HALEY WILLIAMS
“I was new, and it was like that movie Mean Girls. This clique would tease me and make up rumors about me being gay. I don’t even know why they did it. I came home crying one day and told my mom I couldn’t be around them anymore. So we decided I would be home schooled.
I think it’s important to check in with yourself and make sure you are being exactly who you want to be. When I am true to who I am, I’m a better girlfriend. I’m just more happy being me.” Cosmopolitan Magazine
INDIA ARIE
“One of the things that I’ve worked my way out of doing, and I knew that I needed to, was comparing myself to other people. That just poisons everything. It all of a sudden determines even clothes you’re going to choose to wear that day or what you’re going to do with the a music production or how you’re going to sequence it. It poisons everything. Your real job in the world is to be you. Comparing yourself to other people I think that hurt me more than anything. Allowing myself to go there so much in my head hurt me.
Your self-worth is your job. It’s your sacred space to cultivate cause there’s always going to be somebody who comes along and says you’re not thin enough or your hair’s not ‘that’ enough or your voice’s not high enough, you’re not going to make it in the music industry because you don’t sound like all the others. There always has to be somebody who comes along and says something like that but if you can remind yourself that they’re wrong because you know your own path and you can just remind yourself. And one of the things I do know after all the healing work I’ve done is I sit in my journal or my meditation time what would I do about this thing, whatever it is – sometimes I think it’s an opportunity I’m not ready for – sometimes it somebody telling me that I can’t or I’m not worthy – and I sit in my private space and I say, I really just play it all out- I can visualize it or I write it – and I say …What would I do if I knew I was 100% worthy of this? What would I do?” Super Soul Sunday with Oprah Winfrey
EMMA STONE
“I’ve learned that you have to stay true to yourself from all the amazing people I’ve had the opportunity to work with thus far. You have to stay true to yourself and don’t be afraid even though people may say what you’re doing isn’t cool or isn’t right. I promise you, you will not regret it if you stay true to who you are and what you love to do because there is no other reason that I am up here today receiving this award.” People’s Choice Awards
VANESSA HUDGENS
“I was self-conscious of what I would call my ’tree trunk legs’ because they are very muscular…but now I’ve learned to love them.” PEOPLE Magaine
HILLARY SCOTT
“I know I will never be a size 2, and that’s okay with me. There are definitely days when it gets to me, but I know part of the reason I have this platform is to be a normal-size person in an industry that tells everyone exactly how they should look. Your body is your body. You need to take care of it, you need to eat well, and you need to exercise for your life, not for anything else.” Redbook
TAYLOR LAUTNER
“I was viewed as a little bit of an outcast. I didn’t have one group of friends who I hung out with every single day. I would have friends on my football team, friends in drama, friends in video production, and I would hang out with different people. I know that wasn’t the normal thing to do in high school. The normal thing is to be in a group or be a part of a clique. But for me, I love hanging out with different people and just having fun. I believe in the saying, ‘If you aim at nothing, you’re going to hit nothing.’ So if you don’t set goals, then you have nowhere to go. I guess winning an Oscar is the ultimate dream. A lot of amazing actors go their whole career without even being nominated. So that would definitely be a goal to reach. It’s a difficult one, but I’m aiming for it!” Seventeen Magazine
GEORGE CLOONEY
“I was a baseball player in school. I had a good arm, I could catch anything, but I was having trouble hitting. I would be like, ‘I wonder if I’ll hit it; just let me hit the ball.’ And then I went away for the fall, learned how to hit, and by my sophomore year I’d come to the plate and think, ‘I wonder where I want to hit the ball, to the left or right?’ Just that little bit of skill and confidence changed everything. Well, I had to treat acting like that. I had to stop going to auditions thinking, ‘Oh, I hope they like me.’ I had to go in thinking I was the answer to their problem. You could feel the difference in the room immediately. The greatest lesson I learned was that sometimes you have to fake it. And you have to be willing to fail.” Parade Magazine
VICTORIA JUSTICE
“In high school I became a target for some people who thought I had changed when I got on a TV show-it’s very easy for people to find things wrong with you. In high school, popularity is so much about going to the right parties and hanging out with the in crowd and looking a certain way. I went to a big public school with a lot of people, and I had a small group of friends who I was comfortable with. I wanted to hang out with people who are good and honest. If popular means being one of the girls who are obsessed with looking good all the time and having lots of boys like them, I don’t want to hang out with those people. That’s being immature and stupid. Why would anyone want to isolate themselves from people who you could potentially learn something from and be friends with? I think cliques are ridiculous.” Seventeen Magazine
DEMI LOVATO
“At 12 years old, I was bullied in school. Girls were calling me fat, so I thought,’That’s the reason I don’t have any friends.’ So I stopped eating. I became very weight-conscious, and I lost 30 lbs. I went down to 95 lbs. I’ve battled depression from a young age. I never found out until I went into treatment that I am bipolar [a disorder that causes dramatic and sometimes violent mood swings.] At first I was like, ‘What does that even mean?’ But looking back, it makes sense. There were times when I was so manic I was writing seven songs in one night…that’s why I wasn’t happy when everything in my life was great. I’m being treated for it with medication and therapy.” People Magazine
ELLEN DEGENERES
“It feels good to be chosen but there was a time in my life that I was not chosen. I was the opposite of chosen because I was different. I want to make sure that everyone knows: WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT RIGHT NOW MAKES YOU STAND OUT LATER IN LIFE. So you should be proud of who you are! Embrace who are because being unique is very, very important and fitting in is not really all that matters.” Teen Choice Awards