I like to refer to my small social circle as 'boutique.' And much like the hotels of the same ilk, my friends are all unique, high quality, and serve me good food. But more than that, they teach me things about the world and about myself that I couldn't learn anywhere else.
Dan Levy
A little confidence can make the simplest of T-shirts look like a million bucks.
When it comes to birthdays, I think there are two camps. There are people like me, who choose to treat it like any other day, and then there are the 'birthday people.' You know, those people who claim the full month in which they were born as their own.
'Simply the Best' has always been one of my favourite songs and a song that I've always thought was far deeper than what you imagine it to be at first listen. I found the lyrics to be really, oddly beautiful, considering you rarely stop and think about them.
Despite probably needing one, I don't have a therapist. Why spend the money on my mental health when I can do far more productive things such as purchase iPhone apps and pay off parking tickets?
I will never have the willpower to completely swear off pizza or a good summer sale, but I'm working on realizing the difference between the occasional craving and the compulsion to mindlessly consume as a feeble means of self-medication.
There is something transformative about the act of finding your own way without a to-do list.
The truth is, we are a culture built on a reward system, and our instinctive pursuit of pleasure can often lead us astray. We will rationalize anything into an excuse to indulge in whatever it is that makes us feel temporarily satiated.
It is important that we realize that words have meanings far beyond the dictionary definition.
Following a trend too closely is a risky thing. If not properly executed, you could easily end up looking uncomfortable, over-styled, and downright foolish.
I've never really learned anything when I feel like it's being forced down my throat.
The sole forms of social interaction I was aware of as a kid involved a jungle gym and a sticker book. It was only in high school that ICQ - a prehistoric form of instant messaging - was first incorporated into my cultural vocabulary.
Sometimes circumstance blinds us at first from seeing people for who they really are.
At the end of the day, I'm from Canada, and so there will never be a time when I'm suddenly not Canadian.
It's pretty incredible to think that someone who once dreamed of a life in fashion could go from reading 'Vogue' during recess in elementary school to eventually seeing his designs grace those very pages.
When I was working at MTV, people would e-mail me asking where I bought my frames, and I always felt a little uneasy telling a teenager to go out and pick up a $400 pair of glasses.
There was a commonality in a lot of the private school experiences that I had of children whose lives were not their own. They thought they were their own, but they were essentially gifted this life by their parents. So they were spending money; they were going on trips - I guess, in a way, it is their life, but they didn't earn it.
I often liken my love life to the pathetic fallacy found in a Bronte novel: a long and winding road tented by storm clouds and rain. Kidding.
Anxiety is my kryptonite.
I remember quite clearly a time when I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life. I was six, I was worry-free, and I aspired to be an actor-slash-pizza maker. To me, the decision was simple; that is what would make me happy.
I've grown up around some incredibly funny people, which has been a blessing and curse because now I've been completely spoiled in terms of what I find funny.
It's that stubborn fixation on details that has invariably prevented me from getting excited about celebrating each passing year. Which is why my friends know that doing things such as throwing me surprise parties would only serve to surprise me with an overwhelming sense of panic and anxiety.
'Real talk' refers to the act of speaking the honest truth about something or someone without fear of consequence.
Lauryn Hill quietly released 'Lose Myself' as part of the 'Surf's Up' motion picture soundtrack - shocking, I know. It's not only one of the best summer tracks you'll add to your catalogue: it's also one of the most honest and heartfelt songs she's has ever written.
To edit someone from your life must be a properly evaluated decision. After all, the act of distancing yourself is difficult and, if executed improperly, could prove even more troublesome than if you were to have done nothing at all. The key is to create the distance gradually - a 'fade out' as I like to call it.
I hated working red carpets, I hated the whole celebrity interview process. I just realized I'd rather be the person somebody wanted to ask questions to than the person asking the questions.
I remember, before I started high school, I was really intrigued by the Buddy Holly/James Dean style of glasses. This was a long, long time before they were sold at every Urban Outfitters.
I'd rather create something that gives people a very strong reaction than create a show that someone looks at and says, 'Hmm. Fine.'
I think because there is the constant looming threat of nepotism and judgment, I really tried to separate what I was doing at MTV, my auditions, anything I was doing creatively, from my family.
There was a time in my life when people called me 'Denim Dan.' I didn't like it. And fortunately for my self-esteem, it didn't stick for very long. I was 12, and I was given the name by my classmates after I showed up to the first day of school in - wait for it - triple denim.
It's important to tell queer stories and to show queer relationships in a very normal setting.
I never pictured L.A. as a hub for amazing food, which I learned quite quickly is sheer naivete. The restaurants here are insane.
I've read about actors trying to prevent their kids from getting into it, and I think that's from what they themselves experienced in the industry.
Masculinity involves feminine qualities, and femininity involves masculine qualities.
I wasn't necessarily aware of what my dad did, but I was aware that wherever we'd go, there would be attention. I was never comfortable with it.
What skills I lacked in, say, math or science, I like to think I made up for in my ability to read people and situations with great clarity. I therefore considered myself as a sort of valued soothsayer when it came to dispensing opinions to my friends about their life choices or relationships.
Valentine's Day is one of those tricky celebrations where you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. If you love it, you're buying into a holiday created to sell greeting cards, bad bouquets, and shoddy love-themed stuffed animals. And if you're opposed to it, you're considered lonely and single and have clearly never had a valentine.
I always try, if I can, to travel before I start a writing project. For me, travelling is my education. It inspires me, and it clears my mind and allows me to come back with a cleansed palate.
Growing up, my height was faithfully tracked from infancy to my late teens on the door frame of my mom's office - the only place in my family's home in Toronto where writing on the walls was encouraged.
Thinking back, the majority of the conflicts I've had in my life have been a result of offering up my two unwelcome cents, crossing that line between constructive truth-telling and preaching.
You often forget, because you're so inside it, that television has power.
Comedy is not easy to begin with, but comedy that also dances with drama - it's so hard.
My mom asked me one day at lunch in a very lovely and respectful way. I was finally comfortable enough to say yes, I was gay, and it really was never talked about again.
A lot of queer relationships on television and in films are met with extreme tragedy.
My parents have always had this philosophy that overindulging your children is one of the worst things you could do as a parent. It's something that was hammered into my head growing up. And while my mom and dad are not professional authorities on parenting, I can confirm from experience that they had a point.
When I feel like treating myself, I'll either turn to food or clothes. Bad food. Expensive clothes. Ironically, I'm usually rewarding myself for a solid week of healthy eating or a nice paycheque.
As a Canadian, we are sort of inherently built with an unshakable humility that at times can work against you.
After getting the job at MTV, the challenge was, 'How do I start my career as a television host without people holding my dad's career over my head?' It's a very easy thing for people to look to my dad and say, 'Well, he got his job because of this.'
I have no patience for homophobia.
There is a lot men don't know about women. And I'm not just talking about how you manage to leave the bathroom smelling like a tropical rainforest after you shower or how you're able to walk in shoes that rely on nothing more than the support of two five-inch toothpicks.
