“You’ve no idea what it’s like, Captain Drake, to be a woman. To be told all your life that everything you want is foolish and that you’re useless except as a broodmare. First it was simple. ‘Don’t climb that tree, Serenity. Ladies never do such.’ Then it was, ‘Don’t run, it’s not ladylike. Don’t raise your voice. Don’t speak your thoughts. Don’t laugh too loudly, don’t eat too much, don’t cut your hair, don’t wear those colors.’ My whole life is don’t. Now I’m too old to even be a broodmare. (Serenity)”

“Don’t use your conscious past. Use your creative imagination to create a past that belongs to your character. I don’t want you to be stuck with your own life. It’s too little.”

“Don’t work too hard. Try to maintain balance. Don’t make work your whole life.”

“In my prayers, I want to say: Lord, don’t be far from me, and also don’t come too close. Let me contemplate the stars on the texture of your cloth, but don’t unveil your face to me. Allow me to hear the rivers that you send running, but Lord! Lord! Don’t allow me hearing your voice”

“It’s not what you wear that sets you apart from your fellow man, but what you don’t wear. I don’t wear pants, for instance, and while you’re pondering that, take a moment to gaze at my penis.”

“Don’t be afraid to be weird, don’t be afraid to be different, don’t worry too much about what other people think. Whatever it is that’s original in you and your work might sometimes make you feel uncomfortable. That probably means you’re on the right track, so just keep going.Dare to be foolish.”