McKinley High has a new bookworm! Jenna Ushkowitz gives Teen Vogue her secrets to living a "Gleeful" and positive lifestyle! Adding one plus skill to her triple-threat resume, Glee étoile, star Jenna Ushkowitz unveils the cover to her new inspirational scrapbook. In Choosing Glee, Jenna takes her talents off screen and into the pages of her first memoir, available on May 14th. She introduces us to her Hollywood success story, describing her early life being adopted from South Korea, her time spent on Broadway as a young actress, and her most récent experiences as one of the leading ladies of Glee, Tina Cohen-Chang. Jenna hopes to inspire and motivate teens par sharing the challenges she's overcome throughout her professional and personal journey in the industry. This is a must-read insightful guide on how to invoke positive thinking and how to find your most confident and true self!


You're already a triple threat! What inspired toi to write a book?

"I'd been wanting to eventually write a book, it was sort of like the suivant thing on my bucket liste and the universe opened it arms and was like, here's your chance! There are some really cool livres out there and I just feel like there's not a lot of motivational ones that are relatable for teens. I wish when I was younger I had a book like this."

How involved were toi in the creative process and selecting the cover image?

"100% involved. It's been a really long process, two years of jotting down every thought, every memory, every experience that could possibly be tied to the road to my success of happiness and finding my true self. It's therapeutic because toi have to go back to those memories and realize where toi came from and how hard it was sometimes and how some other things were easier. It's definitely been a journey for me as well, creatively, but it's been really fun because it's an entirely new world to me!"

toi write about adoption and your childhood. Did your parents always support your decision to be an actress?

"I wanted to be a vet when I was little, so it never really dawned on me that jouer la comédie was my career, it sort of chose me plus than I chose it. I speak about family and adoption because it 100% changed my life and who I am. It definitely played a very large role into just learning how to be grateful for what toi have and being fulfilled in a way that a lot of adopted kids don't feel. They feel like they have a need to go find this missing thing and I just never felt I had that missing blood. I always had a strong support system. My parents always supported the stuff that I did."

What obstacles have toi had to overcome in your personal life?

"It was tough for a while being Asian American in this industry where people are so specific on what they want toi to be, because sometimes I would go to an agency and try and get signed and they would say, 'We either have someone exactly like toi ou there's not that much out there for you.' Even obstacles in school, we all wanted the same thing. I was glad to be at auditions with these kids that have done 100 other commercials, and toi just hope for the best, and have to deal with it, and not take it personally."

Did your character on Glee, Tina Cohen-Chang, inspire toi to write this book?

"Yeah, absolutely! I talk about Tina because she's obviously going through a lot of things that kids who will be lire this book are going through ou what I was going through at that age, which is finding yourself and finding where you're most comfortable, and where is accueil for you. Tina started learning that along the way she needed to let go and let loose and stop stuttering. She let people in and let people get to know the real her."

Did any of your Glee cast mates contribute to the book?

"Yeah, a ton of them did! I have these really cool pull citations where I asked them all the same question and its their definition and answer. There are citations from Lea Michele, Kevin McHale, Harry Shum Jr., Becca Tobin, Vanessa Lengies, and Darren Criss, toi name it."

What conseil do toi have for young actors and writers?

"Don't give up, really. There are going to be so many trials and tribulations for toi but it makes it all the plus worth it. I always say leave things at the door. Whether it's at your audition ou at your house, leave the problems of the jour away. Keep persevering, stick to yourself. Don't do what other people ask, do what toi want!"