Justin Simien Quotes

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.

One goes on with the blithe belief that who you really are is transparent to everybody. Then you realise, with some horror, that in fact it's not. So all you can do is keep muddying the waters a bit.

What gives it its human character is that the individual through language addresses himself in the role of the others in the group and thus becomes aware of them in his own conduct.

I like the idea that people have formed their own opinions. And of course once people meet me or talk to me their opinion totally changes because I'm much more that girl that you hang out with than you think.

The idea that there is a sharp boundary between our true inner selves and the outside world is pervasive but highly questionable. The boundaries of the self might well be more porous than we ordinarily think.

There's a way in which you can look at clothing as your outer skin. And because you were discriminated against because of your complexion, the way in which you could overcome that was through the way in which you presented yourself with your clothing.

My mother helped me identify myself the way the world would identify me. Bloodlines didn't matter as much as how I would be perceived.

The first half of life is spent mainly in finding out who we are through seeing ourselves in our interaction with others.

I think, in a lot of ways, we underestimate how much clothing plays a part in achieving our identities and in how we want the world to deal with us.

It took me almost wanting to retire to realize that you need to ask for what you need. Everybody needs something different, but whatever it is you need, you need to ask for it and figure out how to get it.

Years and years of therapy taught me to speak up because speaking up is what gets things done and gets your story and your voice heard.

I carry myself where I speak when spoken to. It's good and bad.

I truly believe that getting dressed in the morning is about deciding who you want to be, what you're saying in the world, and how you want people to see you. It's so much more than superficial.

I don't think it's my personality to be going around telling people what I'm doing.

Everyone returns us to a different sense of ourselves, for we become a little of who they think we are.

I tend to not speak up as much, so saying no is rather difficult for me. The biggest step of being an adult is saying, "This is what I do like. This is what I don't like." Being yourself means certain people aren't going to like that. I'm still figuring it out and taking things day by day.

Don't wait for people to tell you who you are. Show them.

You're not gonna tell me who I am. I'm gonna tell you who I am.

It is axiomatic that if we do not define ourselves for ourselves, we will be defined by others-for their use and to our detriment.

I finally learned that it was all right to say something wasn’t working for me when it wasn’t working. The world doesn’t come crashing down when you speak the truth.

If I'm meeting somebody for the first time, I don't look them up on Wikipedia, or I try not to, because I would not want somebody to be thinking they knew me based on that. It's like even private citizens have to deal with this persona phenomenon.

To be understood is to prostitute oneself

I am the sole author of the dictionary that defines me.

Be strong, know who you are, no be shame, stand up, e ala e.

No one can take advantage of you without your permission.