Quotes About Self-definition

We are not what other people say we are. We are who we know ourselves to be, and we are what we love. That's okay.

Take the time to define yourself and define your value. If you're having a hard time doing that, ask yourself: What is something I would say to someone I love?

La clave consistía en asegurarse de que nadie a quien permitieras caminar a tu lado decidiera quién eras y te etiquetara, como a una mariposa en una caja. La clave era saber que siempre podías encontrar de algún modo la forma de volver a reinventarte.

Some mistakes have greater consequences then others. You don't have to let one mistake define you

You...you once told me that the night in the maze didn't have to be the thing that defined me. You said I could choose what it was that defined me. Well, you don't have to let that...that chair define you

Being able to use the word "geek" has helped me a lot to define myself, but not as a mold for me to fit myself into, as a template to help accentuate my differences.

Once a child enters adolescence, it may become increasingly difficult to raise these issues. Because adolescence is a time of rebellion—of self-definition, of distinguishing oneself from parents and peers—there may be less communication than ever. It is also a time of great emotional and physical change—and therefore a time of intense confusion within. If the adolescent child's self-image gets lost in the shuffle, there may be years of hell to pay.

I think I have the right to be able to see myself differently from how others see me, to see myself however I want and not to be forced to be this person other people have decided I am.

If any female feels she need anything beyond herself to legitimate and validate her existence, she is already giving away her power to be self-defining, her agency.

a world in which we are not expected to conform to societal rules but society is expected to conform to our own acts of self-definition. That means your child reading "I Am Jazz" but never—never, Gaia forbid!—the Bible.

There's no way in hell I'm supposed to be on television or be a broadcaster of any regard. But I have defied those odds because I believe in this: I am damn sure not going to let somebody else define who I am.

I always defined myself in terms of my talkativeness, and being without a voice hits me in a number of ways.

Personality and personal identity are in some ways like co-ordinates on the street map drawn by our intersecting relationships. We know who we are and we define what we are by references to the people we love and our reasons for loving them. I

You, what are you? The brat of lucky parents who were related to a childless king. There is no such thing as royal blood. I believe we are what we make ourselves, and as such, you, Crown Princess, are nothing.

It is my conviction that we make ourselves who we want to be and not chain ourselves to the notions of busybodies who wish to judge us.

T]he most difficult part of the fight is not taking aim at the enemy, but rejecting his definition of you.

I am a drifter, and as lonely as that can be, it is also remarkably freeing. I will never define myself in terms of anyone else.

Perhaps I will tell them that your race is like your name—it is a given, and you must define your own name so that it does not define you.

Nothing - and, I repeat, nothing - can affect what you build with sheer hard work. You either wait for people to define your worth or you define it with your own actions. I believe in the latter.

Others will always seek to define you based on what they think you represent or who they think you are. But you have to be the one to control what you do and what you say and how you present yourself.

We all need a firm sense of identity.

I've always defined myself not as a cartoonist, but as an entrepreneur. That was true before I tried cartooning. I always imagined cartooning would be how I got my seed capital. I always thought my other businesses would be the less dominant part of my life.

Resisting the stereotypes and affirming other definitions of themselves is part of the task facing young Black women in both White and Black communities.

Instead of hoping that some day the boys' club will open its doors, we can form our own clubs, define 'worthy' our own way, and celebrate the books and voices that we decide deserve celebration.