An 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.
SONIA SOTOMAYORThrough reading, I escaped the bad parts of my life in the South Bronx. And, through books, I got to travel the world and the universe. It, to me, was a passport out of my childhood and it remains a way – through the power of words – to change the world.
More Sonia Sotomayor Quotes
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A role model in the flesh provides more than inspiration; his or her very existence is confirmation of possibilities one may have every reason to doubt, saying, “Yes, someone like me can do this.”
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If your child marches to a different beat, a different drummer, you might just have to go along with that music. Help them achieve what’s important to them.
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The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to speak openly and candidly on the subject of race, and to apply the Constitution with eyes open to the unfortunate effects of centuries of racial discrimination.
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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 members of the judiciary tasked with intervening to carry out the guarantee of equal protection, we ought not sit back and wish away, rather than confront, the racial inequality that exists in our society.
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Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences…our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging.
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Without question, so many people, throughout my life, never think of Puerto Rico as part of the United States. Many people have no idea what the relationship is between Puerto Rico and the United States. And certainly, I have been asked if we are citizens.
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We apply law to facts. We don’t apply feelings to facts.
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I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.
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It really takes growing up to treasure the specialness of being different.
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My diabetes is such a central part of my life… it did teach me discipline, it also taught me about moderation. I’ve trained myself to be super-vigilant because I feel better when I am in control.
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Experience has taught me that you cannot value dreams according to the odds of their coming true. Their real value is in stirring within us the will to aspire.
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Although wisdom is built on life experiences, the mere accumulation of years guarantees nothing.
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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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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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Don’t be shy about making a teacher of any willing party who knows what he or she is doing.
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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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My judicial philosophy is fidelity to the law.
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Personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see.
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I have come to believe that in order to thrive, a child must have at least one adult in her life who shows her unconditional love, respect, and confidence.
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I savor life. When you have anything that threatens life it prods you into stepping back and really appreciating the value of life and taking from it what you can.
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The challenges I have faced – among them material poverty, chronic illness, and being raised by a single mother – are not uncommon, but neither have they kept me from uncommon achievements.
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Don’t mistake politeness for lack of strength.
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I came to accept during my freshman year that many of the gaps in my knowledge and understanding were simply limits of class and cultural background, not lack of aptitude or application as I’d feared.
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I have never, ever focused on the negative of things. I always look at the positive.
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There are no bystanders in this life.
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