I wasn't a pretty girl. I was six feet tall at 15, you know.

Nothing will work unless you do.

A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.

Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.

Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. Please remember that your difficulties do not define you. They simply strengthen your ability to overcome.

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style

If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.

You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!

Here the frailest leaves of me and yet my strongest lasting, Here I shade and hide my thoughts, I myself do not expose them, And yet they expose me more than all my other poems

What makes our poetry so contemptible nowadays is its paucity of ideas. If you want to be read, invent. Who the Devil wouldn't like to read something new?

Obviously, every child should be given the best possible opportunity to acquire literacy skills.

Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise.

I'm an old broken down piece of meat and I deserve to be all alone . . .

it's impossible to conquer all fear and loss by preparation. There are always sources of desolation that aren't taken into account because no one knows what they will be.

Manuals have their uses ... but they are not to be confused with living.

I'm a terrible patient, and I find that doctors can be very condescending.

Women love firefighters so much because it’s like a knight in shining armor kind of thing.

The good-humor of a man elated with success often displays itself towards enemies.