If I cared deeply about what people thought of me, I probably would have never made it out of Compton, California.

Some people say I have attitude - maybe I do... but I think you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does - that makes you a winner right there.

I don't focus on what I'm up against. I focus on my goals and I try to ignore the rest.

Just believe in yourself. Even if you don't, pretend that you do and, at some point, you will.

My motto is: I'm alive, so that means I can do anything.

In my mind, I'm always the best. If I walk out on the court (and) I think the next person is better, I've already lost.

Of course, I want to be number one. But being happy and healthy is the most important thing.

Tennis is mostly mental. Of course, you must have a lot of physical skill, but you can't play tennis well and not be a good thinker. You win or lose the match before you even go out there.

When you lose, you're more motivated. When you win, you fail to see your mistakes and probably no one can tell you anything.

In the sports arena I would say there is nothing like training and preparation. You have to train your mind as much as your body.

My first job is big sister and I take that very seriously.

All I wanted for Christmas was a New Years Eve party that I would never forget. Too bad I got too drunk to remember it.

Listen to all the conversations of our world, between nations as well as between individuals. They are, for the most part, dialogues of the deaf.

I'm really into rocks. I have a really serious rock collection. Rocks and feathers and shells and strange found things in nature. I have a lot of those kinds of collections.

Greek pederasty honored the erotic magnetism of male adolescence in a way that today brings police to the door. Children are more conscious and perverse than parents like to think.

We have the possibility of being far removed from what we are, of beginning to taste it and feel it. That is direct knowledge. That is truth. Anything else is mere words.

Americans understand we fight not a religion; ours is not a campaign against the Muslim faith. Ours is a campaign against evil.

My sisters were sent away because my mother thought they were boring. I was not boring.

No matter how good the pitcher, she is still hit-able in more than one way.

I suppose that being moved to write a song is more applicable to me, I have to be moved, I have to have a reason to write a particular song.

Each time a door closes, the rest of the world opens up.