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in this regard!
    8. OPEN-MINDEDNESS AND FLEXIBILITY: Unless you’re an acting/directing/producing single-man show, you need to be able to take direction and orders from others. Sometimes they know best (see number 4).
    9. SUPPORT: This is a tough but wonderful business that would likely feel completely overwhelming without the support of family and friends. Don’t forget about them while you’re pursuing your dreams!
    10. PASSION: Hopefully, your career will be your career for a long time. If you don’t love it, it’s probably not worth pursuing, and it probably won’t be sustainable.

CH 3
    SELF-CARE 101
“You think beautiful girls are going to stay in style forever? I should say not! Any minute now they’re going to be out! Finished! Then it’ll be my turn!”
—FANNY BRICE, FUNNY GIRL

M y job requires a huge amount of energy—much like any career that involves being “on.” As you can imagine, playing a character like Rachel Berry is no joke. In order to show up to work refreshed and rested so that I can act my heart out, it’s imperative that I capitalize on my downtime and do things for myself that feel energizing and indulgent. Like most actresses, I spend a lot of time in the hair and makeup chair getting prepped for on-camera work, but while getting primped by the pros seems like a wonderful luxury, it’s not the same as a great at-home spa session. Maybe it’s because I spend so much time at the hands of others, but I’ll take self-pampering over a trip to a fancy spa any day.
    I think this is in part because when I whip up a face masque in the kitchen or put something restorative on my hair before I sit down to watch TV, I’m literally taking care of myself—and psychically, that’s how I prepare myself to tackle long days on set and in the studio. Sure, I’m not as qualified as a professional aesthetician, but I would still argue that we can take better care of ourselves than anyone else. Plus, it’s a lot less expensive than booking a massage at a spa. I really prize this time both for my sanity and also for my health.
    Beyond this ritual’s therapeutic effects, I just cannot neglect my skin. I’ve been on Accutane twice. In fact, you know those kids who become nearly suicidal about their acne? I’ve walked that fine line. It was impossible at times to look beyond my pimple-ridden skin or to imagine a time when I wouldn’t have to spackle my face just to leave my bedroom. Hilariously, I thought I had picked up a great concealing trick from Sex and the City , when Carrie uses a black eyeliner to turn a zit into a beauty mark. Brilliant, except my skin was so bad I needed about sixteen beauty marks. I went out with my girlfriends with black dots all over my face thinking I had the world fooled. They took one look at me and asked, “What … did you do to your face?”
    It took years—and a truly excellent dermatologist—to get my skin to a point where it has calmed down. Knowing how it’s capable of behaving, and having gone through what I’ve gone through, I now give my skin the best care possible. I use good products, I keep regular appointments with my dermatologist, and since I spend a majority of my days in heavy stage makeup (and a seemingly equal number of nights on the road), whenever I can, I give my skin a vacation. Plus, it’s nice to remember what I actually look like, which can be difficult when I spend so much of each day looking at myself through an inch of foundation.
    Back when I didn’t have any money, buying products to test-drive at home was really hard on my wallet—these days, I can thankfully afford the skin care I really need, but I still like to add some home-brewed, all-natural concoctions to the mix. Whenever I opt to stay in, I catch up with my mom or my friends on the phone while lathering on pimple cream and applying all sorts of restorative gunk to my hair. That’s what alone time is for!
    And I don’t need an entire evening alone to pamper myself,