Quotes from Clay Aiken

Well, there are certain words and emotions I don't want kids hearing, and I'm not changing because they think it's going to sell better. This is going to sound horrible, but I got 12 million votes doing what I did.

It doesn't really matter to me how I make a difference, I just wanna make sure that I do.

But I was going to be a teacher my entire life, so I wasn't counting on money to much.

My mother taught me that we all have the power to achieve our dreams. What I lacked was the courage.

And I think that when I finally decided to let go and let God and allow that to happen, I became a lot more successful than I could have done if I had planned it all myself.

I'm religious. I think this is something God had planned for me.

I like to talk. I'm a terrible dancer. I love my hometown. I have freckles and oversized ears. I'm a geeks. I have tried not to hide who I am or what matters to me.

It's a whole team of people working 24 hours around the clock to make me look like this.

I sometimes think I might be autistic because I like to know - I need to know - my beginnings and my ends. I don't have to be in control of it, but I need to know what's going on.

Well, financially it's a little bit better. But it's better than than when I was a teacher. But I kind of - it's allowed me to buy a house. And I've been able to help my mother with some stuff and my brother. So, that's nice.

I had a Spanish teacher in high school. I rarely got in trouble in her room because I felt I was disappointing her if I got a bad grade. That had more power over me than teachers who told me I talked too much. That level of respect I had for her made me not want to fail for her.

I kind of had my life planned out for me. I'd be married at some point, have, you know, 1.5 children, and be a principal possibly one day. But I think that that was kind of my problem. I allowed myself to plan out my life and didn't let provident direction guide my life.

I mean, that's kind of what this business is about in some ways. You're trying to make everybody like you. But you can't do that. You can't force everybody - anybody to like you if they're just not willing to do it.

As long as you're living right, then you don't have to worry about what people see.

I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn't raised that way, and I'm not going to raise a child to do that.

I think I probably hoped for it a little bit, but I'm not an optimist. I'm a realist... or maybe even a pessimist.

I had the greatest time on Broadway and made friends I never expected to make!

I decided to study special education and fell in love with working with individuals with autism. That's what I planned to do with my life.

I went to school for special education. I always assumed when I had the opportunity I would love to try and help kids with disabilities.

The greatest glory never comes from falling, but from rising each time you fall.

You know, I think I'm a stronger person for realizing that you can't make everybody love you.

It's not the money. It's not the fame. It's the influence.

Well, fortunately we found out that the runner-up our particular year was going to get a record contract also. So it was kind of a - it was bitter sweet but it was an opportunity.

I'm being trained to shake the bon-bon appropriately.