A classic is a work which persists as a background noise even when a present that is totally incompatible with it holds sway. Italo Calvino
A good short-story writer has an instinct for sketching in just enough background to ground the specific story. Lynn Abbey
I come from a very rough background, and I'm saying that if you work hard and dedicate yourself that you can make it, too. Floyd Mayweather Jr
I got into law school to supplement my business background. I'm not planning to practice law. Shannon Miller
I have a lot of endurance and I have a good background right now in my training and it's time to get ready. Ryan Lochte
I wanted to tell my story and where I came from and my background, because it was not easy.Gabby Douglas
Let a man get up and say, Behold, this is the truth, and instantly I perceive a sandy cat filching a piece of fish in the background. Look, you have forgotten the cat, I say. Virginia Woolf
My background wasn't one blessed with all the luxuries in life. Nothing is forever and I realize that. Junior Seau
My family background has always been very supportive. They're going to be there for me no matter what. Mark Sanchez
My fiction is almost always inspired by a character's need or desire to rise above him- or herself. No one is perfect and some of us have much adversity in our lives; it is those people who struggle to rise above their nature or background that I find the most interesting and heroic. Robert Crais
My musical background is like almost every non classical musician in the world. One day a special record was heard and that was it. I was hooked, started trying to play various instruments and was off to bar land to become a rock star. What else? Kevin Johnson
My undergraduate degree is in business, so I'm trying to get a bit of a background before I go in. Shannon Miller
Obviously, I come from one background, and the people that design fitness equipment have been doing it for years and years, and they know what works and doesn't work. Lance Armstrong
People think that I'm mean because I'm quiet, and I don't really go out places or because I don't really say too much. On the other hand, people think that I'm soft because I may not handle myself the way other people handle themselves. That's just not me. They don't know my background or none of that stuff. Derrick Rose
With literature, sometimes a book is presented in the media as being say, a Muslim story or an African story, when essentially it's a universal story which we can all relate to it, no matter what race or social background we come from. Shawn Johnson