I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences.
Sonia SotomayorRead
I have spent my years since Princeton, while at law school and in my various professional jobs, not feeling completely a part of the worlds I inhabit. I am always looking over my shoulder wondering if I measure up.
Interpretation
The quote reflects a persistent feeling of inadequacy and longing for belonging in different environments.
Sonia Sotomayor expresses her feelings of alienation and self-doubt throughout her educational and professional journey. Despite her accomplishments, she grapples with the uncertainty of whether she fits into the worlds she navigates, highlighting a common struggle many face in their pursuit of success and acceptance.
In practice
In a graduation speech to highlight the importance of self-acceptance.
I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences.
This wealth of experiences, personal and professional, have helped me appreciate the variety of perspectives that present themselves in every case that I hear.
I was fifteen years old when I understood how it is that things break down: people can't imagine someone else's point of view.
The truth is that since childhood I had cultivated an existential independence. It came from perceiving the adults around me as unreliable, and without it I felt I wouldn't have survived. I cared deeply for everyone in my family, but in the end I depended on myself.
As you discover what strength you can draw from your community in this world from which it stands apart, look outward as well as inward. Build bridges instead of walls.
There are uses to adversity, and they don't reveal themselves until tested. Whether it's serious illness, financial hardship, or the simple constraint of parents who speak limited English, difficulty can tap unexpected strengths.
He who is taught only by himself has a fool for a master.
We are told, that the black bear is innocent; but I should not like to trust myself with him.
As quickly as you can go 4-1, you can go 1-4. And the whole objective is not to get too high and not to get too low. It's one thing to tell somebody that and explain it, but it's another thing to really buy in, to have felt that and understand what it means to stay even-keel. That's what you have to be in this league.
Whatever talents I possess may suddenly diminish or suddenly increase. I can with ease become an ordinary fool. I may be one now. But it doesn't do to upset one's own vanity.
Praise is the rehearsal for our eternal song.
Pain in this life is not avoidable, but the pain we create avoiding pain is avoidable.
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