Soap operas are like acting boot camps.

I think I am pretty resilient and resourceful.

I've done some Muay Thai training just for fun.

Being the smartest person in the room I think can be very lonely.

My family and my friends definitely keep me connected to my culture.

When I play Raven, I have to play her at the height of my intelligence.

Women have always been strong; women have been capable and able and amazing at life.

We're a much different generation now, so I think us girls can stand up for ourselves.

Cameos are fun. You get to be the new kid on a new set, in a new world with a new family.

I think, at the end of the day, that's the essence of 'The 100': 'Save your friends first.'

We need to see examples of empowerment, because when we see that... it seems like that's the norm.

The realm of 'The 100,' it's pretty complicated. I don't know. My mom never knows what's going on.

That's one thing I love about Raven, is that she's always rebuilding herself to be better and stronger.

Of course I wish for all positive reviews and all positive things, but that's not reality and no one's perfect.

I was mentored in high school through the National Hispanic Institute and I did the same for girls when I got older.

I was very green when I started on 'General Hospital' and it really challenged me. There were times I began to doubt myself a lot.

I watch a variety of shows. I love 'Veep,' 'Parks and Recreation,' 'Girls,' 'Mad Men,' 'Game of Thrones' and fun shows like 'Empire.'

Raven's always trying to do the best she can for the group. Aside from the couple of mistakes she's made, she's always been a protagonist.

'GH' became my family in a sense. I had a family and friends in the actual cast and then in real life; loved everyone on set and the crew.

There are times in my life where I'm frantic and I think to myself, 'Okay, what would Raven do now?' As dumb as that sounds, it's in my head.

When I was growing up, I wanted to see girls like me on television and in movies - strong girls who aren't crying over their relationships or whatever.

I became super stressed, depressed and miserable because I thought I was terrible at my job when I could not perform flawlessly every day, every scene.

I did a church movie one time. I think it exists somewhere that I hope to God no one ever sees. I haven't even seen it. My mom's seen it. My mom was in it.

I had a big brother so I always wanted him to hang out with me, but he wouldn't. So I always did sports and I always really liked it, but I just was never good at it.

I did meet Edward Olmos at the 'Filly Brown' premiere, but I was such a nerd. I could only muster out a really quiet 'Hi,' before I turned bright red all over. I definitely got star struck.

As cheesy as it might sound, I've got to give credit to movies like 'The Hunger Games' and 'Divergent' because they are stories written about young heroines. It's not just about super guys any more.

I always say I'm just eternally grateful for this role because Raven Reyes defies all stereotypes. It's revolutionary for a character on television, and it's also extremely creatively liberating as an artist.

I never told anyone how unhappy I was because I was also grateful I had a job versus so many people that didn't. I did not think I was allowed to be miserable, but I was overworked, sleep-deprived and just lost.

The problem with Raven is that she's so smart, so sometimes it's hard for her to be hopeful or idealistic, because she's so realistic. So even if she's working on a solution, she's not proud of it until it's concrete.

I remember I had a low point when I was working on a soap opera, 'General Hospital,' five years ago. It was my first real job, and it was so overwhelming. You would work five days a week and have to learn sometimes up to 30 pages of new dialogue a night, then have one take to shoot it all, the next day.

I found this website, The Experience Project, which has people write first-hand experiences of their life and what they went through. There would be a 75-year-old man who talked about his childhood or a 15-year-old girl who talked about what she is going through right now. It was amazing to read their personal thoughts.

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