Sonia Sotomayor Quotes

Success is its own reward, but failure is a great teacher too, and not to be feared.

As you discover what strength you can draw from your community in this world from which it stands apart, look outward as well as inward. Build bridges instead of walls.

I do know one thing about me: I don't measure myself by others' expectations or let others define my worth.

Experience has taught me that you cannot value dreams according to the odds of their coming true. Their real value is in stirring within us the will to aspire.

I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.

Remember that no one succeeds alone. Never walk alone in your future paths.

Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences...our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging.

Until we reach equality in education, we can't reach equality in the larger society.

The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever.

There are no bystanders in life [...] Our humanity makes us each a part of something greater than ourselves.

I have come to believe that in order to thrive, a child must have at least one adult in her life who shows her unconditional love, respect, and confidence.

In every position that I've been in, there have been naysayers who don't believe I'm qualified or who don't believe I can do the work. And I feel a special responsibility to prove them wrong.

A role model in the flesh provides more than inspiration; his or her very existence is confirmation of possibilities one may have every reason to doubt, saying, "Yes, someone like me can do this."

My job as a prosecutor is to do justice. And justice is served when a guilty man is convicted and an innocent man is not.

Don't mistake politeness for lack of strength.

The challenges I have faced - among them material poverty, chronic illness, and being raised by a single mother - are not uncommon, but neither have they kept me from uncommon achievements.

To me, lawyering is the height of service - and being involved in this profession is a gift.

We apply law to facts. We don't apply feelings to facts.

We educated, privileged lawyers have a professional and moral duty to represent the underrepresented in our society, to ensure that justice exists for all, both legal and economic justice.

I have never had to face anything that could overwhelm the native optimism and stubborn perseverance I was blessed with.

Pretending to be a princess is fun, but it is definitely not a career.

I strive never to forget the real world consequences of my decisions on individuals, businesses and government.

I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences. Today is one of those experiences.

There are cultural biases built into testing, and that was one of the motivations for the concept of affirmative action - to try to balance out those effects.

Even though Article IV of the Constitution says that treaties are the 'supreme law of the land,' in most instances they're not even law.

I don't believe we should bend the Constitution under any circumstance. It says what it says. We should do honor to it.

I do believe that every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge regardless of their background or life experiences.

When I call myself an affirmative action baby, I'm talking about the essence of what affirmative action was when it started.

You can't be a minority in this society without having someone express disapproval about affirmative action.

The dynamism of any diverse community depends not only on the diversity itself but on promoting a sense of belonging among those who formerly would have been considered and felt themselves outsiders.

The President [Barack Obama] had suggested that I not watch the news during the confirmation process. I assiduously followed his advice.

I firmly believe in the rule of law as the foundation for all of our basic rights.

You can't dream unless you know what the possibilities are.

Although I grew up in very modest and challenging circumstances, I consider my life to be immeasurably rich.

I am a New Yorker, and 7:00 A.M. is a civilized hour to finish the day, not to start it.

My judicial philosophy is fidelity to the law.

If you're poor, you don't often live near a good school. If it's a competitive public school program, our kids are not prepared to enter those programs.

I savor life. When you have anything that threatens life... it prods you into stepping back and really appreciating the value of life and taking from it what you can.

You make your life choices understanding that you might and do have to work harder to prove yourself.

A surplus of effort could overcome a deficit of confidence.

I'm young at heart. I'm young in spirit, and I'm still adventurous.

Each time I see a split infinitive, an inconsistent tense structure or the unnecessary use of the passive voice, I blister.

I stand on the shoulders of countless people, yet there is one extraordinary person who is my life aspiration. That person is my mother, Celina Sotomayor.

Personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see.

We have to look and ensure that we're paying attention to what we're doing, so that we don't reflexively institute processes and procedures that exclude people without thought.

[On the desert:] The wind was a constant, and when you paid attention, it seemed like the earth's own breathing.

I was fifteen years old when I understood how it is that things break down: people can't imagine someone else's point of view.

Some people choose not to engage the battle and then don't seek out that kind of success. And others do.

It really takes growing up to treasure the specialness of being different.

Don't be shy about making a teacher of any willing party who knows what he or she is doing.