I started ballet in my early 20s. I studied for about ten years. Ballet

is probably the one of the hardest things I've done, almost like MMA. People don't give it a lot of credit and think it's easy, but it's very difficult. For an athlete, you use muscles you really don't use, and ballet is something I really respect.
Herschel Walker

Young people often aren't in a position to write checks to charities. But there are two things they can do that are invaluable. One is volunteering, especially mentoring other young people with reading, math or help thinking about college. Through iMentor, one can even mentor people online.
Nicholas Kristof

I'm exactly as I appear. There is no warm, lovable person inside. Beneath my cold exterior, once you break the ice, you find cold water.
Gore Vidal

As brands become larger, the need to reach greater numbers of customers makes them less edgy and dilutes their unique positioning as they try to please everyone. It is therefore not surprising to find such brands go into a few years of decline before they are able to reinvent themselves.
Nirmalya Kumar

My grandpa was in the Navy, but it wasn't something that was expected or planned for me to do.
Adam Driver

Our Constitution does not profess to have been established simply by the majority, but by 'the people' - the minority as much as the majority.
Lysander Spooner

I looked back on the roaring Twenties, with its jazz, 'Great Gatsby' and the pre-Code films as a party I had somehow managed to miss.
Hugh Hefner

There is a difference between a convert who is built on the rock of Christ through the Book of Mormon and stays hold of that iron rod, and one who is not.
Ezra Taft Benson

I say I am stronger than fear.
Malala Yousafzai

I have stepped outside my comfort zone enough to know that, yes, the world does fall apart, but not in the way that you fear.
Tan Le

There are times where people ask for a lock of your hair, but the truth is I have a lot of gratitude for my fans.
Nolan Gerard Funk

Gemeoss

This battle for 'common-sense' gun control laws pits emotion and passion against logic and reason.

All too often in such a contest, logic loses. So, expect more meaningless, if not harmful, 'gun control' legislation. Good news - if you're a crook. Larry Elder I drive a lot. Just for pleasure. Sometimes I'll get in the Cadillac and drive around the city or the country, kind of trying to get lost basically. Y'know, just see where roads lead. Frank Black You and I will meet again, When we're least expecting it, One day in some far off place, I will recognize your face, I won't say goodbye my friend, For you and I will meet again. Tom Petty We must dare to think 'unthinkable' thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. J. William Fulbright Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose - a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye. Mary Shelley Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such fr...

I think in the old days, the nexus of weirdness ran through Southern California, and

to a degree New York City. I think it's changed so that every bizarre story in the country now has a Florida connection. I don't know why, except it must be some inversion of magnetic poles or something. Carl Hiaasen My job on 'Dark Shadows' was to make it fun and funny, first and foremost. It can still be dark and it can still even be gory and gothic at times, but it also needed to be fun and it needed to be an experience that people would enjoy having. Seth Grahame-Smith I've always wanted to tackle the casual part of dressing. Knits to me are always just easy. I've fantasized about packing a suitcase of only knits: You just throw them in, roll them in a ball, pull them out and they still look fabulous. Nanette Lepore Tailoring was considered to be a world that was very traditional, and basically going out of fashion. Fashion designers did not have a real link with tailoring or tradition, so I fused the two worlds together. Ozwald Boateng Sanctific...

One of the things I noticed more in this draft than in any recent drafts

was the importance of the character issue. Players who had baggage, like Justice, fell much farther than his talent dictated. But a lot of coaches didn't want to take the chance. Ron Jaworski On some level, now, we are joining the larger world and realizing that we are connected with people in these very scary ways, sometimes. What happened recently in Spain affects us here and brings questions up. It is too bad that people have to be shaken up in that way. Edwidge Danticat 'Brand-Dropping' is the term that the Kluger Agency coined to describe discreetly advertising by product mentioning in song, and we feel we can make this the way of the future without jeopardizing any artist's creative outlet or typical style. Adam Kluger While I sign off on trades or free agents, I've rarely overruled my basketball people's decisions. But I'm not shy about steering the discussion or pushing deeper if something doesn't make sense to me. Paul Allen Kids are...

It's nice coming to Nashville, and we have four-bedroom house and a dog, and we

go swimming a lot. We get down here and spread out a lot, and I miss my sweet tea and my cornbread and my good southern cooking - but I'm down here eating pretty for two weeks and I'm ready to go back to New York City. Justin Townes Earle I hope everybody will go back to the negotiating table. I've always said this is the only way forward. Mohamed ElBaradei I'm the type of artist who touches people, that's the type of artist that I am. Jacob Lusk Writing is a fine therapy for people who are perpetually scared of nameless threats... for jittery people. William Styron Comedy wasn't something I chose - it chose me. Pauly Shore When I heard Aretha, I could feel her emotional delivery so clearly. It came from down deep within. That's what I wanted to do. Whitney Houston When I see old photos of me on the beach I don't look too bad... but it's hard trying to breathe in for such a long time when I spot the photographers! Gary Lineker St...

