Quote Of The Day By Cyndi Lauper: 'Your Own Shoes Are Hard Enough To Fill, But ...'

In 1983, Cyndi Lauper burst onto the world stage with her solo album, "She's So Unusual," which featured such MTV staples as "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," an '80s song that nailed what it meant to be young and free. With her massive vocal range and quirky style, Lauper — born in Brooklyn in 1953 — became a pop sensation and scored four Top 10 hits on her first album alone and won a Grammy for best new artist in 1985.

What seemed like instant success was anything but. She quit high school, ran through a series of menial jobs, had her first band break up after only one album, and Lauper went into bankruptcy fighting her manager in court to hold onto the rights to her music. Still, Lauper not only survived but soared.

One might think that with her refusal to fit into a preconceived mold and her outspoken support of AIDS awareness and the LGBTQ+ community, all while they were considered controversial subjects, that she was someone who wouldn't bend to pressure. But early on, she had to fight record executives and producers tooth and nail to stay true to her own vision, and that's why Cyndi Lauper is today's quote of the day.

"You get pressure your whole life, and you have to make a choice. Your own shoes are hard enough to fill, but somebody else's are even tougher."

In 2002, Cyndi Lauper made this statement in Metro Weekly in response to a question about whether she had ever been pressured by the music industry to do things that weren't her. Her answer hits at the heart of the issue. While it may seem hard not to bow to pressure, remaining true to yourself in the end is easier since you only have yourself to satisfy.

Cyndi Lauper's response in her 2002 Metro Weekly interview may at first seem antithetical to commonly held beliefs. After all, between a fear of rejection, disappointing others, and our brains skewing towards a herd mentality, it would seem much harder to stay true to ourselves. But Lauper turns this around and makes the case that if we spend our lives trying to fit into other people's idea of us, it becomes nearly impossible. On the other hand, if we remain true to ourselves, we only have one person to live up to.

In the early 1980s, when Lauper was starting out, record executives wanted to mold her image and sound, trying to turn Lauper into the next Barbra Streisand, but Lauper refused to bend to their will. If not for staying true to herself, it's unlikely "Time After Time" would have ever seen the light of day. Lauper had to fight to be allowed to co-write the song that became her first No. 1 Billboard hit, and it remains a classic. Likewise, she was discouraged from voicing her views and her activism related to AIDS and the LGBTQ+ community in the 1980s, but refused to be silenced. Her work, which continues, has helped countless people over the decades.

Like Lauper, who made music and videos that defined MTV's bygone era and has been a dedicated activist for others' rights, we should stay true to ourselves. After all, in the end, as Lauper said, we only have our own shoes to fill.

• "You have to have the courage to create something ... be different."

• "I really fought to do what I wanted to do."

• "[Y]ou can create art in your head, and then you can view things differently."

• "I wasn't so strict [at first] but after a while I became very strict and I told them what I would sing and wouldn't sing."

• "Gatekeepers come and go, but musicians always play. Nobody can take that away from you."

• "I really stood up for myself. No one was used to that."

• "It's your time, it's time to be really creative — don't listen if somebody says, 'You can't do that.' There's no you can't ...just do it."