Quotes from Lindsey Stirling

I think YouTube used to have a negative connotation, like it was the place where the rejects went and made careers, but I'm proud to be YouTuber. I wanted to be in that first generation of YouTube stars who transitioned into the 'real world.' It was a really good way to build my business.

YouTube is such a funny little world. You can create a fanbase.

YouTube did more for me than 'America's Got Talent.'

I was very unfamiliar with YouTube; I thought it was the place for dog and cat videos.

YouTube - holy cow! - I can do my career at my own pace. I didn't have anybody to tell me I wasn't ready, and I learned how to self-market and how to strategize. 'Spontaneous Me' had already been up on iTunes, but besides my mom and grandma, no one bought it. Once it was up on YouTube, it went crazy.

I never would've tried YouTube if I hadn't had so many doors slammed in my face.

Coming from a YouTube perspective, a lot of times you kind of limit yourself and think, 'Oh, artists from the real world wouldn't want to work with someone who's made their career on YouTube.' But more and more, I'm realizing that artists from both sides are learning that we can benefit from each other.

The truth is that several years ago, I suffered from depression. And I remember during this time, I basically fell into this hole where my life became cold, and it became gray, and I lost sight of everything that was important to me.

It was Skrillex who got me into dubstep. He made it melodic - not just a bunch of crazy sounds.

I never liked feeling like the world needed to have labels on everything, whether it's people or categories of music. I think everyone should be what they want to be, and you shouldn't have to look a certain way in order to fit this mold or that mold.

If you're public speaking, imagine yourself feeling confident; if you're nervous about a date and thinking, 'I'm gonna be a dork,' picture yourself being funny. Then it will be familiar to your brain.

Europe in general is a great place for me, but specifically Germany has been very good to me. Germans love classical music... Electronic dance music is massive over there, so I'm kind of the marriage between the two.

Sometimes, being different feels a lot like being alone. But with that being said, being true to that and being true to my standards and my way of doing things in my art and my music, everything that has made me feel very different... in the end, it has made me the happiest.

I just realized one day that I was so unhappy. And not only that, but I didn't even like the person that I was. I didn't even know who I was. And so 'Shatter Me' is about first discovering what was under the shell and then learning to love that person that was under it. And then not being afraid to break free.

It really is ironic that the saddest I'd ever been was when I had 'achieved' all the things I had wanted. I was so disgustingly thin, but I was so unhappy.

A lot of people have told me along the way that my style and the music I do... is unmarketable. But the only reason I'm successful is because I have stayed true to myself.

I still follow the lifestyle of the Mormon church. I try to go to church every Sunday even when I'm on tour. It's not only my upbringing, but it helps me stay sane. It helps me remember my purpose and the overall picture of what is important to me and what makes me happy.

I always meditate before every show. I say a prayer with my crew and my band to get in the mode, and I also stretch because it's a very athletic show. We've got to entertain; it's what we do.

I was struggling with anorexia, and one of the biggest problems with an eating disorder is you don't realize you have it. And you can't heal until you realize there's a problem.

I originally went to school to be a filmmaker. And so it's a big part of how I think and how I write. And it inspires me a lot.

I tried to work with a record label; I tried to work with a booking agency, variety shows. I went to Vegas. I just tried everything I could think of, and nothing took. No one thought there was a place for my style and my music; it was just too different.

All the things I do in my videos - the jumps, twirls and back bends - will also be onstage.

A lot of my writing comes from the themes of my life, and a lot of that stems from my faith. I also strive to be a light through which Christ can shine, whether it's through the way I dress, though my videos, or through my music.

If I like dubstep and electronic, why don't I make the violin fit me rather than making myself fit the violin?