Five Johnny Weir Quotes That Promote Positivity
Johnny Weir is one of the most well-known American figure skaters of recent years. Weir has become extremely popular for his eccentric stage presence and entertaining performances. Weir says that he became interested in skating as a young child after watching Oksana Baiul win the Olympic gold medal in 1994. He began ice-skating at the relatively old age of 12; however, he quickly progressed and was able to perform an Axel jump just two weeks after he began. Weir’s career quickly took off, and he achieved his first major victory at the age of 16. Throughout the years, Weir has earned several gold medals and has become one of the fiercest competitors in the figure skating world.
However, even with his world-wide success, Weir has often received criticism for his skating style, which many have deemed as too feminine. Many people made assumptions that Weir was gay, but he chose to keep his personal life private, and for years he did not confirm or deny the public’s suspicions. In 2011, two years before retiring from figure skating, Weir announced his sexuality to the world. Since coming out, Weir has received both positive and negative reactions; however, he has always remained proud of himself and his choices. Here are five quotes from Johnny Weir that promote positivity.
5. ” I want to be judged by who I am, not what I am. I mean, I am Johnny Weir. Judge me the way you see me, love me the way you see me, hate me the way you see me.”
Whether it’s right or wrong, people are constantly judging each other on their opinions and choices, and unfortunately, it is impossible to avoid this judgement. Throughout his figure skating career, Johnny Weir has encountered his share of adversity. However, even through the offensive comments that were thrown his way, Weir has remained positive and outgoing. All he asks is that people love and accept him for who he is.
4. “If we do in fact have only one life, why not live it? It’s important for people to get to know themselves in this time of Facebook and Internet etc. It’s easy to hide behind your devices and your hangups and what’s “in” right now, but honestly there’s nothing more validating than knowing exactly who you are and what you believe in.”
With only one life to live, it is important that people make the best out of the opportunities they are presented with. Although technology has given us a lot of good things, it it has also changed some things for the worse. Thanks to social networking websites, and the internet as a whole, it has become extremely easy for people to live their lives through entirely made up personas. Many people hide behind this personas as a way of avoiding issues in real life. However, even in a world where it can be difficult to get to know others, it is important that we know ourselves.
3. “Love myself I do. Not everything, but I love the good as well as the bad. I love my crazy lifestyle, and I love my hard discipline. I love my freedom of speech and the way my eyes get dark when I’m tired. I love that I have learned to trust people with my heart, even if it will get broken. I am proud of everything that I am and will become.”
Not only is it important to know yourself, but it’s important to love yourself as well. Although outside critics may not always appreciate him for who he is, Johnny Weir makes it clear that while he realizes he isn’t a perfect person, he has grown to love his imperfections.
2. “I’m different, and I have to be a warrior to be that way. But I have had some success; I hope I have touched the lives of some wonderful people, all by being what I see as myself but some others people see as different.”
Johnny Weir’s confidence has always set him apart from his competitors. He never seems phased by the cruel comments he has received. Weir knows that sometimes all it takes is one person with courage to inspire others. Through it all, Weir, a self-proclaimed warrior, has certainly shown such courage, especially throughout his struggle to reveal his long questioned sexuality.
1. “If just one person, one child who is made to feel isolated, looks at me and sees that it is okay to be your own person and walk down your own path, then everything I have ever gone through will be worth it.”
In his 2011 memoir, My World, Weir shared his sexuality with the world. Although the public had long speculated that he was gay, he had chosen not to address comments for years. Although Weir has had to endure a lot of criticism from the public, he hopes that his story will inspire people to feel confident in who they are. During the Winter Olympics in 2011, two sports commentators made inappropriate remarks about Weir, stating: “This may not be politically correct, but do you think he lost points due to his costume and his body language?…They’ll think all the boys who skate will end up like him. It sets a bad example…Goldberg then said, “We should make him [Weir] pass a gender test at this point.” However, instead of responding to the comments with anger, Weir simply said that he had heard worse before and hopes that ” 50 years from now more young boys and girls to have to go through this sort of thing.”
(Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
