My mom always told me that if you work hard, you can achieve anything. And it's true. It's one of the truest things ever.

I don't regret what I've been through. I've had ups and downs, super highs and some really low lows. I've been so blessed that I could never say, "I wish this didn't happen." It's part of who I am. There's nothing in my life that's so ugh.

And I never ask what I'm doing the next day. I don't want to know what I'm doing tomorrow. It's much too overwhelming. So I just go day by day, without knowing.

Getting to play the part of Selena was life-changing for me, i got to immerse myself in her life, got to know her family, her home, her culture ... every part of her story. It was a special time in my life both professionally and personally. Playing her not only opened doors for me in the film world, but it inspired me to start my own music career. In a lot of ways, I wouldn't be where I am today if I hadn't had that experience.

I love improv-ing, you know, from very early on when I started acting the school that I went to and everything was very big on ad-libbing and improv-ing and messing things up, so I feel very comfortable doing stuff like that.

You have to remember the value of your individuality - that you have something special and different to offer that nobody else can.

I think everything needs to be played real, for reality's sake, for truth. And that is the drama and the comedy. When you do that, it's funnier. And when you do that, you really do hit the emotional beats. I do it the same way as I do a drama. I just play it for truth, and then maybe have a little bit of fun with it sometimes.