Teenagers have a legitimate voice. We deserve to have a seat at the table and a place in the conversation. We're not exempt from politics and social movements; we're affected by them.
People used to always talk down to me, like, "Oh, you're so young," but now I recognize that my age is an advantage; there's a lot more I can do.
I think teenagers just want a place to feel safe and understood and heard, while also understanding that it's really scary right now in the world. We don't want to be told, "It's all going to be okay." We want to talk honestly about what's happening and what we can do.
In my work, I'm passionate about trying different things and being okay if I mess up. Now I'm trying to bring that into my own life.
It's really scary, when you're on the verge of becoming a teenager, and you don't know if people like you for you or if they like you for the show you're on. So I started finding friends who were not that way, who are accepting and see you who you are.
I genuinely love to be by myself, but at the same time, it's such a relief to know that I have another person's head who I can go into and whose life I can live. It's kind of an escape route, almost like therapy. It's refreshing to know that I can go back to a place where I don't have to be myself.
I think just all girls are my mentors. I feel like I've learned everything I know from just being around other women and learning from them.
I put a lot of pressure on myself early in my life, like, "You have to be perfect; you can't do anything." You basically can't show any emotion and speak up. And then I realized that I have to live my life for myself.
There is just something that people taught me in general for self-care, would just be to spend some time alone and to protect yourself. Learning to say no is something that helps in that, and what you're comfortable with and what you're not comfortable with, and finding the line. That's it. Otherwise it's just going to be really hard.
I was really scared that other girls hated me, that I wasn't pretty enough or cool enough or I didn't have enough Instagram followers or whatever. Finding female friendship was such a monumental point in my life. And I never want somebody to feel like they have to re-evaluate themselves to join my friends or to join any friend-group.
An 11 year old sister has been taught by the media that her body is an object, will be compared to other bodies, and that it holds more significance than her mind or talent. This should not be the first thing she learns. This should not be her first social experience.
The biggest piece of advice I would give to other women and girls is that it's really hard, and I feel like we're promised in like these phrases like, "Never give up," and stuff like that, it's going to be easier if you just listen to them. In my experience, and I think the experience of my friends and other women around me, it's a lot - you have to do a lot for yourself because the world isn't as friendly to women and girls as it should be, and it's not as helpful as it should be.
It was nice to be reminded of how much hard work goes into movies, and how as a director, it's your job to acknowledge and channel that hard work. She's amazing at that.
I think something that I've learned from other actresses is to really take the time to get to know yourself, especially because I think that your sense of self is easy to lose when you're playing other people.
That the things that have impacted me most are not news articles written by older people that I would have no relation to; the things that impact me most are things written by people closer to my age. And I wanted to write things in a way where somebody my age could read it and feel like they are holding somebody's hand and be with somebody.
I think as more people get more aware, people get more defensive. And when I say that, I mean people who are more privileged, like men. People will think that by pointing out patriarchy and an oppression, that means that all men are horrible people, and they'll write that on social media, and I think that's something that's increased.
I have so many different role models who have taught me so many different things at so many different points in my life, it doesn't feel like I have one person that I have to live up to.
The friendship that you create between you and a mom - or you and an older woman figure - is so important and so influential. I think that my relationship with my sister, my relationship with my best friends - when I'm feeling really terrible about myself, they're always there to let me know that I am being dramatic about something, or I'm being stupid about something - it's good to have those kinds of people to drag you back down and protect you.
I've loved movies since I could remember. They were literally the most significant thing in my life as a kid. I'm really lucky that I've felt so inspired by them; they're such a good format to tell a story.
I understand Twitter much more than I understand Tumblr.
I would consider myself American in the way of what the actual idea that's in the Constitution is, not the way that it's performed: All men are created equal, freedom for all, that's something that I obviously believe in. I don't consider myself American because I'm not sure if those are the values that we actually prioritize as much as we need to, but I consider myself American if you look at the Constitution.
Some of you guys are sitting down, some of you guys are standing up. But if you really take a moment and you go inside your body, you can feel your weight against the earth, and you can recognize that you're the only person who's feeling your own weight against the earth right now.
There are definitely things about acting that have helped me growing up and finding myself, but there are also things that make it a bit more difficult. I guess I do allow myself to explore more when I know that, at the end of the day, if I really wanted to, I could just play a different person all day and be fine with that.
The Catcher in the Rye had such a deep impact on me, because it felt like it was just Holden and me. I didn't feel like any other person had read that book. It felt like my secret. Writing that I identify with feels like it's just me and the writer. So I hope that whoever is reading what I do feels like that.
There's this whole debate about whether being PC is just being like political or whether it's just being a good person, and I feel like that's something that people need to take into consideration because, you know, people are like, "Oh PC culture is ruining America." It's being a good person. If you're offended when people are not, you know, sexist or racist, then you're a part of the problem.