Influenza pandemics must be taken seriously, precisely because of their capacity to spread rapidly to

every country in the world. Margaret Chan Say and do something positive that will help the situation; it doesn't take any brains to complain. Robert A. Cook Shakespeare has been praised in English more than anything mortal except poetry itself. Fame exhausts thought in his eulogy. George Edward Woodberry The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. Ken Blanchard The whole concept of negotiating is intimidating to many people. Leigh Steinberg Every day I work my guts out in training, every match I play my heart out. Ruud van Nistelrooy The healthiest companies are always characterized by organic talent development. Margaret Heffernan I don't really like to explain my songs. Yanni I am a bit of a lefty on some issues. Vince Cable We must never confuse elegance with snobbery. Yves Saint Laurent

It is not the truth that a man possesses, or believes that he possesses, but

the earnest effort which he puts forward to reach the truth, which constitutes the worth of a man. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing My favorite animal to hunt is probably elk. There's nothing like the sound of a bugling bull splitting the cold air at first light. And that smell is unmistakable. Once you experience their musk in the wild there's no going back! A close second would be a varmint hunt. Chris Pratt Years of research in psychology has shown that rewards and punishments can be very effective in changing behavior. But, at the same time, they can create an addiction to rewards and punishments. Barry Schwartz When I was a kid, I thought I was going to be an actor. Tom Ford I'm a better and more educated person because of basketball. Lisa Leslie I never thought I would just be doing Arkady books. Martin Cruz Smith We need to say goodbye to the traditional methodologies of corporate universities. Marcus Buckingham Here Fashion is a despot, and no one dream...

Writing books and being paid for it - it's not like winning the Lottery. You

can't suddenly go, 'Yippee!' and start throwing tenners in the air. I've done pretty well out of it, but certainly not enough to say, 'Right, that's me set up for life.' Joanne Harris When I teach writing, I always tell my students you should assume that the audience you're writing for is smarter than you. You can't write if you don't think they're on your side, because then you start to yell at them or preach down to them. Tony Kushner When infuriated by an outrageous column, do not be suckered into responding with an abusive e-mail. Pundits so targeted thumb through these red-faced electronic missives with delight, saying 'Hah! Got to 'em.' William Safire I've always wanted to write a book relating my experiences growing up as a deaf child in Chicago. Contrary to what people might think, it wasn't all about hearing aids and speech classes or frustrations. Marlee Matlin The three actors I admire the most are a...

I wanted to be a designer since I was a kid, and I was always

attracted to the way rock stars dressed and the way their girlfriends dressed. I always thought that they were the most interesting people. Anna Sui I don't know why, but the older I get the more interested I get in my parents' marriage. And it's interesting to be married yourself, too, because there is an inevitable comparison. Jhumpa Lahiri I don't think there's any such thing as teaching people photography, other than influencing them a little. People have to be their own learners. They have to have a certain talent. Imogen Cunningham I sometimes wish that people would put a little more emphasis upon the observance of the law than they do upon its enforcement. Calvin Coolidge While there are many influences on gas prices in America, I believe the passage of a national energy bill will help relieve this burden on our country. Paul Gillmor I understand that the end does not justify the means. And this should be a lasting value for democracy. Park Ge...

It was only through getting interested in more out-there and avant-garde forms

that the musical suddenly seemed like such a wonderful genre to me. Damien Chazelle Early 2000s, we get Enron, which tells us the books are dirty. And what is our repeated response? We just keep pulling the threads out of the regulatory fabric. Elizabeth Warren I wrote my first book without being to Ethiopia since I was two years old. Dinaw Mengestu I love 'The Vampire Diaries!' I can't help it - it's such a teeny-bopper show, but I think I just like it to stare at the guys. Ashley Wagner Music is where my love is. I don't think the acting thing is going to start outweighing that, but I think it's going to start being a good chunk of something I want to do. Mary J. Blige I love baseball - 'Moneyball' was my favorite book when I was 13. Dylan O'Brien That's the one part where being brothers makes a difference. It's just instinct. That's the charm of what the Everly Brothers are: two guys singing as one. Don Everly The...

Very much like that, and very much a loner, do you know and I didn't

fit really into sport or all kind of group activities as a kid, I couldn't find a niche. And music was not really part of the kind of village curriculum it would, you know. Eric Clapton According to some Eastern religion, there is a belt that goes across the world, and I've heard that Minnesota is right in the heart of this spiritual-creative belt of energy. Melody Beattie Amongst Women concentrated on the family, and the new book concentrates on a small community. The dominant units in Irish society are the family and the locality. The idea was that the whole world would grow out from that small space. John McGahern Jazz stands for freedom. It's supposed to be the voice of freedom: Get out there and improvise, and take chances, and don't be a perfectionist - leave that to the classical musicians. Dave Brubeck I decided to do the maximum to hold onto the lead for as long as possible. That is why I pushed so hard from the beginning. I was at 100 percent conce...