Struggles of Adolescence Quotes

It's tough growing up where I grew up. My family is very small and really tight. Just being around the neighborhood, my brothers were always around. I didn't want to be in any trouble because I knew my mom or brothers would find out. I didn't want to hurt their feelings. I just tried to do everything right.

I'm sure no one really wants to think of themselves as a child actor.

Growing up in Paterson wasn't the easiest thing.

It's a difficult world for lots of child actors, and it's difficult to be a teenager under any circumstances. Add to that notoriety and fame, and things can go really wrong. But I had a terrific family and grew up very normal in Phoenix.

I think any teenager, any single parent household teenager growing up in New York City, will probably go through tumultuous years. I definitely did. It all sort of righted itself once I definitively got on the path of being a musician or, like, following that directly.

The thing that's so hard about being a kid is you don't have enough knowledge to explain things yourself.

When I did 'Boyz N The Hood', I never thought how we grew up in South Central was interesting enough for a movie.

I'm going to make my own 'Trapped In The Closet' one day, about a black kid growing up in the hood.

I'm actually part of a number of minorities. I grew up being a horribly awkward kid. A terrible student. And now I find myself as a filmmaker, and you feel kind of alone in the world because you're separate from everyone else.