Misty Copeland Quotes

I didn't start to work until I realized what it was I had to offer. I stopped imitating performers I admired and started just being myself.

Art helped give me confidence.

Encouraging young people to believe in themselves and find their own voice whether it's through writing, drama or art is so important in giving young people a sense of self-worth.

I think I had a shyness about me, I think I discovered acting as a way to break out of that and as a way of belonging, a sense of being special.

I definitely have come out of my shell a lot more. When you question who you are, you can't be proud of who you are. Now that I'm trying to peel off those layers and really understand who I am, I don't have anything to be shy about.

I was very insecure growing up, and even though I'm not that girl anymore, I think that the passion, that not feeling pretty and being insecure, is where my soul came from. And from early childhood, I let it free onstage.

As I grew in confidence, I was able to come out and say that I'm a musician.

Every time I dance, I'm trying to prove myself to myself.

I was encouraged to use my voice and explore my passions outside of the sport. And when I did that, I was finally able to realize my true self-worth. I was more than that of a gymnast.

I was very shy, but when I performed, I felt like I was in my own little world. I became more confident. Dancing taught me discipline and to feel comfortable in my own skin.

I'm proud to be one. I feel a lot stronger, a lot sexier and I think that all of that is reflected in my music.

It took a while to grow the confidence to say, 'This is who I am, take it or leave it.'

I felt more comfortable playing other people than being myself, when I was a kid. And then, the tables turned. Through my performances, I've become more comfortable with who I am, and then I just bring more of myself into the people that I play.

At the Brooklyn Ethical Culture School, we learned to express ourselves, and I've been expressing myself ever since.

I was very, very shy as a younger girl, just petrified of people. Tennis helped give me an identity and made me feel like somebody.

As a kid, I was always very shy growing up - I wasn't very good at articulating my thoughts or my feelings. Now that I'm older, I found acting to do that. So it's been an amazing way to sort of express who I am.

To know oneself, one should assert oneself.

I'm one Pia Zadora, the same way all the time. That's why I'm happy. It took me a long time to get to the point where could be myself all the time.

When I first got into the league, I tried to fit in. Now I don't care.

I always had an inferiority complex, like I wasn't good enough. I was shy. But dancing gave me so much joy, and I was good at it. I felt like a whole person because I could dance.

I love acting because it's empowering. It empowers me.

If you have to change something about you to be in a part, I don't think it's easy to do. You should just pick the part where you can just be yourself.

I love who I am. I love what I've become.

The older you get, the more yourself you can be and the less worried you are about what other people think.

As far as writing, it's grown because I've really grown comfortable with who I am.