Quotes About Authenticity

Keep your sense of self; don't get caught up in what people want you to be.

Labels don't mean anything to me. I'm trying to play as passionately as I'm able to. If they want to call that cool, that's fine. Just spell the name right, is the formula.

I think young people really do care. They want to build their life on something that's solid and makes sense, that's rational, that's not built on mythology, make-believe and wishful thinking.

I think thinking for yourself is such a hard thing to do, because you just want to fit in in high school. So being comfortable with who you are is such a massive thing for a lot of people.

I need to be happy. I need to set that example for my daughter so that she goes into something she loves, not because other people want her to do something. It's a good feeling, it's freeing.

I think, first of all, every time you want to play somebody who is real is always challenging and always scary, because you are given a responsibility of someone's real life.

What I don't do is try to like become whoever I'm rapping with. The people who go get an LL album want to hear LL.

We should be able to be ourselves. Make a political stand if you want to

I am not one of those people who like to play. I don't. I'm neither coy, nor do I, in any way, want to ask anyone to put up with somebody playing Hamlet.

As long as we are faking it we are just showing the world how to fake it - but they already are! They want to see us get real.

Don't write the book you think publishers want to commission. Plenty of other writers will be doing the same thing.

I don't want to be in some big beautiful place that nobody want me, because I play the blues.

It's really a lot easier to write about things that are problematic. Who wants to hear how happy you are?

I don't ever try to anticipate my audience. I just write the songs I want to write, and hope people like 'em.

I'm interested in reality but I'm not interested in realism at all. I'm interested in the ways that I think people want to relate.

How you choose to present yourself to the world shows what's meaningful to you - and what you want others to think is meaningful to you.

A rose will smell as sweet by any other name, but it must be the rose of liberty that I want and not the artificial product.

I never like to be the person trying to hard sell, saying, "This is why you should watch it." I know that my fans, who have followed me for years, want to know what I'm doing.

I was such a nerd. It just wasn't something I would have wanted. And I didn't want to act like an adult.

I remember feeling enormous pressure because I didn't want to be Shirley Temple. Shirley Temple was Shirley Temple, and I didn't ever feel like I could live up to that.

I'm sick of being self-referential. I don't want to do any more songs that can be accused of being personal.

I once wanted to prove myself by being a great actress. Now I want to prove that I'm a person. Then maybe I'll be a great actress.

I'm doing more than just making songs for the radio. I want it to be a well rounded sounding experience.

I won't do reality. That is done. And I don't want people following me around with a camera 24 hours a day.