Quotes About Influence

For me, it's important to be the representation that I wanted when I was a young girl.

Often, when people ask me what I read as a young girl, I lie. Or, I should say, I lie by omission. I tell them about my brilliant fourth-grade teacher, Miss Artis, who assigned us 'Johnny Tremain' and 'Where the Red Fern Grows' and 'Tuck Everlasting,' all books that made an impression on me. And people nod in approval.

As a young girl, I remember singing CeCe Penniston's 'Don't Walk Away.' It was like my jam.

As a young girl, I dreamed of having a voice in fashion.

I was very obsessed with my music, and I think that, as a young girl, I really wanted to get into this business, and I don't think my parents really knew how to protect me.

People reacted to how I looked, and that was certainly a power to have as a young girl, but not one that you really understand.

I totally expect there to be some young girl or boy sat at home thinking 'I want to be like Kadeena Cox,' and then going on to better everything I've done.

I would hope that young girls could relate to me and see that the lives of people on the internet are not as perfect as they seem.

I'm not the same person I was. I used to act dumb. It was an act. I am 26 years old, and that act is no longer cute. It is not who I am, nor do I want to be that person for the young girls who looked up to me. I know now that I can make a difference, that I have the power to do that.

There's not really too many artists that young girls and young people can look up to and be inspired by. So I take it as my responsibility, sometimes, to be the person who has the voice to give people some truth about what we're doing.

I like strong female characters. I try to write them as role models for young girls.

Taylor Swift is so flawless, and so unattainable, and I don't think it's breeding anything good in young girls.

Miley Cyrus epitomises what we have allowed. She has done it to break the mould. I can understand why, but we have given her the oxygen of publicity and encouraged it, so young girls will think it is the right way to attract men. We've lost our standards.

I have no illusions of being an icon to young girls or anybody.

We want to be the face of women's football, to encourage young girls to play. If I have to be recognised in the streets to encourage them, I'm happy to do that.

When young girls can get 400,000 likes by doing a sexy selfie... we have to offer them another way of being. To dream of being female astronauts, engineers or presidents.

Everyone has to try to give back as much as possible because I think in all sports it helps kids to have role models or people to look up to. Someone like Jess Ennis, I know a lot of young girls have started to get into athletics stuff because of her, because of her success.

There's those young girls that I once was, looking up to Mia Hamm, Christine Lilly, all those players, and I know how much of an effect they had on me. Knowing that, I feel like I'm in a position where I can really help be a positive influence in girls' lives.

I have a pretty active presence on social networking sites, and every day there are messages from so many young girls telling me that they are happy B-Town has curvy women like me. I feel you should be happy the way you are. Of course, fitness is important, but not to the extent of obsession!

Feminists bore me to death. I follow my instinct and if that supports young girls in any way, great. But I'd rather they saw it more as a lesson about following their own instincts rather than imitating somebody.

A lot of young girls look up to me and it's amazing.

The reason Jennifer Lawrence is allowed to be a body-positive role model to young girls and 'chubby' women is because she is representative of conventional beauty.

Without social media, I wouldn't have young girls messaging me from Australia or Mexico City or the Midlands, but I do wonder if I'd be on it if it wasn't part of my job.

I feel like I'm held more accountable to stay healthy now because now I'm a role model to young girls to not have eating issues and to not say, 'Hey, it's OK to starve yourself' or 'It's OK to throw up after your meals' - that's not OK.