Taye Diggs Quotes

We live in an atmosphere of shame. We are ashamed of everything that is real about us; ashamed of ourselves, of our relatives, of our incomes, of our accents, of our opinions, of our experience, just as we are ashamed of our naked skins.

I love people who aren't embarrassed. I'm always embarrassed, so it's always astonishing to me when people aren't like that.

When I was 13, I was in my tent at Girl Scout camp, trying to change out of my bathing suit and talking at the same time. I fell out of the tent in front of everyone with my bathing suit around my ankles. I was humiliated - but no amount of humiliation has ever seemed to stop me.

The secret of the creative life is to feel at ease with your own embarrassment.

We're afraid of letting people see the glory of who we are.

I'm not scared to look like a complete fool in front of people. It's just not one of my insecurities.

I used to be so afraid to say what I really think.

I think I'm a bit less inhibited, and not thinking too much before speaking. It's not about being shameful, I'm just a bit more unabashedly myself because of this thing, and it probably started at age 15. I can be around people and say what I think without fear.

Fame terrifies me. I can say that with honesty. You're terrified that, when people know the real you, they won't like you.

I think we all feel like misfits when we open our mouth sometimes, you know?

I think I hid my singing talent from a lot of my friends at school because I didn't want to alienate anyone. If everyone was singing along in the car to a Madonna song, I didn't join in because when we're younger we're afraid of sticking out or showing off, when in fact we should own those things that make us really unique.

I had my shortcomings - crazy hair, braces, bad skin and all that stuff. I went through it all.

I'm always a little innately shy when I first talk to a girl, and I think I always will be! But I think that's a good thing. You don't want to lose that.

I wasn't a perfect thing at 17. I didn't have confidence. I was hunched over and real embarrassed, and I didn't want to be in the limelight. But it changed over time.

I could be myself. I'm very shy and awkward. I think the best thing is to embrace it.

I was a pretty nerdy kid. I was pretty nerdy. I'm still kind of nerdy. I have all of the worst qualities of being a nerd - all of the affect and none of the smarts. I'm a useless nerd! That's pretty bad.

The ideas I'm working with are ideas I'm committed to. I don't know how to soft-shoe them. I don't know how to make them more palpable. I just never knew how to be one of those girls. I wish I knew how to be that sometimes, but I don't know how to be that way.

I don't get embarrassed by the same things that other people do. I would say that probably the biggest thing that holds people back is, 'If I do this, I'm going to look like an idiot if it doesn't work out.'

I think a lot of us often don't express how we really feel because we're afraid of what others might think of us. So we secretly admire people who could care less. They do things that we don't allow ourselves to do.

My friends were amazed that I became a TV presenter. I was not a big talker at school - I never liked people seeing my braces, so I walked around with my sleeves pulled over my hands and my hands over my mouth in case anybody saw me smiling.

I got my awkward years out of the way.

I don't care about me being vulnerable or embarrassing situations.

I had very bad acne growing up. I had braces for six years, from the fifth to the 11th grade. I didn't look in the mirror and feel like someone who should be on TV.

For so much of my life, I lived feeling as if, if I spoke, if I said something, I would lose everything. I would be pushed out. No one will want me. No one will love me. No one would want to be friends with me. It took me decades to get to a space of saying, 'This is my truth. This is who I am, and I don't care if you like me or you don't like me.'

It's so embarrassing and painful to be young.