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 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.

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 started acting when I was 5, and it was always a part of my life. My life and acting weren't separate things; they were always one.

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.

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.