Andrew O'Hagan Quotes

Honestly, I was only rested in rugby football; all my friends were boys, and I definitely didn't want to go on stage, but I just did it to keep everyone happy. I did some singing, dancing like they liked, but it wasn't my thing at all.

Kids feel like they have to puff up or shrink. These reclusive qualities begin to develop because you feel that who you are is going to either be accepted or rejected by your family and friends.

I was hiding behind athletics and all my jockitude, so I didn't have to deal with being ostracized as the weird art kid.

The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity.

Don't give in to all the cliques and popularity. It means nothing. I know super popular guys, and guess what? They're just normal people, too.

At every point I am besieged by people who would like me to conform to some social norm of whatever sort of social group they expect me to be a part of. I never have any identification with these social groups.

At the bottom of not a little of the bravery that appears in the world, there lurks a miserable cowardice. Men will face powder and steel because they have not the courage to face public opinion.

When I was a kid, I was afraid of large group of conforming people.

I've never been one of the cool people at school, but then again, I don't get the people who are cool. It's not that I don't like them, it's just that they don't interest me.

If you don't like basketball and you're from Kentucky, they'll kick you out!

I've always balked at anything that feels like a clique, even if it's not always in my best interest to do so. I like each individual, fedora-wearing hipster - it's just the greater gestalt that rubs me the wrong way.

People can undergo a sudden change of thinking and loyalties under threat of death or intense social pressure and isolation from friends and family.

I wouldn't say I was bullied per se, but I did get a lot of unwanted attention because I was musical and stood out. In school you don't want to stand out; you want to blend in.

You know, you can make a small mistake in language or etiquette in Britain, or you could when I was younger, and really be made to feel it, and it's the flick of a lash, but it would sting, and especially at school where there's not much privacy, and so on. You could, yes, undoubtedly be made to feel crushed.

No one wants to be the kid who allies with the weird kid.

It's difficult to not be able to just be yourself without criticism in any position, whether you're in high school, college, or this industry.

If you're a kid who is always on the outside hoping to be on the inside, you're watching a lot. You're trying to figure out how to become a normal person in a society that considers you weird.

I went to an all-boys school and hated feeling like one of the crowd.

A big element of what they regard as conformity is simply a desire to have an audience.

Conformism is a potent statement, and as much as we do talk about individuality in fashion, there's a sense that people are fearful of not conforming and not being part of action.

It seems, by today's standards, that it's better to seek approval than to tell the truth. It's better to utter sweet nothings than to boldly say something of substance.

I caved in to what people wanted me to do. I thought that they weren't going to like me if I didn't.

Avoid popularity; it has many snares, and no real benefit.

In high school, there are so many cliques. You're never safe.

I keep thinking I should get a phone, because everyone's got one and it becomes increasingly difficult to exist in a society where everyone else has moved ahead and you haven't.