shailene woodley;

Shailene Woodley as Alexandra King in The Descendants

You forget that you do choose your life and there are so many things to be grateful for and I feel like society has gotten to that point where we’re always looking for the next and the better and we lose sight of what’s actually in front of us.

“People were suddenly asking me all kinds of questions. What would my next movie be? What was I wearing? Did I think I would get an Oscar nomination? I was told to start dressing more ‘cosmopolitan’ for my ‘campaign.’ I remember saying, ‘Are you telling me that if I dress a certain way, my chances are better for an Oscar? That makes me want to show up naked.’ They said, ‘Well—if you’re naked, your chances will be very good.’ ”

I have the luxury of having been an actor since I was five, so I know that nothing comes overnight and I know that you have to work really hard in order to be successful. I know if I don’t work for five or six years, maybe it will be harder to get a film, but if I’m not booking films, I will bust my ass at acting classes because if it’s something I’m still that passionate about, then why wouldn’t I want to continue to improve my craft? But if I’m being hired simply because my name is a name, that doesn’t feel good. That’s like somebody buying your painting simply because of how much they’re told it’s worth, versus actually enjoying looking at that painting and feeling inspired by it.

I don’t have a plan. I’m not strategizing my next move until a movie comes along that really fuels my soul.

“I mean, if we spent as much energy focusing on the genocide that’s going on right now in parts of Africa as we spent on that one article, think about what we could accomplish. Change is not going to come from focusing on the small things that actors say.” — Shailene Woodley

We’re like the Factionless now. We’ve left everything behind, but we found ourselves and each other. Tomorrow we may have to fight again, but for now we’ll ride the train to the end of the line. And then, we’ll jump.

What is “Bye Felicia”? That’s when, like, the girl nobody cares about leaves the room, you’re like ‘Bye Felicia.’ 

I don’t want to be just one thing. I can’t be. I want to be brave, and I want to be selfless, intelligent, and honest and kind. Well, I’m still working on kind.