There are times in life when, instead of complaining, you do something about your complaints.
Rita DoveRead
All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and think, This is when I became myself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Childhood moments are pivotal in shaping our identity and sense of self.
This quote by Rita Dove highlights the significance of childhood experiences in our personal development. It suggests that there are specific moments in our early years that define who we are, and those memories can influence our understanding of ourselves throughout life. It emphasizes the notion that our true selves may emerge in these formative experiences, which we often reflect upon as we grow older.
Themes
ChildhoodIdentitySelf-DiscoveryMomentsGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about resilience, one might say, 'Remember those childhood moments that shaped who you are today, like Rita Dove said.'
More from Rita Dove
All quotes →Without imagination we can go nowhere. And imagination is not restricted to the arts. Every scientist I have met who has been a success has had to imagine.
Rita DoveRead
As an African-American, as a woman, I think that I've been sensitized to the way in which history privileges the white male and the way in which certain aspects of history, the things that we are taught in school, the things that are handed down, never, never entered the picture though they might have been very important.
Rita DoveRead
If our children are unable to voice what they mean, no one will know how they feel. If they can’t imagine a different world, they are stumbling through a darkness made all the more sinister by its lack of reference points. For a young person growing up in America’s alienated neighborhoods, there can be no greater empowerment than to dare to speak from the heart — and then to discover that one is not alone in ones feelings.
Rita DoveRead
Being Poet Laureate made me realize I was capable of a larger voice. There is a more public utterance I can make as a poet.
Rita DoveRead
Don't be so fast, you're all you've got.
Rita DoveRead
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And O there are days in this life, worth life and worth death.
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In life, you can blame a lot of people and you can wallow in self-pity or you can pick yourself up and say listen, I have to be responsible for myself.
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Our unborn never got to grow, never got to see what's, next, In this world full of countless threats.
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I am an excitable person who only understands life lyrically, musically, in whom feelings are much stronger as reason. I am so thirsty for the marvelous that only the marvelous has power over me. Anything I can not transform into something marvelous, I let go. Reality doesn't impress me. I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles me, I escape, one way or another. No more walls.
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