To those who are given much, much is expected. - Maya Angelou

"I am overwhelmed by the grace and persistence of my people."

"I sustain myself with the love of family."

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."

"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."

"Fighting for one's freedom, struggling towards being free, is like struggling to be a poet or a good Christian or a good Jew or a good Muslim or good Zen Buddhist. You work all day long and achieve some kind of level of success by nightfall, go to sleep and wake up the next morning with the job still to be done. So you start all over again."