Meredith Grey is a TV legend. Through 13 seasons (and counting!!!) of "Grey’s Anatomy," the strong female lead has overcome so much in her medical career and personal life.
From sticking her hand in a bomb cavity to losing her husband and everything in between (shootings, plane crashes, drowning, physical assault, and more), Dr. Grey is a survivor with wisdom beyond her years. During her famous monologue, Meredith gets REAL.
Seriously, Meredith comes across as someone who has endured so much pain, suffering, and loss that she can offer a fresh perspective on nearly any subject.
With that being said, some of her insight is just way too good to stay on television:
1. "Change; we don’t like it, we fear it, but we can’t stop it from coming..."
"Change; we don’t like it, we fear it, but we can’t stop it from coming. We either adapt to change, or we get left behind. It hurts to grow, anybody who tells you it doesn’t is lying. But here’s the truth: Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same. And sometimes, oh, sometimes change is good. Sometimes change is… everything."
2. “You never know the biggest day of your life is the biggest day. Not until it’s happening..."
“You never know the biggest day of your life is the biggest day. Not until it’s happening. You don’t recognize the biggest day of your life. Not until you’re right in the middle of it. The day you commit to something or someone… The day you get your heart broken. The day you meet your soul mate. The day you realize there’s not enough time… because you want to live forever. Those are the biggest days. The perfect days.”
3. “Too often, the thing you want most, is the one thing you can’t have..."
“Too often, the thing you want most, is the one thing you can’t have. Desire leaves us heartbroken. It wears us out. Desire can wreck your life. But as tough as wanting something can be… the people who suffer the most, are those who don’t know what they want.”
4. “Maybe we’re not supposed to be happy, maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy..."
“Maybe we’re not supposed to be happy, maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is, appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human. Maybe we’re thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe we’re thankful for the things we’ll never know. At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate.”
5. “After careful consideration, and many sleepless nights, here is what I have decided, there is no such thing as a grown up..."
“After careful consideration, and many sleepless nights, here is what I have decided, there is no such thing as a grown up. We move on, we move out, we move away from our families and form our own. But the basic insecurities, the basic fears and all those old wounds just grow up with us and just when we think life and circumstance force us to be an adult your mother says something like that, or worse something like that. We get bigger. We get taller. We get older, but for the most part we're still a bunch of kids running around the playground desperately trying to fit in.”
6. "So, do it. Decide. Is this the life you want to live..."
"So, do it. Decide. Is this the life you want to live? Is this the person you want to love? Is this the best you can be? Can you be stronger? Kinder? More compassionate? Decide. Breathe in. Breathe out and decide."
7. "We do our very best but sometimes it's just not good enough. .."
"We do our very best but sometimes it's just not good enough. We buckle our seat belts, we wear a helmet, we stick to the lighted path. We try so hard to protect ourselves but it doesn't make a damn bit of difference, cause when the bad things come, they come out of nowhere. The bad things come suddenly with no warning, but we forget, that sometimes that's how the good things come too."
8. “When the ground gives way and your world collapses, maybe you just need to have faith..."
“When the ground gives way and your world collapses, maybe you just need to have faith. And trust that you can survive this. Maybe you just need to hold on tight. And no matter what, don’t let go.”
9. “I’ll admit that the Romans had a point. You gotta live life..."
“I’ll admit that the Romans had a point. You gotta live life. And living means that every morning, when you wake up, you have to choose between seizing what life offers in the moment and forging ahead, no matter the weather or closing the curtains and shutting out the day.”
10. "If there's just one piece of advice I can give you, it's this--when there's something you really want, fight..."
"If there's just one piece of advice I can give you, it's this--when there's something you really want, fight for it, don't give up no matter how hopeless it seems. And when you've lost hope, ask yourself in 10 years from now, you're gonna wish you gave it just one more shot because the best things in life, they don't come free."
11. “Just when we think we’ve figured things out, the universe throws us a curve ball..."
“Just when we think we’ve figured things out, the universe throws us a curve ball. So we have to improvise. We find happiness in unexpected places. We find our way back to the things that matter the most. The universe is funny that way, sometimes it just has a way of making sure we wind up exactly where we belong.”
12. “So go ahead... argue with the refs. Change the rules. Cheat a little..."
“So go ahead... argue with the refs. Change the rules. Cheat a little. Take a break and tend to your wounds... but play. Play. Play hard, play fast, play loose and free. Play as if there's no tomorrow. It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.”
13. “Failure is inevitable, unavoidable but failure should never get the last word…"
“Failure is inevitable, unavoidable but failure should never get the last word. You have to hold on to what you want. You have to not take no for an answer and take what’s coming to you. Never give in, never give up. Stand up. Stand up and take it.”
14. “We enter the world alone and we leave it alone. And everything that happens in between… we owe it to ourselves to find a little company..."
“We enter the world alone and we leave it alone. And everything that happens in between… we owe it to ourselves to find a little company. We need help. We need support. Otherwise, we are in it by ourselves. Strangers. Cut off from each other. And we forget just how connected we all are. So instead, we choose love. We choose life. And for a moment we feel just a little bit less alone.”
Preach, Dr. Grey. Preach it.
