Maya Angelou

"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."

"I speak to the Black experience, but I am always talking about the human condition--about what we can endure, dream, fail at and survive."

"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"

"You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it."

"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it."

"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."

"I love the song 'I Hope You Dance' by Lee Ann Womack. I was going to write that song, but someone beat me to it."

"It is this belief in a power larger than myself and other than myself which allows me to venture into the unknown and even the unknowable."

"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."

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her."

"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 I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?"

"Segregation shaped me; education liberated me."

"I couldn't tell fact from fiction,Or if the dream was trueMy only sure predictionIn this world was you.I'd touch your features inchly. Beard love and dared the cost, The sented spiel reeled me unreal And I found my senses lost."

"If I'm the people's poet, then I ought to be in people's hands - and, I hope, in their heart."

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

"In the flush of love's light, we dare be brave. And suddenly we see that love costs all we are, and will ever be. Yet it is only love which sets us free."

"The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise."

"I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass."

"Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time."