To me, lawyering is the height of service – and being involved in this profession is a gift.
SONIA SOTOMAYORAn alcoholic father, poverty, my own juvenile diabetes, the limited English my parents spoke – although my mother has become completely bilingual since. All these things intrude on what most people think of as happiness.
More Sonia Sotomayor Quotes
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I realized that people had an unreal image of me, that somehow I was a god on Mount Olympus. I decided that if I were going to make use of my role as a Supreme Court Justice, it would be to inspire people to realize that, first, I was just like them and second, if I could do it, so could they.
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I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences. Today is one of those experiences.
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The dynamism of any diverse community depends not only on the diversity itself but on promoting a sense of belonging among those who formerly would have been considered and felt themselves outsiders.
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Success is its own reward, but failure is a great teacher too, and not to be feared.
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We have to look and ensure that we’re paying attention to what we’re doing, so that we don’t reflexively institute processes and procedures that exclude people without thought.
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Although I grew up in very modest and challenging circumstances, I consider my life to be immeasurably rich.
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The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever.
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We apply law to facts. We don’t apply feelings to facts.
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If I write a book where all I’ve ever experienced is success, people won’t take a positive lesson from it. In being candid, I have to own up to my own failures, both in my marriage and in my work environment.
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I was fifteen years old when I understood how it is that things break down: people can’t imagine someone else’s point of view.
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You know, failure hurts. Any kind of failure stings. If you live in the sting, you will – undoubtedly – fail. My way of getting past the sting is to say no, I’m just not going to let this get me down.
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It really takes growing up to treasure the specialness of being different.
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A surplus of effort could overcome a deficit of confidence.
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I don’t believe we should bend the Constitution under any circumstance. It says what it says. We should do honor to it.
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As you discover what strength you can draw from your community in this world from which it stands apart, look outward as well as inward. Build bridges instead of walls.
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