Saara Aalto Quotes

I want young people to know that they can belong - whatever your culture, your religion, your sexuality - that you can live life how you want to live it and feel comfortable how you are.

I think there is a lot of space for people to love who they love, and a lot of space for actors to carve a niche for themselves.

Socially I never was an outsider. I have never thought of the conflict element before frankly, but perhaps it was wanting to belong, and at the same time wanting to retain one's own personality.

I would love for 'Hedwig' to be in every tiny shopping mall so every freakish kid like I was can have a broadening experience.

Remember that when you say "I will have non of this exile and this stranger for his face is not like my face and his speech is strange," you have denied America with that word.

Be yourself. And if you're not accepted by your family, there will be people who will accept you.

I never felt any different from anyone else though.

Who cares who comes out of the closet or not, so long as you're happy?

I think it's incredibly important for kids to be able to express who they are and feel like they can be themselves without being persecuted for it or bullied for it.

I feel like I can be myself in L.A. I feel like Mississippi is a little close-minded; not all of Mississippi is, but just the part that I came from. They really don't get outsiders.

Discrimination still exists. Some people feel that their own beliefs are being threatened. Some are unhappy about unfamiliar cultures. They all need to be reassured that there is so much to be gained by reaching out to others; that diversity is indeed a strength and not a threat.

I feel at home in Shondaland. I feel a lot of things at Shondaland, but one of the things I feel that I haven't felt before is at home. I feel accepted for who I am and acknowledged for who I am. I feel like my ideas are embraced.

The great thing about America is I've never felt like an outsider. I'm just a different piece of the puzzle.

We allow each other so little enjoyment or even tolerance for our individualities, our uniquenesses, and yet to me, that's what it's all about.

I think diversity is a challenge everywhere.

Legally we have integration, social acceptance and diversity... but that doesn't mean... everybody is down with it.

If you happen to be in an environment where people are not accepting of who you are, you just need to know that's not always the way it will be.

At Afropunk, everyone can be themselves, and I think that's beautiful.

Prince was unapologetically different, and he made it okay for his fans to be different and to celebrate their individuality. His social conscience challenged us to look deeper than the skin color of our neighbors.

Will we be a nation where there's only one way to love, one way to look, one way to live? Or will we be a nation where everyone has the freedom to live openly and equally?

As time goes by, we're getting more accepting of the differences between one another - whether it's gay or transgender, whether it's black or white - but there's still a lot of people in the world who don't feel that they can express themselves as they want.

Everybody is different; as long as you look like you belong and you can fit in, the world is you oyster now.

We love stories about identity and acceptance because they're so universal.

Most of the discrimination I have encountered centered on the view that I am not a part of this great nation, even though I grew up in Ohio, graduated from law school in Washington, D.C., and received my commission in the U.S. Air Force in 1991.

I was embraced entirely and completely by the LGBTQ community. So I always felt very comfortable and confident to live exactly how I wanted to.