My creative writing class began merely as a GE to check off, but as the quarter progressed, I found a community with whom I could share my most vulnerable side with and learn meaningful lessons from. One of those lessons was the importance of noting down inspirational quotes we hear on a daily basis. It might sound inconvenient, maybe even unnecessary, but as someone who has collected over 20+ inspirational quotes since then, I realized they serve as small reminders of what I value and who I am. Here is a collection of five quotes I consider as mottos to live life by.
1. “Chase butterflies and you’ll never catch them. Build a garden and then they’ll come. Even if they don’t, you’ll have your garden” ~Mario Quintana
A slight paraphrase from the actual quote, this famous garden analogy taught me to not chase, but instead attract the right people in life. I grew up as a kid who wanted to mend all aspects of who they were to fit the love and validation of others, but as I got older, I learned that people will come and go in life—only we will be there for ourselves. Therefore, it’s important to invest in our own physical, mental, and social wellbeing rather than framing our lives for others’ approval.Â
2. “Between stimulus and response there is space. In that space is the power to choose that response” ~Viktor Frankl
Between the violent pendulum swings of human emotion, it’s easy to lose sight of how our impulsive actions can lead to long-term consequences. This thought in combination with my beliefs on free will made me understand we are in full control of how we respond to situations. We could take the simple route, where we let our surface level emotions take over, say things we regret, and burn bridges that didn’t have to be burnt—or we could be strategic with our emotional responses and take ownership of them. Nowadays, anytime I come across people that have short-fuses or are impulsive with their words, I remind myself to harness my free will and choose a calmer, more reasonable response.Â
3. “The devil doesn’t come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns. He comes as everything you’ve ever wished for” ~Tucker Max
Okay, this might not be considered an inspirational quote more than it is a cautionary statement. Many people fall for situations or partners that seem too good to be true and then feel betrayed when things collapse. One might think this quote is telling us to be suspicious of others, but I interpret it as a warning to be mindful of any strong desires I have. There is nothing wrong with wanting something badly, but you need to be aware of those desires and not let it blind you to those who will take advantage of your weak points.
4. “Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world” ~David McCollough Jr.
Similar to the first quote by Mario Quintana, this one teaches us to not let external factors, such as fame and wealth, influence our desire to reach our highest potential. Rather, it encourages use of our highest potential to experience life as a whole. Ultimately, we should achieve goals that can personally fulfill us, regardless of if society will see you at the mountaintop or not.
5. “Hell with you sounds like heaven to me.” ~Ana Huang
My faith in relationships has wavered over the years, but this statement unveiled the purpose of healthy partnerships: to make challenging life circumstances more digestible than they are. I was always worried about the opposite, where I find a partner that makes heaven feel like hell, but in that process I forgot that as long as I know what a loving, long-term relationship entails, I’ll make the correct choices for myself.
Conclusion
Through this process of storing and reading potent, artistic writing, I have found so much beauty between the dotted i’s and crossed t’s. We often think that we need to actually experience love or pain to truly harvest important lessons from it, but quotes like this, along with my creative writing class as a whole, taught me that the most profound lessons in life can be embodied in just two sentences.