteen shares exclusively with PEOPLE. "There's a lot of things that happen. You're taking chances, really getting to know yourself for the first time. And I've just been writing my way through it."

Messing It Up, which is available everywhere now, is about "all of the missteps," says Springsteen. "We're not perfect and that's honestly OK."

Twenty Something serves as the title for the overarching album, with three parts chronicling Springsteen's journey through those years.

For the debut's debut, those mistakes Springsteen makes (and sings about) look and sound a lot like the mistakes of many twenty-somethings.

"So far I've messed it up most when it comes to matters of the heart, falling for the wrong guys, missing red flags. There's times when I'm making mistakes and feeling like I'm doing everything wrong and not trusting my gut," she reveals. "And then I have periods where I'm figuring things out, and hopefully all of that leads to moments where you're just getting it right and you're living in the moment."

Related:Alana Springsteen on Creating History of Breaking Up (Part 2): 'I Just Started Pouring My Heart Out'

As for the decision to divide the album into thirds, Springsteen says she processed everything that's happened to her in "stages. So I thought it would make sense to bring fans along that journey with me and break it down into these different parts."

Though Springsteen admits she falls for the wrong guys, heartbreak has so far served as perhaps the most powerful inspiration of all. Referencing her hit song "Me Myself and Why," Springsteen explains that she was "in the thick" of heartbreak.

To now look at the lead track on Messing It Up, called "You Don't Deserve a Country Song," Springsteen is met with a completely different version of herself — one in a "really good place" for the first time after that breakup.