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I discovered I was an Asian American when I arrived in the U.S. I didn’t identify as that before I came here.

Mitski

I tend to not want to do that anymore. It’s not even that I don’t like it anymore: it’s that I keep trying to find ways for people to dislike me.
MITSKI

Anymore Dislike Even Keep Me People Tend Try Way
I think the pressure gets to me when I play shows and there’s more people in the audience than I’m used to.
MITSKI

Audience Get People Play Pressure Show Think
Maybe this is a made-up belief to preserve myself, but I do believe that everyone has a purpose, and my purpose is to put out music that means something.
MITSKI

Belief Everyone Made Maybe Myself Preserve Purpose
I think music is supposed to be shared.
MITSKI

Music Share Suppose Think
I’m punk, but I love gold.
MITSKI

Gold Punk Love
Everything is so chaotic and messy in the world, and I have always felt kind of dirty.
MITSKI

Always Chaostic Dirty Everything Felt Messy So World
In my first few years of being in New York, I had a major identity crisis because I’d never stayed in one place for so long.
MITSKI

Being Country Crisis First Few Identity Long Major never One Place Stay Year
As a woman of color, I always have to be at 150 percent and better than everybody in the room to be considered competent.
MITSKI

Always Better Color Competent Consider Everybody Fifty Hundred Percent Room Woman
Being an outsider makes you a really good writer.
MITSKI

Being Good Outsider Relly Writer
I created this ‘ideal America.’ Finally I came to the U.S. and realised, ‘Oh, I don’t belong here, either.’
MITSKI

Belong Came Country Create Either Idea Realise
I don’t set out to write something. I more just write, and later on, I discover what it’s about.
MITSKI

Discover More Out Set Something Write
I think my real influences are out of my control, which are the things that entered my brain when I was a kid growing up.
MITSKI

Brain Control Entered Growth Influence Kid Out Thing Think
When you are a minority, it’s your job to bend, and when you love someone, you really want to make it work.
MITSKI

Bend Job Love Make Minority Really Someone Want Work
I’m Japanese, and I’m also white American, and neither camp wants me in their camp.
MITSKI

Also Camp Country Neither Want White
Being an outsider at all times is both unhealthy and useful, because you become much more objective about things.
MITSKI

All Become Being Bought More Objective Outsider Thing Time Unhealthy Useful
If I have a song where I hit some really high notes, I want to try to bring in equivalently low notes somewhere in there.
MITSKI

Bring High Low Notes Really Some Somewhere Song Try Want
I don’t think ‘bleak’ is a bad thing.
MITSKI

Bad Bleak Thing Think
I hate that my opinions are gonna be on record… that my opinions of other artists are going to be on record.
MITSKI

Artist Gonna Hate Opinion Other Record
If I ever found a place where I belonged, that in itself would be an identity crisis to me.
MITSKI

Belong Crisis Even Found Identity Itself Place
Tour isn’t good for writing, but it’s good for inspiration.
MITSKI

Good Inspiration Tour Writing
I could never enter that dream. That all-American white culture is something that is inherited instead of attained.
MITSKI

Attain Country Culture Dream Enter Inherited never Something
I couldn’t wait to get out of school, but once I did, I didn’t actually know what I wanted to do with myself. I don’t really know how it happened, but I just started writing music and realized that’s what I wanted to do.
MITSKI

Actually Get Know Myself Once Out School Wait Want
When you’re doing something you’re not used to, you kind of realize that you’re still a kid: even though the whole world around you sees you as an adult and you’re expected to act like an adult, you still haven’t actually grown up.
MITSKI

Adult Doing Expect Growth Kid Kind Realize Something Still
I don’t really listen to pop-country, but I like really, really old country that’s closer to folk. Like Johnny Cash, who is considered country.
MITSKI

Closer Country Folk Listen Old Pop Really
Music was the one thing that was just mine, and no one could take it from me. I created it, dictated it, and it made me not able to let go of it.
MITSKI

Could Just Me Mine Music One Put Thing
Oftentimes, the most important decisions I make are the ones I don’t put much thought into.
MITSKI

Decision Important Into Make Most Much Often One Put Times
I don’t think I’m alone in this: I’m obsessed with trying to not only be happy but maintain happiness, but my definition of happiness is skewed more towards ecstasy rather than contentment.
MITSKI

Alone Happiness Maintain Obsessed Think Try

I discovered I was an Asian American when I arrived in the U.S. I didn’t identify as that before I came here.

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Popular Authors

I discovered I was an Asian American when I arrived in the U.S. I didn’t identify as that before I came here.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Mitski Quotes