In high school, I was friends with everybody. I had my core group of friends, but I could flow through different social groups pretty easily.
Camila Mendes
It took living alone for me to really get to know myself.
I love bossa nova. It's the most beautiful genre of music in the world.
I'm American; I was born and raised in America, and I don't want to fake who I am to fit a stereotype.
It's fine to eat dessert when I want to eat dessert because that will give me the peace of mind I need. I'll know that if I ate chocolate cake, maybe I won't the next day.
I connect with my culture through my family. I speak Portuguese to my parents so that I can practice. I stay engaged with my extended family through a lively group chat on WhatsApp. That sense of community and family is the heart of Brazilian culture, and staying engaged with my family is what keeps me connected.
I grew up watching 'Gossip Girl' and 'The O.C.,' and I looked up to Blair Waldorf and Summer Roberts.
I know what it's like to be the new girl.
I like communicating and being open and committing. That, for me, has always been something that I like to do.
For me, being an 'American Latina' means identifying with and being influenced by both my American upbringing and my Latin heritage, and I have so much appreciation for how those two cultures have created who I am.
I was really obsessed with dieting.
I use my hair as a tool for portraying characters. When I'm auditioning for a role, when I'm putting myself on tape for something, I always consider what the hairstyle is going to be because it changes the way people perceive me.
People know what I look like. I take photos on my own, and I don't edit them, so people know.
My hair has always been a definitive part of my personal style, so I love being part of a campaign that celebrates hair as a form of expression.
Vancouver is more laid-back, pretty much what you would expect from a West Coast city. Miami is definitely livelier - the nightlife, the people, everything. It's basically a little slice of Latin America.
If I could go back to before I started 'Riverdale,' I would tell myself to speak up when I felt like something wasn't right - to use my voice and know that it's worth hearing.
I think from going to fittings once a week and having to look in the mirror for two hours, I feel like I built a intuition for what's gonna work and what isn't, and I noticed how important tailoring is, especially being a more petite body type.
Everyone's bodies are different, and we all have different shapes, but it has nothing to do with who you are.
A good listener goes a long way.
When I go to Brazil, I feel like an American, and in the U.S., I always notice the traits that make me Brazilian.
I've learned to trust myself that I'm going to make healthy choices because I care about my health.
Bullies have a soft spot, and mean girls have a reason to be that way. It's a matter of understanding why a person is the way they are.
I spent a lot of my adolescence in Miami, where it was super humid, and my hair would get super frizzy, and my waves weren't really consistent or pretty.
If you're going to become a better person, do it in high school.
My sister would write plays, and I would act in them and perform them for my parents. They were on the comedy side, very much inspired by 'The Amanda Show.'
At an early age, somehow we're programmed to view other females as threats.
In high school, I always had boyfriends - it wasn't healthy! I was so used to having someone around that when I was finally on my own, it felt scary.
I've always struggled with having frizzy hair, and it doesn't really cooperate the way I want it to.
Miami can be super-kitschy at times, and it's fun to embrace that.
I have so much appreciation for how those two cultures have created who I am. I'm a full-blooded Brazilian, with an entire extended family of Brazilians, but I was born and raised in the U.S.
I've always looked up to Nicole Kidman. I think she's an elegant and talented actress. You can tell how much she commits to her characters, and I admire that.
I feel like I know I have enough friends who support me through those times. Like, I'll call a friend and be like, 'I really don't feel good about what I ate today,' and she'll be like, 'Dude, it's fine.'
Because I get my hair styled in so many different ways, when I get the chance to be natural and just me as a person and not an actress, I like to have a stable, consistent look that reminds me that I'm me.
I spent a lot of my childhood moving around, so I was constantly adjusting to different environments and finding a new identity.
My perfect day would be spent poolside with some friends.
I often hear things like, 'You don't look Latina enough,' and that mentality is so backwards. The fact is, I am Latina, so how are you going to tell me that I don't look Latina?
It's rare that you see Latin families being portrayed as intelligent, sophisticated, and powerful entities.
It's easy to think you have to fit some kind of mold.
I rewatched 'The O.C.,' like, seven times!
I'm a Brazilian - full blood, parents born and raised, and I lived there for a little bit - but I didn't grow up there.
Invest in a trainer. You see the progress so quickly, and you push yourself in new ways.
If I were to be a role model, it would just come out of going the college route, getting training, and trusting that's the most secure path you can take - a path where a degree is involved. You know you went to college, and you have that under your belt.
I'm not more Brazilian than I am American or vice-versa - I'm very much a combination of all of those things.
In any job you do, you're going to have off days.
Rachel Bilson, Nicole Richie, Vanessa Hudgens... so many of my idols growing up were Bongo girls.
It was tragic every single time my mom told me we were moving. I would always envy my friends who had grown up in the same house their entire life, and they had markings on the wall of 'me at five years old' and all that. It made me so sad. I wished I'd had that.
