SIXTEEN QUOTES THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

It's not every day that a girl turns sixteen, but nonetheless June 15 was my sixteenth birthday.  To celebrate my ascension into this new phase of my teenage years (and the fact that I can finally sing "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" from The Sound of Music), I've rounded up a few of the words and sayings that have truly impacted me over the course of my short life.

They have challenged my ideas, fueled my passions, and even given me hope when I didn't think life had any to spare.  I have no doubt that the quotes can speak for themselves, so without further ado, let's begin.

For dreaming and doing:

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Dream no small dreams, for they have no power to move the hearts of men." -- Goethe

"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them.  They went out and happened to things." -- Leonardo da Vinci

"Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire." -- Unknown

For the bad times:

"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind." -- C.S. Lewis

"It takes nothing to join the crowd.  It takes everything to stand alone." -- H.F. Hansen

"I do not at all understand the mystery of grace--only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us." -- Anne Lamott

"When you do something beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad.  For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps." -- John Lennon

For the happy times:

"Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created." -- Esther 4:14

"The Earth has music for those who listen." -- Shakespeare

"To live is the rarest thing in the world.  Most people just exist." -- Oscar Wilde

"Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy." -- Anne Frank

For living a better life:

"Ask yourself, 'If I were sure that I loved God, what would I do?'  When you have found the answer, go and do it." -- C.S. Lewis

"And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good." -- John Steinbeck

"Use what talent you possess;  the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best." -- Henry Van Dyke

"People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.  If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.  If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway... If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.  The good you do today, will often be forgotten.  Do good anyway.  Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.  Give your best anyway.  In the final analysis, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway." -- Mother Teresa

Whatever life throws at you, there is always a quote that can echo your thoughts and feelings perfectly. And if I can live sixteen years on the stuff of quotes, so can you!

What are some of your all-time favorite quotes?

Love,
Tori