Zendaya’s Life Motto Is One We Should All Strive to Live By

For almost a decade, one teeny, tiny acronym has been encouraging us how to live our lives: YOLO. At the time, Drake’s iconic 2012 hit “The Motto” didn’t seem too far-fetched. You only live once, so you better make it count. But after the devastating and eye-opening year we’ve endured, we think it’s time for a motto upgrade, and Zendaya thinks so too. 

On Tuesday, February 23rd, the Euphoria actress appeared on Vanity Fair‘s Proust Questionnaire, a segment where 35 personal questions are asked in hopes of revealing an actor’s true personality. To round out her interview, she was asked for her motto, in which she responded with a smize, “My motto is don’t be an asshole.”

It’s a motto that doesn’t need any analyzing or reading in between the lines; but, in order not to be an asshole yourself, you have to take a hard look at the people you surround yourself with. Are they non-assholes, too?

For Zendaya, this is what’s most important. While her family is her greatest love, including her grandmothers—whom she says are the people she most admires—her friends also mean just as much. “You need those types of people who are judgement free and just look at you and see you at the end of the day,” she quipped. The Malcolm & Marie actress explained there’s no better feeling than when someone looks at you wholly, for who you are as a person.

Surrounding yourself with these types of people can be a self-confidence and self-love booster, an area Zendaya is very passionate about. “I don’t think it’s fair to say someone is full of themselves if they just love themself.” Well, when you put it like that, it seems pretty silly to make fun of someone who is happy with who they are. Don’t you think?

“I promote self-love and I think I have to live that too. So, I definitely try not to be critical of myself and my appearance,” she told Vanity Fair. That being said, Zendaya says she’s still in a phase of learning and growing, which can include making mistakes or being on the fence about what she wants. 

“I think I’m lucky and unlucky that I’m doing it in front of the world. But, I think my indecisiveness maybe reflects the fact that I am still figuring it out.”