Derek Hough Quotes

To live abroad you have to grow up quickly.

I mean, I like to think of myself as being strong and independent, but I definitely wasn't like that at 14.

It was a big step for me to take, going away from my family to go and play in a different culture, and I understand why people don't do it.

Finding your feet in a new country provides an enormous boost to your confidence and independence.

Remember that before joining Arsenal, I was at Marseille where it was easy for me because I was with my family; I was born there and had played for them since I was nine. I came here on my own, and you grow up more quickly that way. It made a difference, because now I have become a man.

Kenya, being a third world country, from a young age your eyes are open to the real world. I'd like to think growing up there taught me to stand on my own two feet, make my own decisions about what I wanted to be.

I lived in Paris for six months when I was sixteen. It was a fend-for-yourself environment.

I was wanting to be a kid at 18 instead of being a young woman.

Every child is going to grow up. You can see it happen in the books: They get older and older and belong to themselves to a greater and greater extent.

Maybe I didn't have the childhood people think you should have, but I still went through the ages; I was still a child.

Grow up and let anyone try to contend with the adult you.

I was married at 20 and had a baby by 21. I had to grow up fast. Luckily there were people who believed in me and there were always jobs when I needed one.

My life changed incredibly when I moved from Holland to England.

College and the responsibilities that came with it helped me transition from teenager to adulthood.

It's not that I don't respect my parents' authority or appreciate all that they did for me, but when I was 18 I was able to move out, and I was out. I feel like a different person since then; I mean, it's obviously a big turning point in life. I feel like I've established myself, and I'm a smarter and more mature for it.

If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders.

I've learnt to take care of myself.

By the time I was a young man, I was pretty independent.

At 13 years old, I was doing grown-man things, so I know who I am, and I'm telling people who I am.

I've only been living in England for the last 10 years, if you don't count my student years.

It was hard to find that transition to adult roles.

I was ironing my own clothes when I was 11 years old. My mental strength goes back to those days.

You have to be an adult; there is no sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself.

I've got some growing up to do.

Those of us who were 12 or 13 when the war started were absolutely thrown into the mainstream. We had to grow up instantly and take care of ourselves.