Quotes About Self-expression

Sometimes what seems like setting a boundary - saying no - is actually a cop out, an inverted way of saying yes. The challenge is to get past the fear and say yes.

symbolically or literally)—all of them evoke memories, conscious or not. Often they inform how you relate to yourself and others. Sometimes you have conversations with them in your head; sometimes they speak to you in your sleep.

anger serves another function—it pushes people away and keeps them from getting close enough to see you.

Children, bound by parental rules, are really free only in one aspect—emotionally. For a while, at least, they can cry or laugh or have tantrums unselfconsciously; they can have big dreams and unedited desires. Like many people my age, I don't feel free because I've lost touch with that emotional freedom.

Io sono un artista e ciò significa che posso essere egocentrico quanto mi pare.

On ne sait pas ce qu'il faut faire pour se faire aimer: se montrer comme on est ou mentir. On balance entre les deux. On fait les deux d'ailleurs, au hasard un peu. On se fait comme on voudrait être, comme on croit qu'il faudrait paraître et puis on se dit "Ce n'est pas moi..." On cherche à se montrer à se montrer... à son pire... à déplaire...Qui sait si ce n'est pas le moyen de plaire?

Dance for yourself. If someone understands, good. If not, no matter. Go right on doing what interests you, and do it until it stops interesting you.

We don't choose our talents; but we needn't hide them in a napkin because they are not just what we want.

Christmas in the woods is so much better than Christmas on the Outside. We do exactly what we want to do about it, not what we have to do because the neighbors will think it's funny if we don't; or because of the kids, who will judge our efforts not by their own standards but by the standards set up by the parents of other kids.

Ole Golly: You know what? You're an individual, and that makes people nervous. And it's gonna keep making people nervous for the rest of your life.

This was too much. "I refuse. I absolutely REFUSE to be an onion.

Her room felt wonderful to her, as usual. She looked around with satisfaction… She imagined to herself that she would always live this way, even after she had grown up and moved away from her family. She planned to have exactly the same room wherever she was, because this room was her. No matter what happened out there in the rest of the world, she felt totally comfortable once she got into this room and closed the door.

Our fingerprints are different, and we are different. We are meant to be different. When we can accept this, then there is no competition and no comparison. To try to be like another is to shrivel our soul. We have come to this planet to express who we are.

I voice my opinions. I speak up for myself. I sing the praises of love and joy. My words are the music of life. I choose the thoughts that express beauty and gratitude. I proclaim my oneness with all of life. I love and appreciate my beautiful voice!

You are not here to please other people or to live your lives their way.

I wanted to hug them all. We belonged to each other somehow...But that sweet feeling hung on and I loved all of Harlem gently and didn't want to be Puerto Rican or anything else but my own rusty self.

Yeah, I thought to myself, like LSD, a black lover is the thing this year. I had seen the white girls in the Village and at off-Broadway theaters clutching their black men tightly while I, manless, looked on with bitterness. I often vowed I would find me an ofay in self-defense, but I could never bring myself to condone the wholesale rape of my slave ancestors by letting a white man touch me.

You must create your own world. I am responsible for my world.

No, I'm fine. And yes, I mean that sort of FINE," said Reine-Marie, making reference to the title of one of Ruth's poetry books, where FINE stood for Fucked up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Egotistical.

he even introduced himself as the Asshole Saint,

When girls walk home we put on lippy and makeup. We chat. Sometimes we pretend to be hunchbacks. But that is it. Perfectly normal behavior.

You're fourteen years old. You've only had that hair for fourteen years and you want to change it already! How bored are you going to be with it by the time you are thirty? What color will you be up to by then?

I'm not a ice cream, i'm a human being

I am not an ice cream come! I am a human being!