Welcome to 2021! Who would’ve thought we’d actually make it here? Even though we have no idea what tomorrow holds, we have the opportunity to face our unknowns with optimism and hope. As Andy Dufresne said, “hope is a good thing – maybe the best of things – and no good thing ever dies.” When venturing out into uncertainty, I like to memorize a few quotes or Bible verses to recite to myself. Sometimes my soul needs to be stilled, while other times I need a little kick into action. Here are ten of my favorite quotes from famous females to take with you into this new year:
- “I urge you all today, especially today during these times of chaos and war, to love yourself without reservations and to love each other without restraint.”
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-Margaret Cho, stand-up comedian, actress, fashion designer, author, and singer-songwriter
- “No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.”
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-Dorothy Day, journalist and activist
- “Just remember the world is not a playground but a schoolroom. Life is not a holiday but an education. One eternal lesson for us all: to teach us how better we should love.”
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-Barbara Jordan, lawyer, educator, politician, and leader of the Civil Rights Movement
- “Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.”
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-Jane Goodall, primatologist and anthropologist
- “If you don’t fully take every moment and love every moment and every person that you’re with, your life will be over before you realize.”
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-Jessica Chastain, actress and producer
- “You keep learning how to let go and to live the life that you actually have, as opposed to the life you thought you were going to have.”
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-Greta Gerwig, actress and filmmaker
- “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.”
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-Malala Yousafzai, human rights activist, educator, and advocate for women and children
- “Always be a first-rate version of yourself and not a second-rate version of someone else.”
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-Judy Garland, actress, singer, and dancer
- “It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself – to forgive. Forgive everybody.”
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-Maya Angelou, author, poet, and Civil Rights activist
- “It isn’t where you came from; it’s where you’re going that counts.”
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-Ella Fitzgerald, jazz Queen and actress