I want young people to see me and think you can be feminine and smart and successful, all at the same time.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes that one can embrace femininity while also being intelligent and successful.
Portia De Rossi's quote encourages young people, especially women, to recognize that femininity and success are not mutually exclusive. It underscores the importance of breaking stereotypes and inspires individuals to embrace their unique identities while pursuing their goals in life.
In practice
During a motivational speech to high school students about career choices.
If your self-esteem really does depend on how you look you're always going to be insecure. There's no way you can get around it because you are going to age. Even if you get that perfect body you're going to get older and older and older. You can't avid it. So you have to somehow, at some point, take control and sift the focus and decide who you are, what you can contribute to the world, what you do and say, is so much more important than how you look.
When I was 15, I changed my name legally. I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. Everything just didn't fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name.
You are desperate to communicate, to edify or entertain, to preserve moments of grace or joy or transcendence, to make real or imagined events come alive. But you cannot will this to happen. It is a matter of persistence and faith and hard work. So you might as well just go ahead and get started.
I think you can do anything in this life whether you're in a wheelchair or not. I go to festivals, nightclubs, I travel the world, I'm loving my work on Triple J.
You're already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
Human potential is the same for all. If you have will power, then you can change anything.
Even places that have been shrouded in darkness for billions of years can be illuminated. Even a stone from the bottom of a river can be used to produce fire. Our present sufferings, no matter how dark, have certainly not continued for billions of years--nor will they linger forever. The sun will definitely rise. In fact, its ascent has already begun.
It's about time you admitted that you are a miraculous work of art. You came into this world as a radiant bundle of exuberant riddles. You slipped into this dimension as a shimmering burst of spiral hallelujahs. You blasted into this realm as a lush explosion of ecstatic gratitude. And it is your birthright to fulfill those promises.
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