Lionel Trilling Quotes

What makes a girl a girl? What makes a guy a guy? Do you have to be what they want you to be? Or do you stop and listen to that voice inside you? I know who I am. I'm Petra West. And I'm a girl. You want me to sleep somewhere else, fine. Whatever. But I'm not going to pretend to be somebody I'm not. I've done enough of that.

Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.

You don't have to burn books, you don't have to rebel against teachers to rebel; to rebel is to truly own your own self.

I never thought of punk rock as the absolute act of rebellion for the sake of rebellion. There's a lot of that in there, but for me I think punk rock was always about questioning things and making decisions for yourself, which is a great message to pass on to your kids.

I was born in 1949, and by the time I was 10, I figured out that my hope chest was not aimed in the same direction everybody else's was. And that life was going to be very, very complicated. And that I could either be provocative and declamatory, or shy, retiring and scared.

I am definitely an individual.

The inner me was always under attack by authority, by the way my parents wanted me to be brought up, by these English schools I went to. So I've always felt this kind of anti-authoritarian strain in me, pushing to express itself despite the obstacles.

A rat race is for rats. We're not rats. We're human beings. Reject the insidious pressures in society that would blunt your critical faculties to all that is happening around you, that would caution silence in the face of injustice lest you jeopardise your chances of promotion and self-advancement.

I would have rebelled against parental authority, no matter what. When I was 15, I started painting my face and making my own clothes.

I was never totally what we would now call 'politically correct,' even in my most militant phase. I always liked good food, good wines. I suppose it was because I had total confidence in myself.

Conforming happens so naturally that we can forget how powerful it is. But the thing that makes us human are those times we listen to the whispers of our soul and allow ourselves to be pulled in another direction.

What I would tell everyone is don't lose your sense of individuality.

I'm not a blender. I don't like people who blend into society.

There are certain societal laws that are just accepted, things that are arbitrary. I think the fun thing about psychotics is that they question that. It can be very freeing... like, my ego or my individuality trumps society's law.

My definition of freedom is knowing who you are, and then being it. No matter what anyone else is doing. And naked parties of course.

I'm myself, not a label.

I will not live out of me I will not see with others' eyes My good is good, my evil ill I would be free.

I'm not 'Blockbuster Boy.' I never wanted to be. I wasn't looking for that.

I'm going to be me as I am, and you can beat me or jail me or even kill me, but I'm not going to be what you want me to be.

Don't tell me I'm crazy. I'm out here acting natural.

I would classify myself as an individual. That's what I try to stay true with - being myself, 100 percent.

I guess I'm dedicated to breaking every inherited mould I can in my private life.

I've got to do it my way. I can't compromise and be someone else.

Everyone's an individual and individuality is such a strong thing in our society so that translates into wrestling.

It's a lot of fun to identify with a character who lives by their own rules.