--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was a shy kid with a broom handle that…" description: "\"I was a shy kid with a broom handle that I pretended was a microphone.\" — Patti LaBelle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/patti-labelle-10909_brooms_i-was-a-shy-kid-with-a-broom-handle-that_1415619.png" --- # I was a shy kid with a broom handle that I pretended was a… ![“I was a shy kid with a broom handle that I pretended was a microphone.” quote by Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/patti-labelle-10909_brooms_i-was-a-shy-kid-with-a-broom-handle-that_1415619.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/patti-labelle-10909_brooms_i-was-a-shy-kid-with-a-broom-handle-that_1415619.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/patti-labelle-10909_brooms_i-was-a-shy-kid-with-a-broom-handle-that_1415619.png) > “I was a shy kid with a broom handle that I pretended was a microphone.” [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Childhood imagination turned a simple broom into a pretend microphone, showing creative play's power **In simple terms:** Imagination turns ordinary objects into tools for expression Key Takeaway Embrace playfulness to boost confidence Themes creativity confidence childhood Mood playful inspirational Type personal motivational When to use this quote - stage performance - public speaking - personal growth Key Concepts symbolic play self‑expression Questions to Reflect On - When did play help you overcome shyness? - How does imagination affect confidence? A Different Perspective Play can be dismissed as frivolous in serious contexts ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broom Handle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broom-handle-5000114/) [Brooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brooms/) [Handle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handle/) [Handle Pretended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handle-pretended-5000112/) [Kid Broom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kid-broom-5000113/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Microphones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microphones/) [Pretended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretended/) [Pretended Microphone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretended-microphone-5000111/) [Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet/) [Shy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shy/) ## Related quotes > [There's times when I'm cleaning the kitchen, and while I'm doing that, I'm singing and air guitaring with a broom to 'You Should Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/there-s-times-when-i-m-cleaning-the-kitchen-and-while-i-m-doing-that/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [There should be less talk. . . . What do you do then? Take a broom and clean someone's house. That says enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/there-should-be-less-talk-what-do-you-do-then-take-a-broom-and-clean/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands,' said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/draco-malfoy/my-father-s-next-door-buying-my-books-and-mother-s-up-the-street/) [Draco Malfoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/draco-malfoy/) > [Photographers who come up with power never get accused of imitating anyone else even though they photograph the same broom, same street, same portraits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/photographers-who-come-up-with-power-never-get-accused-of-imitating/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [It is up to us to organize the people. As for the reactionaries in China, it is up to us to organize the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/it-is-up-to-us-to-organize-the-people-as-for-the-reactionaries-in/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [I use all sorts of things to work with: old brooms, old sweaters, and all kinds of peculiar tools and materials... I paint to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-use-all-sorts-of-things-to-work-with-old-brooms-old-sweaters-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I mean, give me a guitar, give me a piano, give me a broom and string, I wouldn't get bored anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/i-mean-give-me-a-guitar-give-me-a-piano-give-me-a-broom-and-string-i/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [She comes by night, in fearsome flight, in garments black as pitch, the queen of doom upon her broom, the wild and wicked witch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-prelutsky/she-comes-by-night-in-fearsome-flight-in-garments-black-as-pitch-the/) [Jack Prelutsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-prelutsky/) > [There was this big skiffle craze happening for a while in England… Everybody was in a skiffle group..All you needed was an acoustic Guitar,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/there-was-this-big-skiffle-craze-happening-for-a-while-in-england/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [Honoured sir, poverty is not a vice, that's a true saying. Yet I know too that drunkeness is not a virtue, and that's even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/honoured-sir-poverty-is-not-a-vice-that-s-a-true-saying-yet-i-know/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [The person who sweeps the floor should choose the broom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-behar/the-person-who-sweeps-the-floor-should-choose-the-broom/) [Howard Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-behar/) > [Let’s see . . . ah, yes, this is nice and cozy.” It was a broom cupboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-s-see-ah-yes-this-is-nice-and-cozy-it-was-a-broom-cupboard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [After that, he tried to go upstairs through the broom cupboard, and then the yard. This seemed to puzzle him a little. But finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/after-that-he-tried-to-go-upstairs-through-the-broom-cupboard-and/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) > [“Street sweepers were pulling their wide brooms down the road and the swish of their brooms filtered through the tail-end of her dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shani-mootoo/street-sweepers-were-pulling-their-wide-brooms-down-the-road-and-the/) [Shani Mootoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shani-mootoo/) > [Meditation is like a giant broom for sweeping away any stagnant or blocked energy that you may have buried deep in your body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-king/meditation-is-like-a-giant-broom-for-sweeping-away-any-stagnant-or/) [Deborah King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-king/) ## More by Patti LaBelle > [I was very shy. I'm still shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/i-was-very-shy-i-m-still-shy/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [Every exit is an entrance to someplace else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/every-exit-is-an-entrance-to-someplace-else/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [There's not much longevity in music today. It's so easy to go in, put some pretentious lyrics on, with people saying the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/there-s-not-much-longevity-in-music-today-it-s-so-easy-to-go-in-put/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [A diva is someone who is a perfectionist, who does her best in her craft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/a-diva-is-someone-who-is-a-perfectionist-who-does-her-best-in-her/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [Women are strong now. Women are dominating the charts, and women are doing it for themselves. We're kicking butt and taking no prisoners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/women-are-strong-now-women-are-dominating-the-charts-and-women-are/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [I never thought I would be singing for the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/i-never-thought-i-would-be-singing-for-the-world/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [Tell