People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.
Aung San Suu KyiRead
When the Nobel Committee chose to honor me, the road I had chosen of my own free will became a less lonely path to follow.
Interpretation
Recognition can transform a personal journey into a shared experience, providing support and validation.
In this quote, Aung San Suu Kyi reflects on how receiving the Nobel Prize not only recognized her struggles but also connected her path with others who supported her cause. It emphasizes the importance of acknowledgment in making a solitary journey feel less isolating, as it demonstrates that one's efforts are appreciated and shared by a greater community.
In practice
In a speech celebrating human rights, one might use this quote to highlight the power of recognition.
People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.
The struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma is a struggle for life and dignity. It is a struggle that encompasses our political, social and economic aspirations.
This was the way I was brought up to think of politics, that politics was to do with ethics, it was to do with responsibility, it was to do with service, so I think I was conditioned to think like that, and I'm too old to change now.
My top priority is for people to understand that they have the power to change things themselves.
If you want to bring an end to long-standing conflict, you have to be prepared to compromise.
Where there is no justice there can be no secure peace.
Let me alone: I have yet my legs and one arm. Tell the surgeon to make haste and his instruments. I know I must lose my right arm, so the sooner it's off the better.
We are so resilient as a people. I have so much respect for their dignity and courage. I hope the world sees this side of Pakistan, one where professionals want a democracy. The spirit of our intelligentsia cannot be broken.
I'm not afraid of failing. I don't like to fail. I hate to fail. But I'm not afraid of it.
Getting sober was one of the three pivotal events in my life, along with becoming an actor and having a child. Of the three, finding my sobriety was the hardest thing.
Every woman who thinks she is the only victim of violence has to know that there are many more.
That's a valiant flea that dares eat his breakfast on the lip of a lion.
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