{"quotes":[{"text":"Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.","author":"Lao Tzu","tags":["acceptance","contentment","perception","self-acceptance","self-assurance","self-confidence"],"id":11659,"author_id":"Lao+Tzu"},{"text":"Doubt quit stopping by when I started staying out late, dancing in a flood of self assurance discovered when holding your hand.","author":"Taylor Patton","tags":["dancing","doubt","love","poem","poetry","self-assurance"],"id":23983,"author_id":"Taylor+Patton"},{"text":"Moments later, I was climbing nervously into the back of the car. The driver wore the archetypal expression of an antagonist. No words were exchanged beyond the brief lines uttered to this nameless stranger, whose inclinations remained unclear. The car sped along empty roads and traversed dingy alleyways. Music blared from its speakers. I did not remember exhaling throughout the entire journey.","author":"Agnes Chew","tags":["anchoring","attachment","beauty","belonging","booksactually","consciousness","country","desire","empowerment","expression","farewell","home","homelessness","inclinations","independence","individuality","inspirational","ireadbooksactually","love","melodies","memories","music","nameless","nationality","past-lives","present","prose","reality","roots","self-assurance","self-awareness","self-containment","self-determination","self-esteem","self-reliance","self-respect","self-sufficiency","self-trust","sglitftw","singapore-literature","singlit","space","stranger","travel","wanderlust","world"],"id":49841,"author_id":"Agnes+Chew"},{"text":"The only way you will ever be free is when you decide you have had enough of living up to the standards other people force upon you through shame. Never wear their chains of judgment when they can’t break free of their own.","author":"Shannon L. Alder","tags":["confidence","freedom","freedom-of-judgement","freedom-of-opinion","lessons-learned-in-life","self-assurance","self-esteem-101","stayingpositiveu-com"],"id":68125,"author_id":"Shannon+L.+Alder"},{"text":"If you do not know where you come from, then you don't know where you are, and if you don't know where you are, then you don't know where you're going. And if you don't know where you're going, you're probably going wrong.","author":"Terry Pratchett","tags":["certainty","direction","knowledge","self-assurance"],"id":68818,"author_id":"Terry+Pratchett"},{"text":"I imagine that the intelligent people are the ones so intelligent that they don't even need or want to look 'intelligent' anymore.","author":"Criss Jami","tags":["above-and-beyond","assurance","certainty","concealment","confidence","foolishness","humility","intelligence","philosophy","pretentiousness","profound","self-assurance","theory","within"],"id":70615,"author_id":"Criss+Jami"},{"text":"Some people’s self-esteem was secretly improved when they discovered that their then-lovers had killed themselves over them.","author":"Mokokoma Mokhonoana","tags":["aphorism","aphorisms","aphorist","aphorists","aplomb","assertiveness","better","bettered","boldness","boy","boyfriend","boyfriends","boys","confidence","confident","courage","esteem","funny","girl","girlfriend","girlfriends","girls","hilarious","humor","humorous","humour","husband","husbands","improve","improved","in-secret-secretly","joke","jokes","kill","kill-herself-over","kill-himself-over","kill-oneself-over","kill-yourself-over","killed","killed-herself-over","killed-himself-over","killing-yourself-over","lover","lovers","man","men","mettle","nerve","phlegm","poise","romeo-and-juliet","satire","secret","self-assurance","self-confidence","self-esteem","self-murder","self-murders","self-possession","suicidal","suicide","suicides","wife","wives","woman","women"],"id":81360,"author_id":"Mokokoma+Mokhonoana"},{"text":"And here I was, left with only myself to deal with. It was entirely up to me.","author":"James Baldwin","tags":["alone","deal","entirely","left","loneliness","me","myself","nobody-knows-my-name","only","self-assurance","to","up","with"],"id":105686,"author_id":"James+Baldwin"},{"text":"Style comes from knowing who you are and who you want to be in the world; it does not come from wanting to be somebody else, or wanting to be thinner, shorter, taller, prettier.","author":"Nina García","tags":["beauty","confidence","self-assurance","self-esteem","self-worth","style"],"id":115370,"author_id":"Nina+Garc%C3%ADa"},{"text":"It's okay to look different, Lilith. Beauty is only a matter of opinion. If you believe you are beautiful, then that's all that matters. These are really tough years you're approaching now. Your decisions now as a teenager can change your entire life. Just make sure you talk to me or comeone if you're ever feeling like life is too much to handle. And never let anyone convince you that you're not worthy, only to take advantage of you.","author":"Penelope Ward","tags":["beauty","self-assurance","teenagers"],"id":117911,"author_id":"Penelope+Ward"}],"pagination":{"page":1,"page_size":10,"total":41,"pages":5,"next":"?page=2\u0026page_size=10"}}