Nick Dempsey Quotes

The reality of growing up is we changed schools so many times, my brother was my best friend. We have a five-year age gap, and my brother inspired me. He started boxing, and I just want to show that I could do things better than him.

When I was a boy, my older brothers listened to Earth, Wind & Fire and Kool and the Gang. When I would try to get into their room, they would close the door and say, 'You can't hear that. It's not for a child!' Now, I can listen to it and enjoy it.

I have three younger siblings, so the four of us were outside all the time after school playing games, making up games. My sister made up a game called 'roof ball.' We'd play that constantly. She always beat me in it, and it made me very mad. But we were outside all the time.

It was natural for me to go to local tournaments with my mother and watch my brothers compete and sometimes be left with my mom at home while my dad would take my brothers away to different tournaments and competitions. So I started doing everything they did.

My father is my biggest literary influence. Recently, I've been looking through his letters. He was in the National Guard when I was a child, and whenever he left, he would write to me. He wrote letters to me all through college, and we still correspond. His letters, and my mother's, are one of my life's treasures.

I followed in my brother's footsteps. I used to wake up at 5 a.m, and wait for him to complete his cricket practice just so I could play the 10-15 balls pitched to me at the end.

Growing up in Rochdale, I think, all the kids in my street, pretty much every boy was playing cricket. I had four brothers as well, and we played a lot together. When it was just me on my own, I was bowling at a drainpipe.

My childhood was a happy one. I was captain of the school sports team and played cricket after class. I had five younger siblings and a large loving family that lived together. We are still very close.

My dad was my coach in baseball and early on in basketball, so playing baseball was something we always did.

My parents and my family really tried to maintain as much of a normal environment as possible. When I went home, it wasn't Keshia Knight Pulliam the actress, the glitz, the glamour. It was Keshia the daughter. Oldest of four children, who washed the dishes and did everything she was supposed to do.

My favorite memories were with my dad, throwing a football around when he came home from work. As long as kids are having fun, that's the biggest deal at the end of the day.

We were always drawing comics as kids. My brother Charles made me draw comics. I was very much under his domination. He was actually a much stronger artistic visionary than I was.

The name Sissy came because my brothers called me that.

I had a really happy childhood - my siblings were great, my mother was very fanciful, and I loved to read. But there was always financial strife.

It's not about being rich, but everyone back home has a pool. And I was a total water baby. My mom couldn't get me out - she'd put my dinner plate at the end of the pool, and I'd eat my meals in the water.

I knew I wanted to sing when I was a very small boy. When I was probably 4 years old. My mother played a guitar and I would sit with her and she would sing and I learned to sing along with her.

One day my dad would say, 'OK, if you want to play tennis I can help you out.' And that's how it started. And I had a goal. I wanted to beat my mom first. And my parents and my brother. And that was the ultimate goal.

I have two older brothers, and they were a huge part of life; we were very close. We used to run around and get into trouble. That's what I came from - that exploring nature.

I grew up with a younger brother, so I can get pretty rowdy.

Growing up, it was about finding a way to entertain myself outdoors. We spent all the summers on the beach, camping with my family a bunch, and traveling as much as we could. My parents wouldn't let me watch too much TV growing up or play video games, or anything like that.

One of my earliest memories of writing at a piano was alongside my sister.

My mom was always driving me back and forth to guitar lessons, growing up. She was super supportive and probably my biggest cheerleader.

The school holidays were always an exciting time in the Brownlee household. This was the opportunity for my brother Alistair and me to escape from the classroom and enjoy the great outdoors. Our childhood was jam-packed with fun family games and activities.

I'm the oldest in my family, and I grew up with brothers, so we would be on the front lawn every day playing football, whether it's tackle or tag.

I started playing football with my mates and my brothers, in the playground or the park or the front garden. It was just about enjoying it, having a good time playing. I wanted to play all the time.