Laura Benanti Quotes

I was kind of smart enough when I was young, 14 or 15 years old, to realize that if you're ever going to do anything and step out of the shadow of your own dad - not only in hockey, but in life itself - you're going to have to learn you're Brett and not 'Bobby's son.'

My mom has made it possible for me to be who I am. Our family is everything. Her greatest skill was encouraging me to find my own person and own independence.

When I stopped seeing my mother through the eyes of a child, I saw the woman who helped me give birth to myself.

Because of my unique experience as my mom's child, the beginning of my journey was more about me trying to figure out who I was on my own. My mom is one of the greatest moms and so supportive of all my siblings and of all of us being who we are, and not who she wanted us to be.

I think, when you are growing up, you have to pull apart from what your mother wants or needs. You've got to go your own way, and that's what I did.

No, I am not my mother. I am deeply, endlessly grateful for what she did and who she was, but I am a different kind of person.

At the end of the day, I am not my dad and have my own journey to make.

People have to learn who they are - you can't have somebody else telling you who you are.

The truth is, I'd like to be closer to my kids. I'd like to share more with them. But that's not what this time in their lives is about. This is their time to separate, to self-direct, to become independent.

It is a parent's responsibility to preserve the connection with their children, to preserve the relationship, so that the children can let go and become their own selves.

I don't need anyone to rectify my existence. The most profound relationship we will ever have is the one with ourselves.

The character and history of each child may be a new and poetic experience to the parent, if he will let it.

I needed to be myself and find my own identity.

I have a photograph of myself when I was 2 years of age, and I don't recognize the person in the photograph. She doesn't look anything like me, and I can't find any trace of her in me physically. And yet I remember her very, very well - even her anxiety.

When I was young, I had this contrarian thing, and my music for a long time was an extension of that. I didn't want to entertain people; I had too much vanity to be an entertainer. I think that some layers of vanity came off.

I'm still very much Kate.

A successful life is one that is lived through understanding and pursuing one's own path, not chasing after the dreams of others.

I think my parents were really smart parents. I think they were, actually, pretty progressive for the time. The one thing that they really wanted me to know is what makes me tick, what I am about, how I approach life. And I think what my parents really wanted for me was for me to be who I am.

I'm not really on a mission to tell anybody anything. I'd rather be figured out.

You need to be on your own so that you can meet people as you are, and as they are.

People aren't defined by their relationship. The whole point is being true to yourself and not losing yourself in relationships, whether romances or friendships.

In a very slow way, I found my path. Even now, I think, 'If I can't do it my way, I'd rather not do it.'

I would say that as I've gotten older, I trust my intuition more; I allow myself more freedom both musically, creatively and my own life existentially.

To leave in search of yourself, of your real needs, is easier when you don't have to justify yourself to anyone, when there are not too many people bestowing you their attention.