Maya Angelou Quotes

"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."

"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."

"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud."

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."

"You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive."

"Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage."

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

"Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope."

"The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free."

"Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible."

"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned."

"It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength."

"Nothing will work unless you do."

"If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded."

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

"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."

"Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness."

"Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time."

"I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back."

"If you have only one smile in you give it to the people you love."

"Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean."

"One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest."

"A wise woman wishes to be no one's enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone's victim."

"There's a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth."

"I have a son, who is my heart. A wonderful young man, daring and loving and strong and kind."

"I think we all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it."

"The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are."

"All great achievements require time."

"I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side, be an advocate for myself and others like me."

"My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors."