Jacqueline Woodson Quotes

I always love going home anyway; it's where my roots are. I always like to go back. It's a good reminder of where I started and the journey that I still have to go on to get where I want to be.

I know my roots and I cannot forget the journey I made.

When you've moved past a point where you're just scrambling for jobs, you think about the things that you want to do. And the things that you want to do are governed by what you've seen, what you choose to embrace.

Tell me about yourself - your struggles, your dreams, your telephone number.

I think what I've learned out of this lifetime is you should be proud of where you come from.

Getting to know where we come from is a really profound way of getting to look at who we are.

Embracing my origin has made me the confident and grateful person I am.

It was important for me to understand who I am and where I came from. To get a hold on why I do certain things.

I never want to lose sight of my roots... A lot of artists want the riches and the fame. I want to tell stories you can put into the context of your life.

I think knowing where you came from and where you want to go is really important.

I've never forgot my roots and where I came from, and I'd not change a thing about my journey.

I'm proud of who I am, and I'm proud I grew up in Puerto Rico.

I'm not scared of growing old, I'm just scared of not achieving everything that I want to do.

You never forget where you come from.

We have to really educate ourselves in a way about who we are, what our real identity is.

I wanted to wash off the experience of Africa but obviously I couldn't because that's who I was.

I can only write a book like 'The Tin Drum' or 'From the Diary of a Snail' at a special period of my life. The books came about because of how I felt and thought at the time.

You can't run from your roots.

There is more to life than a job. I didn't ever want to look back and point to a bookshelf of videotapes and say, 'That's been my life.' It's so much easier to write a resume than it is to craft a spirit.

My writing has a lot to do with who I am, and what my life is like, and my relationships to people.

My African roots made me what I am today. They're the reason I exist at all.

Whatever I'm writing comes organically out of my life.

As I've moved along - not only my life, but my career and things like that - you look at yourself and start going, 'Oh, man, are you still doing what you set out to do? Are the ideals you had still the same?' Sometimes you measure up and sometimes you don't.

You know, when I was a kid waiting on the bus, I remember that was when I imagined my life. I imagined everything that I was gonna be when I grew up and I imagined all of these amazing journeys and amazing people I'd meet. Of course, all of it has kind of come to fruition.

I've always known that my father's father and grandfather and grandmother were from Mexico. I've never denied it. I've always said it.