Lea Michele Covers NYLON September 2012

With her hit show "Glee" set to return for a fourth season on September 13th, Lea Michele garnered herself a little added exposure by covering the September 2012 issue of NYLON magazine.

The 25-year-old actress was styled up in a range of Cher Horowitz-approved short plaid skirts, varsity jackets, over-the-knee socks, and nameplate necklaces for the Marvin Scott Jarrett photographed spread which was shot at Pier 59 Studios in Santa Monica, California.

Meanwhile, a few of the highlights from Miss Michele's interview are as follows. For more, be sure to pay a visit to NYLON!

On her childhood:
"I was a weird kid. I was eight years old saying, 'I don't want a day off. I'd like to work everyday, please.'"

On dealing with the paparazzi:
"I'm sorry but it's so strange. I always feel now that people only want to get the worst out of sitting and talking to me. I feel a weird thing where it's like, 'Do you just want to find out something bad?'"

On her upcoming pop album:
"I want to make songs where girls can just roll down the windows of their car or dance around in their rooms in their underwear, like, 'I hate my ex-boyfriend!' or 'I'm so in love!' because that's what I want [to hear] power-girl songs."

On all those diva rumors:
"I think I was fighting so hard to change [representations of my personality], that I was not really being myself. [But] I came to a place where I'm much happier personally in my life and because of that I really don't feel like I need to explain anything or be anything. I'm really proud of who I am."

On her relationships on and offscreen:
"We were Finn and Rachel before--I feel like they come first."

On her love affair with Glee:
"When the show first started I knew immediately that it was so special. But so much was happening for us so quickly that it was very much a whirlwind. And I don't know what happened, but when this third season finished, I fell madly in love with it again."