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.
Passed years seem safe ones, vanquished ones, while the future lives in a cloud, formidable from a distance. The cloud clears as you enter it. I have learned this, but like everyone, I learned it late.
When you're all alone out there, on the end of the typewriter, with each new story a new appraisal by the world of whether you can still get it up or not, arrogance and self-esteem and deep breathing are all you have. It often looks like egomania. I assure you it's the bold coverup of the absolutely terrified.
As fire when thrown into water is cooled down and put out, so also a false accusation when brought against a man of the purest and holiest character, boils over and is at once dissipated, and vanishes.
Do not try to make circumstances fit your plans. Make plans that fit the circumstances.
When we step out of our normal world and leave behind us all the usual barriers and prejudices, we tend to become more adventurous.
Knowledge is great. Competence is great. But the combination of both encourages people to trust you and increases your powers of enchantment. And in this world, the combination is a breath of fresh air.
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