It's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be.
Interpretation
It is always possible to reinvent yourself, regardless of age or circumstance.
This quote emphasizes the idea that personal transformation and the pursuit of one's true identity can occur at any time in life. Whether one feels too early or too late, the potential for change and self-discovery is always present, encouraging individuals to embrace their aspirations and the possibility of becoming who they truly wish to be.
In practice
In a motivational speech about self-improvement.
Don't be so anxious about it,' she laughed. 'I'm not used to being loved. I wouldn't know what to do; I never got the trick of it.' She looked down at him, shy and fatigued. 'So here we are. I told you years ago that I had the makings of Cinderella.' He took her hand; she drew it back instinctively and then replaced it in his. 'Beg your pardon. Not even used to being touched. But I'm not afraid of you, if you stay quiet and don't move suddenly.
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.
It was about then [1920] that I wrote a line which certain people will not let me forget: "She was a faded but still lovely woman of twenty-seven."
The words seemed to bite physically into Gatsby.
But you can love more than just one person, can't you?
A sudden gust of rain blew over them and then another - as if small liquid clouds were bouncing along the land. Lightning entered the sea far off and the air blew full of crackling thunder. The table cloths blew around the pillars. They blew and blew and blew. The flags twisted around the red chairs like live things, the banners were ragged, the corners of the table tore off through the burbling billowing ends of the cloths.
The clock has been turned back on racial progress in America, though scarcely anyone seems to notice. All eyes are fixed on people like Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey who have defied the odds and achieved great power, wealth, and fame.
The repossession by women of our bodies will bring far more essential change to human society than the seizing of the means of production by workers.
Every seven years, I sit down and make a whole new plan.
As we develop new beliefs about who we are, our behavior will change to support the new identity.
I stand in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun; and behold! the Shadow has departed! I will be a Shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren.
The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change.
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