Billie Joe Armstrong Quotes

I was motivated to be different in part because I was different.

I think, my entire life, I was a bit different. And I didn't think I was different; I just kinda always stuck out.

For a really long time, I thought being different was a negative thing. But as I grew older, I started to realize we were all born to stand out; nobody is born to blend in.

I was feeling like a real misfit in middle school, but when I saw 'Wicked,' it made me feel really cool for being different... and you can carve that in stone!

I always tried so hard to fit in, and then I figured out that I didn't want to fit.

I've learned to appreciate looking unique and not having long, blond locks... at last.

You have to definitely be yourself in order to stand out.

Only recently have I realized that being different is not something you want to hide or squelch or suppress.

‎It isn't enough to stand up and fight darkness. You've got to stand apart from it, too. You've got to be different from it.

I feel like being into the beat of your own drum has become too prominent in the culture.

The hardest struggle of all is to be something different from what the average man is.

I like being the odd one out in L.A. Because if you conform, you become something you hate. I love being the odd one out. It's not about 'Look at me! Look at me!' It's about really becoming someone else.

It was not always easy because I was always an individual and found it difficult to be one of a group. One person who was very supportive was my father. My mother was great but my father really recognised my individuality and supported me in that.

I believe in individuality, that everybody is special, and it's up to them to find that quality and let it live.

When you're just like everybody else, you've nothing to offer other than your conformity.

The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.

It can be frightening to turn your back on what others think is right. But I'm not the same as a lot of people - I'm quite artistic and quite eccentric sometimes. If you honour that, you fit into yourself better - and people accept you for what you are.

Everybody tries to be exactly the same. I think being an outsider is a good thing.

Trying to give an individual a voice has always kind of been my mission in my life. As an actor, I've always seen that was something that needed to be done. You need to find that voice inside of you so that you can stand up and be who you really are.

Find out what's really out there. I never said to be like me, I say be like you and make a difference.

When you don't dress like everybody else, you don't have to think like everybody else.

Don't try to make children grow up to be like you, or they may do it.

People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out.

Fighting for identity is something that is very much in my life.

Trusting your individual uniqueness challenges you to lay yourself open.