To be recognized and accepted by my musical peers is truly an honor.
I had been wanting to peel back the layers of who I am for so long, but I felt like I needed to prove how solid my work is first.
The man at Kodak told me the shots were very good and if I kept it up, they would give me an exhibition. Later, Kodak gave me my first exhibition.
Back in the day, I used to get really upset when people used to say that I didn't really make all my own things - like my art or my videos or whatever. I work really hard on everything, so it used to upset me when people would try to discredit me or say that I wouldn't have what I had without this person or that person.
It always feels good when you hear another guy in your industry give you praise.
When you are an historian, there's probably nothing that matters more than to be recognized by your colleagues in your own profession. I was lucky enough to win the Pulitzer Prize for History. I had to give a talk right after that to some young people. The most important thing to tell them, I think, is that you can't ever know that it's going to turn out that way.
When people say 'You're so beautiful' it makes me want to kill myself! As an actress you want to be seen for what you do, for the characters you can play, otherwise I'd be a model.
Do I get irritated by the no-Pro Bowl thing, never making a Pro Bowl? Yeah, I do.
Especially for Haitian immigrant parents, being a musician is not a job.
Most people see a job offer from Google as a victory, and I should have seen it that way. I should have at least seen the salary that way.
When a director you admire says that he wants to work with you, it's always a compliment, very good for your ego.
At a certain point in one's career, it's really wonderful when your child turns around and goes, 'Oh my God, Mommy, you have to be in that film. My friends are going to die.'
No one has ever asked to see my degree certificate.
I've always had this unresolved desire to prove that I could get a Ph.D., or contribute something else to the world.
I know that at the end of my career I'll get the credit I deserve.
I love music with my soul, but I'm also a student of it, so it's very important to me to earn the respect of my peers, my fellow musicians and producers.
I refrained from writing another one, thinking to myself: Never mind, I will prove that I am able to become a greater scientist than some of you, even without the title of doctor.
For me, to be in a place where I'm on the 'favourite' list of top directors I like, that's being number one. There is no other definition to me. It's not money; it's not how many songs you're seen in or how many clothes you're changing in the film.
I went from everyone saying, "She-can't-act-she-can't-act-she-can't-act," to an Oscar nomination. So there was something quite sublime about that!
Because Chinese art is booming, it legitimizes this profession.
Getting nominated for a Grammy is as high as it gets for us.
To be working in the theater steadily and to be recognized and appreciated by the community means the world.
If you grow up saying, 'I want to be a lawyer,' everyone says, 'Let's give her everything she needs to be a lawyer.' But if you say 'I want to be an artist or a dancer or a painter,' it's, 'Oh, she'll grow out of it.'
There's no diploma in the world that declares you as an artist—it's not like becoming a doctor. You can declare yourself an artist and then figure out how to be an artist.
I've tried very hard to be thought of as a serious actor.
