You ain't got but one life. You ought to live it the way you want.

You know me. It's my duty to please that booty.

Just 'cause you pour syrup on something doesnt make it pancakes

I never had one beer. If I bought a six-pack of beer, I kept drinking till all six beers were gone. You have to have that kind of understanding about yourself. I haven't had a drink now in 12 years.

If you do not have courage, you may not have the opportunity to use any of your other virtues.

We've come a long way in our thinking, but also in our moral decay. I can't imagine Dr. King watching the 'Real Housewives' or 'Jersey Shore.'

I grew up in the South with guns everywhere and we never shot anyone. This [shooting] is about people who aren't taught the value of life.

If you have an opportunity to use your voice you should use it.

Anyone who tells you money can't buy happiness never had any.

The best advice that was given to me was that I had to be 10 times smarter, braver and more polite to be equal. So I did.

I have a lot more energy than I used to have. I sleep better. I like the way I look in my clothes better. I don’t cramp as much. I exercise better. I think my circulation has gotten better.

Do I really smother my own joy because I believe that anger achieves more than love?

I am a leader by default, only because nature does not allow a vacuum.

Originality is going back to origins.

Maybe people become bitter when they don't know what they are fighting for. But I keep my eyes open.

Mend your clothes and you may hold out this year.

If I play you a piece of music, that's when you can truly look inside me.

A Christian is not his own master, since all his time belongs to God.

Having an avatar doesn't give you an identity, and having a persona online doesn't make you a personality either.

If you want a symbolic gesture, don't burn the flag, wash it.

There are many writers who have influenced me and who I enjoy reading, but Lucille Clifton and Gwendolyn Brooks are at the top of the list.