Quotes About Authenticity

The truth will set you free, and then you shall be free indeed.

When you're lying on your deathbed, one of the cool things to say is, 'I really explored myself.' This sense of urgency was instilled when my mom died. If you only go through life doing stuff that's easy, shame on you." So

No matter how much people want to feel loved, appreciated, and a part of things, they will be lonely until they make a commitment to themselves, a commitment that is so total that they will give up community and love, if necessary, to be fully who they are.

The hero's journey requires us to find our uniqueness. We simply cannot do that without enough solitude to find out who we are. Most of us need some time alone every day just to stay clear.

No life, no matter how successful and exciting it might be, will make you happy if it is not really your life. And no life will make you miserable if it is genuinely your own.

I had left her behind, again--because I could not write--write, that is, on my own terms, without concern for the marketplace, without selling out in small but grave ways: writing for magazines, or teaching prematurely, or making uncsoncious decisions that might make the work more sexy, more accessible--but for all the wrong reasons. It seemed crucial not to derail myself now, not to subvert myself, not give in.

Sometimes I've been known to overshare and that gets you nowhere.

Stop with the labels … because we are not jam jars; we are extraordinary, different, wonderful people.

After my mom died, there was so much written about her fashion and her style and all that, and I felt that one of the most important parts of her was missing, her real intellectual curiosity.

Some people, it's like they care more about their status updates than their actual lives.

And really, when you grow up, and get over yourself, when you fuck narcissism and leave the hashtags at the door, you see what really matters in life.

like her entire life is dedicated to proving that she has a life.

You can tell when something is right because most things are just plain wrong.

well, you can't call yourself a hero if you're lying to someone you love.

you're a writer when we (I) know what you truly are: a performer, an exhibitionist.

Work in a bookstore and learn that most people in this world feel guilty about being who they are...if people could handle their self-loathing m customer service would be smoother

At least it's real. Everything here is fake, fake, fake.' She tugs on the straps of her backpack and I'm so relieved that I'm an adult. What a nightmare it is to be a teenager, to think there's a place where everyone isn't fake, fake, fake.

Your jaw drops and your mouth opens and then it closes and your eyes are wide and you are dazzled. You purr. "He says he's sorry when he's wrong and he lets me spend two hours looking at couches I don't need? Joe, are you for real?

most people in this world feel guilty about being who they are.

Shortus was a fake friend but Oliver is a real friend and that's what they say, that you're lucky in this world if you have at least a couple of real friends. True friends.

He says he's sorry when he's wrong and he lets me spend two hours looking at couches I don't need? Joe, are you for real?" I beam. I am.

This guy is, what, thirty-six and he's only now reading Franny and Zooey? And let's get real. He's not reading it. It's just a front for the Dan Browns in the bottom of his basket. Work in a bookstore and learn that most people in this world feel guilty about being who they are. I bag the Dan Brown first like it's kiddie porn and tell him Franny and Zooey is the shit and he nods

Of course, the problem with self-transformation is that after a while, you don't know which version of yourself to believe in, which one is true.

Feels right: music to my ears. My therapist has tried to steer me toward that feeling for eons: forget about what you think you're supposed to do, forget about what others expect you to do; what feels right, to you?