A Quote by Helen Oyeyemi

So many times I've encountered people who are just kind of like, 'Yeah, Nigeria,' and, you know, thump their chest and seem very sure of, like, being Nigerian. And I'm just kind of, like, I wish I could be that sure.
In music industry they always want you to write something like the one that was popular. And that's something you kind of have to just - sometimes you just say yes to people, like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure," and then you just write the one you want to write.
I’m sure you gathered this by now: I just do what I want. Have I made out with chicks? Hell yeah. Did I think it was awesome? Hell yeah. I wouldn’t call myself bi. Like, if I didn’t eat meat for a week, it doesn’t make me a vegetarian. So I like people, and that’s just it. I like people.
I just kind of muddled through in my 20s. I did whatever I got offered, to be honest, to pay the bills. I didn't really know what I was doing. There are some actors in their 20s who are very sure. I wasn't very sure what I was doing. I feel like I've only really just got going.
We're in transit so often and when we're moving from one place to the next and I have to be very alert and present and aware of where we are. You know, just like protecting our gear and making sure we get from one place to the next safely, being around so many people's energies. It's not just like a totally open and relaxed state to be in.
I like that 'Pitch Perfect' is one of my first forays into film and just being seen in that kind of light, aside from some people who know me from 'Spring Awakening' or the other things that I've done. I think in so many ways it's kind of like my own 'Glee' or 'Smash'.
Its funny because when I did feel like I came out and I just felt like I was being truthful to myself, (it was at) that point I became very successful. So you know, it took a true kind of facing that truth of myself and being honest, that was when the real kind of fame or whatever that kind of stuff happened for me.
I feel like a lot of the films I do, part of the reason I like doing them is I'm not 100 percent sure what it's going to be. It's exciting. I read an equal amount of very generic scripts, and you kind of know exactly what those are and that doesn't whet my appetite. I already know what it is or I already know what the character is. It's just a lot harder to get interested.
A bouquet of clumsy words: you know that place between sleep and awake where you're still dreaming but it's slowly slipping? I wish we could feel like that more often. I also wish I could click my fingers three times and be transported to anywhere I like. I wish that people didn't always say 'just wondering' when you both know there was a real reason behind them asking. And I wish I could get lost in the stars. Listen, there's a hell of a good universe next door, let's go.
I love music. I love every kind of extreme sort of music, and many different genres, and if I were to have to dedicate myself to just one kind of genre, I would feel kind of gypped. I'd be like, man, I wish I could do this or that. And really all it takes is trying it out.
Don't you guys, like when you're driving at night and you're like, and you can kind of see through the window and you think, oh that looks so cozy in there. I wish I could like get a free pass. Yeah, so that's probably the one I'd pick. I'd be a total creeper but.
I just like to work with other people, and I like things that are kind of a little bit bigger than that. I don't know. I just feel like a solo record just kind of gives me the willies a little bit.
I kind of - you learn it, you master it, and then you make sure that it just disappears. You know, like if I could have invisible lights, I would, and invisible cameras. I'm just really trying to get at my subject and I respect the technical aspect, but it is not anything that I think about at this point.
I have "come back" [to music scene] so many times, people are just like, Is this another one?... It's kind of like a joke to me now.
Maybe Japan itself is a little similar in that a lot of young people seem to have a little knowledge but not too much depth. I guess my perception of the art specialists in America or in Europe is that the art people are kind of mainly just the art people and that community is self-contained. But in Japan, it mixes with fashion and other things. I'm sure that many authentic art dealers or insiders didn't like the way that we presented our show in this very pop-y, accessible manner - just showing parts of our collections and selling prints and collaborative products.
I come from an intense family - like, we're just intense people. Not bad people or anything, we are just very intense, and I have just always felt like people who weren't like that were just a kind of hiding it, like when I was really young in high school.
Before I transitioned, I felt like I could walk on stage and just, like, say anything and people would just laugh. And that's kind of a privilege that I just lost through the layers of social context and me being visibly a political object in a lot of people's brains.
This site uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. More info...
Got it!