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Quotes by First-lady
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
185
"Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence."
90
"Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry is own weight, this is a frightening prospect."
86
"Dear God, please take care of your servant John Fitzgerald Kennedy."
72
"I had 3 brothers, 2 died early, and one of them was living a good long time."
72
"With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts."
70
"It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan."
65
"I want minimum information given with maximum politeness."
63
"And in my own life, in my own small way, I've tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That's why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us - no matter what our age or background or walk of life - each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation."
61
"The first time you marry for love, the second for money, and the third for companionship."
61
"You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through."
61
"To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there."
59
"Children are apt to live up to what you believe of them."
59
"You just don't luck into things as much as you'd like to think you do. You build step by step, whether it's friendships or opportunities."
Luck,
58
"We are coming back just four years from today."
58
"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.'"
58
"I think somehow we learn who we really are and then live with that decision."
58
"The independent girl is a person before whose wrath only the most rash dare stand, and, they, it must be confessed, with much fear and trembling."
57
"Any committee is only as good as the most knowledgeable, determined and vigorous person on it. There must be somebody who provides the flame."
57
"Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both."
57
"For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction."
56
"Whenever I was upset by something in the papers, Jack always told me to be more tolerant, like a horse flicking away flies in the summer."
56
"Today is the oldest you've ever been, and the youngest you'll ever be again."
55
"It is not more vacation we need - it is more vocation."
55
"I have sacrificed everything in my life that I consider precious to advance the political career of my husband."
55
"If human beings are perceived as potentials rather than problems, as possessing strengths instead of weaknesses, as unlimited rather that dull and unresponsive, then they thrive and grow to their capabilities."
54
"One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don't invest any energy in them, because I know who I am."
54
"Only a man's character is the real criterion of worth."
54
"There is nothing more important than a good, safe, secure home."
53
"Bias has to be taught. If you hear your parents downgrading women or people of different backgrounds, why, you are going to do that."
53
"I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision."
53
"I am accordingly ready; I have pressed as many Cabinet papers into trunks as to fill one carriage; our private property must be sacrificed, as it is impossible to procure wagons for its transportation."
52
"It is done... the precious portrait placed in the hands of the gentlemen for safe keeping."
52
"You may think the president is all-powerful, but he is not. He needs a lot of guidance from the Lord."
52
"Believe in something larger than yourself... get involved in the big ideas of your time."
52
"You may invite the entire 35th Division to your wedding if you want to. I guess it's going to be yours as well as mine. We might as well have the church full while we are at it."
51
"I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall."
Bed,
50
"One thing I can say about George... he may not be able to keep a job, but he's not boring."
50
"You don't just luck into things as much as you would like to think you do. You build step by step, whether it is friendships or opportunities."
Luck,
49
"My first job in all honesty is going to continue to be mom-in-chief. Making sure that in this transition, which will be even more of a transition for the girls... that they are settled and that they know they will continue to be the center of our universe."
49
"And now, dear sister, I must leave this house or the retreating army will make me a prisoner in it by filling up the road I am directed to take."
49
"You can never really live anyone else's life, not even your child's. The influence you exert is through your own life, and what you've become yourself."
49
"Not my power, but the power of the position, a power which could be used to help."
48
"Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others."
48
"Become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid."
47
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