If they hadn’t tried to break me down, I wouldn’t know that I’m unbreakable.
Gabourey SidibeRead
People always ask me, 'You have so much confidence. Where did that come from?'. It came from me. One day I decided that I was beautiful, and so I carried out my life as if I was a beautiful girl. I wear colors that I really like, I wear makeup that makes me feel pretty, and it really helps. It doesn't have anything to do with how the world perceives you. What matters is what you see.
Interpretation
True confidence comes from self-acceptance and self-perception, not external validation.
In this quote, Gabourey Sidibe emphasizes that confidence stems from within and is rooted in the recognition of one's own worth. She illustrates how a positive self-image influences her choices and actions, highlighting the importance of embracing one's beauty and individuality despite societal judgments. Ultimately, the essence of confidence lies in how we perceive ourselves and the decisions we make that reflect that self-acceptance.
In practice
Using this quote in a motivational speech about self-esteem and body positivity.
If they hadn’t tried to break me down, I wouldn’t know that I’m unbreakable.
Wit is more necessary than beauty; and I think no young woman ugly that has it, and no handsome woman agreeable without it.
I hate that aesthetic game of the eye and the mind, played by these connoisseurs, these mandarins who "appreciate" beauty. What is beauty, anyway? There's no such thing. I never "appreciate," any more than I "like." I love it or I hate.
Girls of all kinds can be beautiful - from the thin, plus-sized, short, very tall, ebony to porcelain-skinned; the quirky, clumsy, shy, outgoing and all in between. It's not easy though because many people still put beauty into a confining, narrow box...Think outside of the box...Pledge that you will look in the mirror and find the unique beauty in you.
The vocation of being a 'protector' [. . .] means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as Saint Francis of Assisi showed us [. . .] In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God’s gifts!
I believe every chess player senses beauty, when he succeeds in creating situations, which contradict the expectations and the rules, and he succeeds in mastering this situation.
At some point in life the world's beauty becomes enough. You don't need to photograph, paint or even remember it. It is enough. No record of it needs to be kept and you don't need someone to share it with or tell it to. When that happens — that letting go — you let go because you can.
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