Chaz Bono Quotes

Just sharing who you are - there's so much value in that.

All these weirdos, and me getting a little better every day right in the midst of them. I had never known, never even imagined for a heartbeat, that there might be a place for people like us.

The hardest thing to remember is that what we each really want is the truth of our lives, good or bad. Not rocking the boat is an illusion that can only be maintained by the unspoken agreement not to feel and in the long run it never really works. Let go of saving the boat and save the passengers instead.

Belonging is the innate human desire to be part of something larger than us. Because this yearning is so primal, we often try to acquire it by fitting in and by seeking approval, which are not only hollow substitutes for belonging, but often barriers to it. Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.

What I am is good enough if I would only be it openly.

I want to be affirmatively proud of what I have made my way through. And to do that, in the same way I had to tell my father and my family and my friends that I was gay, I need to not hide this anymore.

I was fine being in the closet at the beginning of my career because that's what you were supposed to be - until I realized that it didn't serve anybody, and I was left feeling utterly empty. This is who I am, so I've gotta be me.

I want to continue to be me and share with people.

I think I'm a pretty open book. We're all a work in progress, and I'm not ashamed to say that I don't have it all together - I don't really think anyone does.

The more you're writing absolutely honestly, and absolutely bare of intention - even if it feels absolutely personal and small because it's at your own scale - other people relate to it much more.

I have faced up to what I am.

When I started playing music, I was more of a character. Now I'm just me with a cool outfit on. I'm more comfortable being myself.

If I want to hide myself from my limitations, then I don't want to play this game.

I hope, by never hiding, I can show there is never anything to be ashamed of when we are being our true selves.

It was a slow process of getting closer and closer to my actual personality on stage. And now there's very little separation. I definitely find the more open and vulnerable I am, the more people enjoy it.

In a lot of ways, the Nocturnals are a safety net and a beautiful, beautiful blanket. All the life and music we've woven makes it so much more than a name on a marquee. But I realized the Nocturnals aren't me but a part of me... so it's natural to want to grow.

It's so hard to know where you belong, ever. You have to be yourself and let yourself fall wherever you fall.

I'm very open with my life, and I don't regret it because it's what got me here.

How much more can you give? Other than, literally, open-heart surgery onstage? Not much. But the only cure you have right now is the honesty of going, this is who you are. I know who I am.

When we close ourselves off, we're not just closing ourselves off to other people, we're closing ourselves off from ourselves and impeding ourselves. When you open up, you allow yourself to be who you are.

Most of us remain strangers to ourselves, hiding who we are, and ask other strangers, hiding who they are, to love us.

Take off your armor; dare to be vulnerable, dare to unwrap yourself, and dare yourself to be yourself.

I think that ties in with issues of identity as well - that sometimes there are parts of us we want to hide, and then there's other times we say, "You know what? Nope. Done hiding that part."

I'm a 'What you see is what I want you to see' kind of girl . . . When I first started, I just wanted to be perfect. I wanted to say I loved bunnies and rainbows and world peace. I realized that the only way to be perfect was to embrace your imperfections.

Let go of who you think you should be in order to be who you are. Be imperfect and have compassion for yourself. Connection is the result of authenticity.