Shannon Purser

“It's always been important to me to do work that I'm proud of and be part of stories that I'm proud of, so being on a popular show was never really the goal.”

“But I've always loved the whole costuming part of acting.”

“I mean, I definitely relate to not being a part of the popular crowd.”

“The '80s weren't perfect and people made some questionable fashion choices but in terms of music and movies, it was revolutionary and wonderful.”

“I think society is so hard on young women. Growing up, the images that I saw, the standards that I had to live up to in terms of how I looked and how I fit into my social groups - it was a lot of pressure.”

“Mental health affects every aspect of your life. It's not just this neat little issue you can put into a box.”

“I love the style from the '80s, obviously some of it is a little, you know, out there.”

“I didn't get recognized a whole lot at first, but all of a sudden it just started happening. People would look at me out of the corner of their eye, deciding whether or not they were going to come up to me!”

“Some of the best relationships I had in high school were not romantic - they were with my best girlfriends.”

“I don't know why, but I'm more intimidated by sharing my singing than just performing as an actress.”

“I'm aware that I don't look like the traditional or the stereotypical type of Hollywood starlet and that is OK with me.”

“I understand that feeling of insecurity, like you're not good enough as you are, and you need to change.”

“I'm pretty introverted and I spend a lot of time in books, a lot of time thinking and by myself, because that's what I enjoy to recharge.”

“As fun as it is to be the nerdy best friend. I'm capable of more than that, and I feel that I have emotions to share, and there are roles I can add something to. I just hope there are other people who are willing to take that chance on me and let me tell their stories.”

“We're constantly bombarded with perfect airbrushed images. Every magazine you look at is like 'top 20 tricks to have the perfect body' and it's ridiculous.”

“I'm excited to see a new age of rom-coms, and especially teen romantic comedies, because when I was younger, I was watching 'Harry Potter' and 'Hunger Games' and stuff like that. I loved those movies, but they are a little bit heavy. We didn't really get to have the lighthearted love stories.”

“Specifically, my time in therapy has changed my life. It was such a relief to have a trained professional listen to my thoughts and help me positively restructure my thinking.”

“As I got into high school I sort of came into my own and gained some confidence and, luckily, wasn't really bullied by others.”

“I'm a real homebody, I don't do a whole lot.”