Quotes About Self-expression

There have been 700 or 800 songs I've written over the last 60 years, as I went through different periods of writing. I listen and marvel at how different they are and how they still stand up. They are very well done, if I must say so.

I like to emphasize my eyes because if I do it well enough, then they look very blue.

In London, nobody comments on what you wear - they think that's not important to you or your state of well-being.

Being a musician and artist can feel superficial at times - you talk about yourself every day and pose for photos for the magazines and newspapers, and it can be very tiring for your well-being.

Sadly, so many arts programs have been eliminated from schools due to budget constraints. These creative outlets are so very important, not only for a child's well-being, but also for self-expression and fun.

I never want to try to be a spokesperson for health and wellness because I most definitely am not the most in shape person in the world.

Mentors of mine were under a big pressure to minimize their femininity to make it. I'm not going to do that. That takes away my power. I'm not going to compromise who I am.

I want make sure I'm showing up for the people I'm really close to and my family, and so finding a balance is really important. But I don't want to quit drag at all. I want to be 90 years old and I want them to prop me up in the doorway and have hot dudes dance around me like Mae West. I really do!

In high school, my first thing ever was I played Tony in 'West Side Story' when I was about 17. I was a really shy kid, and I just, like, forced myself to learn how to sing this one month because I loved 'West Side Story' so much, and I somehow managed to get the role.

All I've ever wanted to be is a strong, powerful, beautiful black woman.

I kinda went back to that period between '88 and '94 where I felt like I was the most creative, without being hindered by powers that be. I was no longer going to try to hinder myself to what I thought was going to be on the radio.

I do care a lot about what I wear, but in a way that is about comfort and practicality, and I always want to look like me.

I made records for 20 years, I lived off it. But people would say I made so many mistakes, I did so many things you're not supposed to do. I had a band name nobody could say. I didn't play live. I never practiced, I never got better at my instrument.

Remain true to yourself while practicing this business of being an actor. And it is a business.

Only people who have been allowed to practise freedom can have the grown-up look in their eyes.

I'm very much an Arab, although I need to practise my Arabic more.

I'm not some kind of preacher saying 'You have to have natural hair,' but for me it's easier.

I construct myself and do things how I want to do them, because your artistry is a very precious thing - it's ultimately your whole life if you want it to be.

I am the type of person who can get ready in precisely five minutes, so I obviously just mix and match and wear whatever I am feeling like on that day.

There were certainly more conventional and predictable paths that I could have taken in life, but I believe in being true to oneself and following the thing that sets your soul on fire. For me, that is music.

It's perfectly O.K. to not be completely predictable. I am a person, and I have individual opinions that may not line up ideologically.

I never could have predicted that I would have done something that could be called portraiture.

I know it can be difficult for parents, but I really do believe that kids need to play the predominant role in the choices that go into their own space.

I would prefer to keep my clothes on. Unless there's a brisk breeze or something, I tend to keep them on.