Success is its own reward, but failure is a great teacher too, and not to be feared.
SONIA SOTOMAYORDon’t mistake politeness for lack of strength.
More Sonia Sotomayor Quotes
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Pretending to be a princess is fun, but it is definitely not a career.
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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 was a keen observer and listener. I picked up on clues. I figured things out logically, and I enjoyed puzzles. I loved the clear, focused feeling that came when I concentrated on solving a problem and everything else faded out.
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Until we reach equality in education, we can’t reach equality in the larger society.
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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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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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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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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 have never had to face anything that could overwhelm the native optimism and stubborn perseverance I was blessed with.
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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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We educated, privileged lawyers have a professional and moral duty to represent the underrepresented in our society, to ensure that justice exists for all, both legal and economic justice.
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In every position that I’ve been in, there have been naysayers who don’t believe I’m qualified or who don’t believe I can do the work. And I feel a special responsibility to prove them wrong.
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Some people choose not to engage the battle and then don’t seek out that kind of success. And others do.
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There are uses to adversity, and they don’t reveal themselves until tested. Whether it’s serious illness, financial hardship, or the simple constraint of parents who speak limited English, difficulty can tap unexpected strengths.
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Remember that no one succeeds alone. Never walk alone in your future paths.
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Through 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.
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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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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 have never, ever focused on the negative of things. I always look at the positive.
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I have always been actively involved in my community, belonging to organizations that promote the interests of Latinos. But I also know that the issues we confront are the same issues, in many respects, as the larger community. So what we do helps not just us but everybody.
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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 be shy about making a teacher of any willing party who knows what he or she is doing.
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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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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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I do know one thing about me: I don’t measure myself by others’ expectations or let others define my worth.
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I do believe that every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge regardless of their background or life experiences.
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