Lindsey Stirling

“For several years I had no idea that I had become anorexic. And I'd be at places with people I cared about, but what I was thinking about was how much extra grease was on the pizza or the calories that I knew was in that shake.”

“It is very unnatural to dance while playing the violin. I had to practice so hard to learn how to do it, but now it is part of my expression, and it comes naturally. I have to know a song perfectly before I can even begin to move.”

“Going to college is an amazing opportunity to not only learn and be book-smart but also to kind of stretch your wings and expand yourself as a human and as an artist, whatever it is you're going for.”

“I really feel like sometimes I'll write these songs, and I'll just think, 'You know that couldn't have come from me alone.' I believe that God inspires us. I believe that He gives us gifts and talents, and it's up to us to develop them and choose what we do with them.”

“I never would've tried YouTube if I hadn't had so many doors slammed in my face.”

“Maker is extremely proactive and creative with their talent. They seem to have mastered the difficult task of giving attention to their smaller, growing channels while still being able to add value to their larger established channels - plus, with this partnership, I am one step closer to becoming a Disney princess!”

“My audience is a huge part of my success, so I see us as a team. They send me tons of song requests every day. Some of the songs I've never heard before, but I listen to them and then pick the ones that I love.”

“Violinists' hands aren't the prettiest because of our nails and what our hands have to go through.”

“I've always had a fascination with pirates. You know, I've written a song completely inspired by I want this to feel like pirates, you know, fighting together, made a music video about it, yada, yada.”

“Everybody has their demons that they face, and I went through a time when I thought it was impossible to love myself.”

“I played the violin my whole life. I wanted to play from the time I was just a little kid, and I've always loved dance as well. I wanted to make people smile. I wanted to add an extra energy to my playing and make it visual and make it unique and fun.”

“I know that I received so much help from God to become that kind of person that I wanted to be. That's honestly the message that I think is in a lot of my songs.”

“I was told at first that being different was a bad thing. Everywhere I went, it was just, 'You're too different'... And it turned out that being different was the best thing that ever happened to my career. It is why people travel to my shows. It's why people want to hear my story and buy my book.”

“Europe in general is a great place for me, but specifically Germany has been very good to me. Germans love classical music... Electronic dance music is massive over there, so I'm kind of the marriage between the two.”

“Visualization - it's been huge for me. Your mind doesn't know the difference between imagination and reality. You can't always practice perfectly - my fingers will play a little bit out of tune, or my dance moves might not be as sharp - but in my mind, I can practice perfectly.”

“I was told by so many people that I wouldn't succeed because I was too different. Ironically, the very reason that people watch my channel and travel thousands of miles to see a show... is because it's different. God didn't send us to Earth to just blend in. We are here to share what makes us unique.”

“If I like dubstep and electronic, why don't I make the violin fit me rather than making myself fit the violin?”

“It's not like I try to be different, but every single person is unique, and every single person has special things to offer, and it's about embracing it and not being afraid of the fact that maybe you're different or quirky, but it's okay to be different, and it can be a wonderful thing.”