Mendes: "It took living alone for me to really get to know myself."

Mendes: "I feel like I know I have enough friends who support me through those times. Like, I'll call a friend and be like, 'I really don't feel good about what I ate today,' and she'll be like, 'Dude, it's fine.'"

Mendes: "I spent a lot of my childhood moving around, so I was constantly adjusting to different environments and finding a new identity."

Mendes: "I connect with my culture through my family. I speak Portuguese to my parents so that I can practice. I stay engaged with my extended family through a lively group chat on WhatsApp. That sense of community and family is the heart of Brazilian culture, and staying engaged with my family is what keeps me connected."

Mendes: "It's easy to think you have to fit some kind of mold."

Mendes: "My hair has always been a definitive part of my personal style, so I love being part of a campaign that celebrates hair as a form of expression."

Mendes: "I'm American; I was born and raised in America, and I don't want to fake who I am to fit a stereotype."

Mendes: "In high school, I always had boyfriends - it wasn't healthy! I was so used to having someone around that when I was finally on my own, it felt scary."

Mendes: "When I go to Brazil, I feel like an American, and in the U.S., I always notice the traits that make me Brazilian."

Mendes: "It was tragic every single time my mom told me we were moving. I would always envy my friends who had grown up in the same house their entire life, and they had markings on the wall of 'me at five years old' and all that. It made me so sad. I wished I'd had that."

Mendes: "A good listener goes a long way."

Mendes: "It's fine to eat dessert when I want to eat dessert because that will give me the peace of mind I need. I'll know that if I ate chocolate cake, maybe I won't the next day."

Mendes: "Everyone's bodies are different, and we all have different shapes, but it has nothing to do with who you are."

Mendes: "Bullies have a soft spot, and mean girls have a reason to be that way. It's a matter of understanding why a person is the way they are."

Mendes: "I've learned to trust myself that I'm going to make healthy choices because I care about my health."

Mendes: "Because I get my hair styled in so many different ways, when I get the chance to be natural and just me as a person and not an actress, I like to have a stable, consistent look that reminds me that I'm me."

Mendes: "My perfect day would be spent poolside with some friends."

Mendes: "If I were to be a role model, it would just come out of going the college route, getting training, and trusting that's the most secure path you can take - a path where a degree is involved. You know you went to college, and you have that under your belt."

Mendes: "I like communicating and being open and committing. That, for me, has always been something that I like to do."