Mae Whitman Quotes

I was motivated to be different in part because I was different.

Because of my unique experience as my mom's child, the beginning of my journey was more about me trying to figure out who I was on my own. My mom is one of the greatest moms and so supportive of all my siblings and of all of us being who we are, and not who she wanted us to be.

I think 'weird' is an interesting way to say 'unique.' It has a strange connotation, but weird is good. If you embrace your weirdness, you'll be on the way to becoming who you are.

Always be yourself and rebel against what people tell you should be and be whatever you want to.

I have never regarded myself as this or that. I have been too busy being myself to bother about regarding myself.

I was feeling like a real misfit in middle school, but when I saw 'Wicked,' it made me feel really cool for being different... and you can carve that in stone!

It was not always easy because I was always an individual and found it difficult to be one of a group. One person who was very supportive was my father. My mother was great but my father really recognised my individuality and supported me in that.

I fell through a crack for years. Historically, I am a nothing because I fit in no category. I can only be me.

I never modeled myself after anyone. The person who had most influence on me was my mother, but it was really for her strength and courage more than her style, even though she had a lot of style. In a weird way, looking at pictures of me when I was 17 or 18, I was dressing the same way. I haven't changed very much.

I was raised by a strong mother and I never felt like I had to be a role, you know, I was just me, who I am.

Some people want to advertise their weirdness, and spread it out, that's not me.

I'm a bombshell, so I'm going to do me. If I want to go platinum, I'm going platinum.

One of mom's greatest acts of generosity was that she trained me to be defiant. Her great gift to me was encouraging me to be the person that I wanted to be, not the one that she and my father wished I was.

I'm just myself, so I don't know that I think of myself as a nerd icon.

I'm just who I am. I don't try to change myself for other people.

I don't have to be what you want me to be.

People always had something to say about the fact I was odd looking, bigger than other people, that I was awkward. When I discovered punk, I bought into it. That look, combined with being fat, made me even less of what people thought a young woman should be.

I'd hate it if everyone in the world liked me, my music and what I wore. It'd make it boring, and I wouldn't have anything to work towards. It's not to everyone's taste, but I can only be me.

Having seen TED from a distance, I always thought if ever there was a place for someone like me, the outcasts, people who maintained who they are despite being told what they were, it was TED.

Living creatively is really important to maintain throughout your life. And living creatively doesn't mean only artistic creativity, although that's part of it. It means being yourself, not just complying with the wishes of other people.

I'm a huge freak, and always have been. I spent the first part of my life trying really desperately not to be one, and it was just a waste of time.

I dress for the image. Not for myself, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men.

I'm really not sure what people think or expect me to be, but I am surprised when people say, 'You're not supposed to be like that... ' I'm not exactly sure what 'that' is, so I choose to take it as a compliment.

I've learned a lot about how people have to fight through their whole lives just to be themselves.

I didn't have that typical high school experience of feeling ashamed of who I was. I once wore a superman cape and pajamas, and I thought that was awesome - and some people didn't! But some people did, and it was an arts high school, so nobody made me feel bad about who I was.