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.
SONIA SOTOMAYORI 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.
More Sonia Sotomayor Quotes
-
-
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.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
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 SOTOMAYOR -
You can’t dream unless you know what the possibilities are.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
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.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
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.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
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.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
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.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
If the system is broken, my inclination is to fix it rather than to fight it. I have faith in the process of the law, and if it is carried out fairly, I can live with the results, whatever they may be.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
I don’t have a professional aspiration. But I do have a personal one: I want to continue growing as a person. I want to reach out more to people, learn more from them. Ultimately, I would like to be a great justice that people remember with respect and fondness.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
Remember that no one succeeds alone. Never walk alone in your future paths.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
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.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
To me, lawyering is the height of service – and being involved in this profession is a gift.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
Pretending to be a princess is fun, but it is definitely not a career.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
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.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
I think that even someone who got into an institution through affirmative action could prove they were qualified by what they accomplished there.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
We apply law to facts. We don’t apply feelings to facts.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
Success is its own reward, but failure is a great teacher too, and not to be feared.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
Don’t mistake politeness for lack of strength.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
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.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
Although wisdom is built on life experiences, the mere accumulation of years guarantees nothing.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
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.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
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.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
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.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
If you’re poor, you don’t often live near a good school. If it’s a competitive public school program, our kids are not prepared to enter those programs.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
I do believe that every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge regardless of their background or life experiences.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR -
I have never had to face anything that could overwhelm the native optimism and stubborn perseverance I was blessed with.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR