I'm not alone, I'm free. I no longer have to be a credit, I don't have to be a symbol to anybody; I don't have to be a first to anybody.
Interpretation
This quote expresses the liberation that comes from personal independence and self-identity.
Lena Horne's quote highlights the importance of freedom from societal expectations and the pressures to conform or achieve certain statuses. It suggests that true freedom lies in being authentic to oneself, rather than being defined by external labels or the achievements recognized by others.
In practice
This quote is perfect for a motivational speech about personal growth and self-acceptance.
It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. Carry it by the comfortable handles of gratitude for what's positive and that it is not worse, rather than the uncomfortable edges of bitterness for the negatives and that it is not better.
I was unique in that I was a kind of black that white people could accept. I was their daydream. I had the worst kind of acceptance because it was never for how great I was or what I contributed. It was because of the way I looked.
I'm still learning, you know. At 80, I feel there is a lot I don't know.
My identity is very clear to me now, I am a black woman.
In my early days I was a sepia Hedy Lamarr. Now I'm black and a woman, singing my own way.
Say just what you mean to do on every occasion, and take it for granted you mean to do right.
I am alive and well and unconcerned about the rumors of my death. But if I were dead, I would be the last to know.
We can't reach old age by another man's road.
From here on out, there's just reality. I think that's what maturity is: a stoic response to endless reality. But then, what do I know?
There is nothing to fear from truth....Being truthful is essential to being an independent thinker and obtaining greater understanding of what is right.
I've always been optimistic. And I have a feeling that it happened because of going to all those movies with my grandmother in the '40s because there was no cynicism.
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