"I get strength from my art – all the paintings I own are powerful." ― Madonna Ciccone Topic(s): Friendship More From Madonna Ciccone "When I first came to New York I was a dancer, and a French record label offered me a recording contract and I had to go to Paris to do it. So I went there and that’s how I really got into the music business. But I didn’t like what I was doing when I got there, so I left, and I never did a record there." "Part of the reason I sort of shot out like a cannon out of Michigan and left home at such an early age is because I had to feel independent." "Catholicism is not a soothing religion. It’s a painful religion. We’re all gluttons for punishment." More In Friendship "The sincere friends of this world are as ship lights in the stormiest of nights."― Giotto di Bondone "Genius always gives its best at first; prudence, at last."― Lucius Annaeus Seneca "The fact is, with every friendship you make, and every bond of trust you establish, you are shaping the image of America projected to the rest of the world. That is so important. So when you study abroad, you’re actually helping to make America stronger."― Michelle Obama