Jason Reynolds Quotes

When someone says, 'You can't,' what it really means is that they can't - so why should you get to?

When I was young, a lot of things were closed off to me. I was always told, 'Don't do this, you can't do that' - instead of stopping me, it made me think, 'I can do that, I must do that.'

Where I came from, the idea of going into show business was just ridiculous; in fact I didn't tell anybody because I knew people would laugh at me. So I sort of snuck around and got some pictures and got a resume together and, of course, lied and said I did all kinds of things I didn't do.

There's no way in hell I'm supposed to be on television or be a broadcaster of any regard. But I have defied those odds because I believe in this: I am damn sure not going to let somebody else define who I am.

No matter where you come from, no matter what you decide to do in life, you can do anything you want to do.

If people keep telling you you can't do a thing, then you need to find a really good reason to continue. If someone tells you you can't do something, how will you know? If someone tells you something is impossible, how will you know?

I always felt like - I mean, I was told, really - I couldn't go too far with the productions because it didn't appeal to black radio. It wasn't until I decided I was going to do what I wanted to do or I was going to quit that I empowered myself. I took my power back.

The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.

A lot of people feel trapped by circumstance, by the expectations of others or the perception that they need a lot of money. They would like to have a different direction in their lives, but they're held back by fear or desires that are incompatible with that freedom.

For some reason, my whole life has been, 'You can't do this, you can't do that.'

I didn't know I was a slave until I found out I couldn't do the things I wanted.

Other people will call me a rebel, but I just feel like I'm living my life and doing what I want to do. Sometimes people call that rebellion, especially when you're a woman.

I didn't want to feel constrained, so I took on the Mutants.

We don't really like rules. We think, in some way, they are an infringement of liberty.

If I were to listen to people all the time when they say, 'Hey, this is a really high challenge, this is a high climb, the bar is pretty steep,' then I wouldn't have gone to the academy. I wouldn't have become an aircraft carrier pilot. I wouldn't have become a Navy SEAL for sure. And I probably wouldn't have applied to Harvard.

In America nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you.

I have learned that you can do anything you want to. They used to ask me if I thought the first lady ought to be paid. If you get paid, then I have to do what first lady is supposed to do. But you can do anything you want to, and it's such a great soap box.

I was painfully shy as a child; I was dyslexic. I had a single mother who's an immigrant. I just didn't believe acting was something that people like me could do on a professional level.

Something I've learned is that when people tell me I can't do something, I immediately wonder why and then think it through. It only makes me more motivated to prove them wrong.

My message always is: No matter where you are from, no matter what past you have, it is all about your future and your goals.

My entire life, people have told me that I couldn't do certain things. They told me I couldn't go to college. They told me I couldn't go to Yale, Georgetown, couldn't end up doing much on Capitol Hill. Couldn't be party chair. And my response has always been, 'Watch me.'

Don't let nobody try to stop y'all from doing what y'all trying to do man.

I decided that I would defy expectations, be it those put on me by society, race, socioeconomic status, or my father.

I think it's important to inspire other people to try and do things that people discourage you to do.

I have a tattoo on my arm that says, 'The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.'