When a young person is sent 'up the river,' we need to remember that all rivers can change course.
When I was a young person I went to the university and I learned a rational language, to think with the left side of the brain. But in the right side of the brain you have intuition and imagination. Words are not the truth; they indicate the way to go, but you need to go alone, in silence. Symbols have a language that kills the words.
Every young person needs to have a character that they can identify with and feel included by.
There are a few directors as a young person where I was kind of like, 'Well, these are a sure bet.' The Coens, Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson.
I don't think a young person ever really quite knows what's going on when their norm becomes going to the grocery store with sunglasses on at 11 years old. It's kind of weird, and I'll say it also went to my head the first little season, because that became normal for me.
At age 14, you are just beginning to work out who you think you are, and being famous is a huge distortion of reality, and it's not healthy for a young person to be considered more special than their peers. So, I would say it hindered my self-esteem but in later years gave me a great perspective that I wouldn't have if I hadn't experienced that.
I think as a young person, you're kind of game for whatever sometimes.
If you are a young person who is wanting to develop a passion, you cannot expect anyone else to tell you what that passion would be.
Like any young person, I do what I want.
Changing laws and changing the political dialogue, while necessary, is insufficient to ensure that bullying stops; to ensure that every young person is supported by their parents and their teachers as they question who they are and they discover who they are regardless of the sexuality.
