Jenny Zhang Quotes

I was the shyest kid. I'd never speak, only if I had to. Honestly.

I had trained myself not to go to the bathroom throughout my elementary and junior high school years because I was bullied. And you don't understand why you're being bullied, so you just suppress it.

You say something, things you would rather forget, and then they are out there. It makes me anxious and I don't know why people are interested in me anyway. If I had my way, I would rather exist in a little hole and not speak to anyone.

As a young man, I felt a need to communicate with somebody or something, but it seemed in my own particular environment that that wasn't an option. On the other hand, I probably lacked the courage to do so, even if it was an option.

I'm not surprised that I tend to go for the dark side. I was a really scared kid, so I think I understand what scares people.

Even at age 10, I already knew that I was different from most people. My anxiety disorder was still years from being diagnosed, but it affected me quite deeply. I was too afraid to speak out in class, too nervous to make real friends.

I could always throw stuff, starting with tantrums.

I convinced my parents to let me see an agent, but because I had been taught never to speak to strangers, I was so quiet during the interview, they said to bring me back when I was older.

I'm not coping very well with all the attention, if I'm honest.

It's true, I had an extremely delicious life, but that was my life at home, and perhaps because I was only a child, or for whatever reasons, I found the company of others, especially other boys, quite terrifying and upsetting.

I might just stop talking again and not do interviews.

I was a very shy child. I remember being in a kindergarten open house with my mother and children saying 'Hi' to me, and I still remember feeling this way - but I don't know why - but I wouldn't even say 'Hi' back. I was that shy.

Time and time again, as a boy, I was humiliated. I celebrated my first day in long pants by going to a dance where I fell sprawling on the floor, and was so ashamed that I jumped up, ran away and left my girl to get home the best way she could.

I was painfully shy as a child.

At school I'd want to be so small that nobody could see me, and so my work depicts and reflects me - what it felt like to grow up in a world of pain.

I was the kind of kid, I'd sit in the back row of the class with my head practically under the desk. I was incredibly afraid of people and very shy.

Sometimes, I feel like directors look at me and say, 'I want to put that boy in the jungle. I want to hurt him.'

I had cut myself off from everyone. I didn't come out of my room, forget stepping out of the house. I had a beard, and I didn't get a haircut for months. For someone who has performed in front of a crowd of 20,000, I was scared of facing 4-5 people. That's what bipolar disorder does to you.

I spent 24 years in the closet wanting to talk so desperately about who I was and what I am but too afraid to.

I was not happy with myself as a human being when I was very young - I was afraid of people; I was afraid of talking, I didn't know how to express myself other than by being on stage.

I was a very anxious kid. I was bullied at primary school and responded by making myself as anonymous as possible at secondary school.

When my mum passed away, I was very young, and I became very introverted and very quiet. I became very anxious about what people thought about me.

There are a series of emotions that most survivors go through after disclosing. It starts with feeling great, like the weight on your shoulders has been lifted, and then you're alone with your thoughts, like, 'Why did I do that?' And then, what about the person who gets backlash?

Of course I had friends, but it was very limiting because there was always a chance that at every corner, someone would be laughing at me or waiting to beat me up. I had a very lonely childhood because of that.

When I was growing up, I think I was expected to be seen and not heard. You're this little, nerdy kid; no one wants to hear about how sad you are. Nobody wants to hear that you feel lonely.