I myself, however wretched I may be, have been occasionally privileged to sit at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and to the extent that his merciful love allowed, have embraced with all my heart, now one, now the other, of these feet.
I have been a teacher myself all my life. I have an intense passion to share with people. Our only salvation is in knowledge, in learning.
If I spent all my time criticising myself, I wouldn't be able to function. There are actors who theorise till the cows come home. I haven't the patience for them. It's maybe shallow, but that's why I'll never be part of the acting set.
Becoming a mother has made all the difference in terms of learning to take more responsibility for myself and my life. Parenthood changed the way I do everything.
There was a lot of pressure to find a genre and stick to it. People would tell me all the time, 'You can't be all things to everyone.' I would say, 'I'm not trying to be! I'm being what I want to be for myself.'
I think that like all writers - and if any writer disagrees with this, then he is not a writer - I write primarily for myself.
Perhaps, all writers walk such a line. In general - as we all do in our dreams - I believe I put something of myself into all the characters in my novels, male as well as female.
Every published writer, myself included, was at one time unpublished. All writers know what rejection feels like.
Some people, like myself, rock colored contacts, crazy hair, and black all year round.
It's easy to fall into a funk and not want to exercise, or to really want that second piece of chocolate cake. I have to say, I fight against those feelings all year. But I try not to let myself sit in a rut like that.
When I was in the 9th or 10th grade, Cheryl was All-American, and she was getting all the pub. I thought to myself, 'Why isn't anyone paying any attention to me?' I used to wish that I wasn't Reggie Miller, that I was Reggie Smith or Reggie Jackson.
I give myself a cheat day where I annihilate my diet. I'm an all-American girl, so I go for a burger and fries and a shake.
I'm really not comfortable doing interviews in a group, in press conferences. One-on-one, I'm all right, but those press conferences at the All-Star Game, I just don't... I feel better when I'm by myself.
The devil put before me that I could not endure the trials of the religious life, because of my delicate nurture. I defended myself against him by alleging the trials which Christ endured, and that it was not much for me to suffer something for His sake; besides, He would help me to bear it.
The only thing I really recommend, if you're starting out in stand-up is to not try to copy anybody else. You can be influenced by people. I was influenced by Steve Martin and Bob Newhart and Woody Allen, but I never tried to be someone else. I always tried to be myself. And the reason people are successful is they're unique.
In school, I learned about artists and how they were free to express themselves. I was allergic to conformity, and the lifestyle attracted me. I wanted to express myself in a way that slammed people up against the wall.
I wanted to really ingrain myself in the culture and the people. And I apologize about having an allergy to dairy products that gives me some irritable bowels, but other than that, I mean, I've embraced just about everything else Wisconsin - especially when it comes to sports, but also the people and the interactions with our fans.
I just try not to label myself in any way. I just have an allergy to labels in general. I can tell you that I am surrounded by very strong women and that I really appreciate that, but I'd rather not label myself.
I definitely use my music to kind of alleviate my stress and get me through specific moments in time where I'm just being really tough on myself.
The way you talk to yourself sometimes is terrible! I hear myself, and I go, 'I can't believe you're talking to my friend Allison like that!' It's really terrible, the things we say to ourselves.
