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Born Quotes

Where you start shapes who you become.

This page gathers quotes about origins in the literal sense — being born into music, born in a specific state or country — alongside a more analytical note on how each generation's tastes differ from the one before it. For more on personal identity, see our Identity quotes.

I was born in Northern Ireland in 1951. I lived most of my life there until 1986 or 1987.

Quotes by Paul Muldoon

My parents were born in Norfolk and spent their early years working in the big houses of that rural English county, my mother as a cook and my father as a handyman and chauffeur.

Quotes by Paul Nurse

Everything vanishes around me, and works are born as if out of the void. Ripe, graphic fruits fall off. My hand has become the obedient instrument of a remote will.

Quotes by Paul Klee

I was born in Berlin on March 15, 1830, the second son of the royal university professor K. W. L. Heyse and his wife Julie, nee Saaling, who came from a Jewish family.

Quotes by Paul Heyse

My guitar playing was born from playing in my teenage heavy rock bands.

Quotes by Paul Gilbert

We are born knowing nothing and with much striving we learn but a little; yet all the while we are bound by laws that hearken to no plea of ignorance, and measure out their rewards and punishments with calm indifference.

Quotes by Paul Elmer More

Has the painter not always gone to an art school, or at least to an established master, for instruction? And the composer, the sculptor, the architect? Then why not the writer? Good poets, like good hybrid corn, are both born...

Quotes by Paul Engle

I want to convince you that humans are, to some extent, natural born essentialists. What I mean by this is we don't just respond to things as we see them or feel them or hear them. Rather, our response is...

Quotes by Paul Bloom

I was born a Catholic and now I'm a lapsed Catholic. I'm something but I'm not a believer any more.

Quotes by Paul Bettany

I was brought up to express myself only when asked to express myself, and then to do so in a way that's pleasing to hear. But I've always had a need to make my presence known. I was just sort...

Quotes by Patty Griffin

My personal history, along with the history of many black people in this country, is rife with trauma born out of anti-black policies aided and facilitated by presidents and their administrations.

Quotes by Patrisse Cullors

#BlackLivesMatter was born online but now lives in street actions, in conversations in our homes, and in the dignity swelling in our hearts. That is the power of the open Internet, and it is why we must do everything we...

Quotes by Patrisse Cullors

When I was born, my parents were huge into skiing. I grew up on Mont Blanc, skiing on that hill. I was really a ski baby. Loved it; I still love it.

Quotes by Patrick Chan

I was born in Canada for a reason. It was because my parents wanted me to have the freedoms that this country offers.

Quotes by Patrick Chan

I think what happens is you write how you grew up. And I was born on the prairie, and so everything is kind of spare on the prairie. And so I'm just used to writing in that way. 'Sarah, Plain...

Quotes by Patricia MacLachlan

New Orleans. Born and raised. I lived there until I was 19.

Quotes by Patricia Clarkson

Knowledge born of the finest discrimination takes us to the farthest shore. It is intuitive, omniscient, and beyond all divisions of time and space.

Quotes by Patanjali

I was born in India… Gujarat. I am an Indian! And India is a democratic country, anyone can stand for elections. I can also stand for elections.

Quotes by Paresh Rawal

I was born and brought up in Ambala.

Quotes by Parineeti Chopra

Mum doesn't like it when I mention that Dad's a better cook than her. He was born in Spain and spent eight years in Portugal and is exceptional at lots of cuisines.

Quotes by Paloma Faith

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a quote about feeling born to do something specific, like music?
Yes, one quote puts it simply: "I feel like I was born to make music." For more on this sense of purpose and identity, see our Identity quotes.
Is there a quote about being born in one place but not sounding like it?
Yes, one quote notes: "I was born in New Jersey, but it doesn't sound like I'm from a certain region." For more on origins and starting points, check our Beginning quotes.
Is there a quote that gives an exact birth date and place?
Yes, one quote is quite specific: "I was born on June 3rd, 1929, in Graenichen in the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland, where I went to the public schools until the age of 16." For more reflections on the shape of a life, see our Life quotes.
Is there a quote comparing people born in different generations?
Yes, one quote observes: "We are working to understand the tastes of people born in the 1980s and 1990s - it is very different from my generation." It's a reminder of how much perspective can shift between generations.
Where can I find more quotes about identity and emotion tied to where we come from?
Our Emotion quotes are a good next stop for more on the feelings tied up in where and how we begin.

Quotes about how people start out and grow continue on our Beginning page, while Life quotes take the theme further into adulthood.