A lot has happened in 2015 and with only a few weeks left I am sure there is still more unexpected events to come. Here is a compilation of 15 quotes (in no order) throughout the year from politicians, actors, activists and more discussing women's rights, the refugee crisis, and gun control. Yes, some people are missing and yes, some important events that occurred in the past year are not here, nonetheless, these quotes and people define what happened in 2015.
1. “When I joined journalism in 1979, harass was two words instead of one.”
Yahoo global anchor Katie Couric, reflecting on the early days of her career. Addressing the fact that gender equality has improved in the workforce but still has a
2. "I'm tired of being Ringo when I know I was a John."
Seth Rogan portraying the other Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak in the film "Steve Jobs." Reminding everyone that Steve Jobs created Apple with a little (or a lot) of help from his friends.
Senator Bernie Sanders defending Clinton during the Democratic Debate. He was addressing that fact that Clinton was receiving more flack than she deserved regarding the email scandal and that it was taking attention away from actual issues.
4. "The questions asked in this debate illustrate why the American people don't trust the media,"
Ted Cruz at the Republican debate hosted by CNBC in Boulder, Colorado. Cruz felt the CNBC moderators were pitting the GOP candidates against each other with their questions during the debate.
5. "So, I say to you tonight friends," he said. "The best defense against the bulls–t is vigilance. So if you smell something, say something."
Jon Stewart giving his farewell speech at the end of his last time hosting The Daily Show.
6. "What are you waiting for? If we want to bring change we need to step forward.”
Malala Yousafzai. She said this at Leadercast 2015 in Atlanta, GA, which was broadcasted in over 35 countries around the world.
7. "At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this kind of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. It doesn't happen in other places with this kind of frequency."
Barack Obama addressing gun violence in the U.S. during his speech about the nine deaths in the Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting
8. "Today is a beautiful day.. #LoveWins."
Lea Michele tweeting after finding out the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states.
9. "The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there."
Viola Davis's during her acceptance speech at the Emmy's. She previously quoted Harriet Tubman regarding the lack of opportunity colored women have.
10. "Knowledge is Power."
Angelina Jolie penned this in the New York Times regarding her surgery for the removal of her ovaries and fallopian tubes, just two years after her bilateral prophylactic mastectomy.
11. "I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall."
Donald Trump during his speech where he announced he was running for President. He gave the televised speech in June at the Trump Tower in New York.
12. "My brain is much more female than it is male. It is hard for people to understand that, but that is what my soul is."
Bruce Jenner during his interview with Diane Sawyer when he came out as transgender. This was prior to his transition to Caitlyn.
13. “Every generation has had its own ugly reaction to refugees, whether the Irish, Vietnamese, Cubans or Haitians and those fears have been broadly unfounded. In fact, there was only one time in American history when the fear of refugees wiping everyone out did actually come true — and we’ll all be sitting around a table celebrating it on Thursday.”
John Oliver giving his take on refugees searching for a safe shelter. This program was aired before Thanksgiving.
14. "This represents a huge step forward in our future capabilities for safe and precise Mars landing, and demonstrates a highly effective approach for rapid, low-cost validation of new technologies for the entry, descent and landing of spacecraft."
Chad Edwards, chief technologist of NASA's Mars Exploration Directorate talking about ADAPT technology allowing us to land on Mars.
15. Breaking news! McDonald’s replies to California man’s tweet from 2008 with #AllDayBreakfast announcement!
McDonald's announcing its all day breakfast on Twitter by replying to over thousands of Tweeters.
I thought it would be nice to end this list on a happier note.