Aretha I’ll be praying for herBecause she needs Jesus!I love her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/tell-aretha-i-ll-be-praying-for-herbecause-she-needs-jesus-i-love-her/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [Many a false step is made standing still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/many-a-false-step-is-made-standing-still/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [I know how to put it on when it comes to interviews and performing because I have to. But I'm pretty laid back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/i-know-how-to-put-it-on-when-it-comes-to-interviews-and-performing/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [I can't do some of the songs that younger girls like Mary J. Blige and Beyonce are doing. They have their own place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/i-can-t-do-some-of-the-songs-that-younger-girls-like-mary-j-blige-and/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [Here's the thing about faith: It gives us the strength to go on when we want to give in. It gives us the courage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/here-s-the-thing-about-faith-it-gives-us-the-strength-to-go-on-when/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [People with no humor, they're outta my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/people-with-no-humor-they-re-outta-my-life/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [I'm 60, and I did 60-year-old women songs. I'm not trying to be the Hip-Hop Queen, although I am the original Hip Hop Queen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/i-m-60-and-i-did-60-year-old-women-songs-i-m-not-trying-to-be-the-hip/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [I like hip-hop music, but some of the lyrics make me want to cry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/i-like-hip-hop-music-but-some-of-the-lyrics-make-me-want-to-cry/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [I keep showing decade after decade that I am a real performer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/i-keep-showing-decade-after-decade-that-i-am-a-real-performer/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) [Explore all 61 Patti LaBelle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) ## More Brooms quotes > [There's times when I'm cleaning the kitchen, and while I'm doing that, I'm singing and air guitaring with a broom to 'You Should Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/there-s-times-when-i-m-cleaning-the-kitchen-and-while-i-m-doing-that/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [“Street sweepers were pulling their wide brooms down the road and the swish of their brooms filtered through the tail-end of her dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shani-mootoo/street-sweepers-were-pulling-their-wide-brooms-down-the-road-and-the/) [Shani Mootoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shani-mootoo/) > [After that, he tried to go upstairs through the broom cupboard, and then the yard. This seemed to puzzle him a little. But finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/after-that-he-tried-to-go-upstairs-through-the-broom-cupboard-and/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) > [Let’s see . . . ah, yes, this is nice and cozy.” It was a broom cupboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-s-see-ah-yes-this-is-nice-and-cozy-it-was-a-broom-cupboard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The person who sweeps the floor should choose the broom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-behar/the-person-who-sweeps-the-floor-should-choose-the-broom/) [Howard Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-behar/) > [Honoured sir, poverty is not a vice, that's a true saying. Yet I know too that drunkeness is not a virtue, and that's even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/honoured-sir-poverty-is-not-a-vice-that-s-a-true-saying-yet-i-know/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [There was this big skiffle craze happening for a while in England… Everybody was in a skiffle group..All you needed was an acoustic Guitar,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/there-was-this-big-skiffle-craze-happening-for-a-while-in-england/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [She comes by night, in fearsome flight, in garments black as pitch, the queen of doom upon her broom, the wild and wicked witch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-prelutsky/she-comes-by-night-in-fearsome-flight-in-garments-black-as-pitch-the/) [Jack Prelutsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-prelutsky/) > [I mean, give me a guitar, give me a piano, give me a broom and string, I wouldn't get bored anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/i-mean-give-me-a-guitar-give-me-a-piano-give-me-a-broom-and-string-i/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [I use all sorts of things to work with: old brooms, old sweaters, and all kinds of peculiar tools and materials... I paint to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-use-all-sorts-of-things-to-work-with-old-brooms-old-sweaters-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [It is up to us to organize the people. As for the reactionaries in China, it is up to us to organize the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/it-is-up-to-us-to-organize-the-people-as-for-the-reactionaries-in/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [Photographers who come up with power never get accused of imitating anyone else even though they photograph the same broom, same street, same portraits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/photographers-who-come-up-with-power-never-get-accused-of-imitating/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands,' said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/draco-malfoy/my-father-s-next-door-buying-my-books-and-mother-s-up-the-street/) [Draco Malfoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/draco-malfoy/) > [There should be less talk. . . . What do you do then? Take a broom and clean someone's house. That says enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/there-should-be-less-talk-what-do-you-do-then-take-a-broom-and-clean/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Meditation is like a giant broom for sweeping away any stagnant or blocked energy that you may have buried deep in your body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-king/meditation-is-like-a-giant-broom-for-sweeping-away-any-stagnant-or/) [Deborah King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-king/) [Browse all 93 Brooms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brooms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was a shy kid with a broom handle that I pretended was a microphone.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patti LaBelle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/i-was-a-shy-kid-with-a-broom-handle-that-i-pretended-was-a-microphone/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brooms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/i-was-a-shy-kid-with-a-broom-handle-that-i-pretended-was-a-microphone/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/patti-labelle-10909_brooms_i-was-a-shy-kid-with-a-broom-handle-that_1415619.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/patti-labelle-10909_brooms_i-was-a-shy-kid-with-a-broom-handle-that_1415619.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45b/patti-labelle-10909_brooms_i-was-a-shy-kid-with-a-broom-handle-that_1415619.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was a shy kid with a broom handle that I pretended was a microphone.” — Patti LaBelle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Patti LaBelle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was a shy kid with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/i-was-a-shy-kid-with-a-broom-handle-that-i-pretended-was-a-microphone/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/i-was-a-shy-kid-with-a-broom-handle-that-i-pretended-was-a-microphone/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```