Yara Shahidi

Gender is a spectrum.

I'm double majoring in social studies - which is sociology, anthropology, economics, and philosophy - and African-American studies.

Fashion is one of those places in which, when you're wearing something that feels like a representation of you, it does create, in a matter of speaking, a space for you to exist. Even if it's just in a two-inch radius of where you are. It's a walking, personalized area in which you can live.

L.A. is great, but it's a completely different beast. I go back to Minnesota, and I borrow a bike from my neighbor and go around Lake Harriet saying 'Hi' to people. Some of that is missing in L.A.

I feel comfortable putting my political stances out there without feeling as though I am filling some sort of quota. I don't have a wokeness quota for the day.

When you are in the public eye as a person of color, you are given very little room to mess up.

If you look at the history of art and fashion, it's always been political. It's always been pushing boundaries.

I go on and off home-school and regular school, but the kids don't treat me any differently because they've all known me forever.

Never jeopardize who you are for a role. Now, I'm not saying you should never change for a role, because the fun of being different characters is adapting different nuances and different parts of the character, but never jeopardize your moral compass or anything like that to have a role.

I'm louder and bigger with my curls. There's power in that. Also, straight hair is kind of annoying. It gets caught in my collar.

Quite honestly, I'm the kind of person to get my feelings hurt over something somebody said on Twitter.

I really love hip hop. My cousin Nas came out with an album 'Life Is Good,' and I love that album, but I also love Maroon 5.