It may be really cheesy and girly, but searching for the most beautiful and inspirational quotes really does help me through the hardest of times. Whether it’s for a friend, or for myself, I am a firm believer in the power of a quote. Pinterest is my best friend, and I could spend all day just reading things that make my heart and mind happy. Whether it be after failing a really hard exam, heartbreak, family issues, fights with friends, or just a really sad (or a really happy) day, I feel as though reading something inspiring can make all the difference. After reading about a million different quotes and sayings, both long and short, I have come up with some personal favorites that I often read over when I am feeling down, that I send to friends to lift their spirits up, and that I even have written on a canvas hanging up somewhere in my room. Here are a few (well, 20) of my favorite sayings that I truly think we all need to live by -- the sad and the silly, the long and the short, the inspiring and the witty -- here is my list.
1. “Live and let live.”
2. “If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day.” - Jim Valvano
3. “I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let them go. Things go wrong so that you can appreciate them when they’re right. You believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself. And sometimes, good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” - Marilyn Monroe
4. “Understand the immensity of our world. Understand your insignificance. Understand your absolute importance.”
5. “Flowers grow back, even after they are stepped on. So will I.”
6. “Everyone you know is 65 percent water and everyone you love is made of stardust, and I know sometimes you cannot breathe deeply, and the night sky is no home. And you have cried yourself to sleep enough times that you are down to your last two percent. But nothing is infinite. Not even loss. You are made of the sea and the stars, and one day you are going to find yourself again.” - Finn Butler
7. “May your coming year be filed with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.” - Neil Gaiman
8. “She lost him, but she found herself. And somehow that was everything.” - "1989"
9. “Drink some coffee, put on some gangsta rap, and handle it.”
10. “One fine day, it will be your turn. You will leave homes, cities and countries to pursue grander ambitions. You will leave friends, lovers and possibilities for the chance to roam the world and make deeper connections. You will defy your fear of change, hold your head high and do what you once thought was unthinkable: walk away. And it will be scary. At first. But what I hope you’ll find in the end is that in leaving, you don’t just find love, adventure, and freedom. More than anything, you find you.”
11. “Not one single female can make me jealous over a man I already dealt with. Mark my words. If he was worth keeping, I’d still have him.”
12. “I think it's very healthy to spend time alone. You need to know how to be alone and not be defined by another person.” - Oscar Wilde
13. “Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” - Robin Sharma
14. “Damaged people are dangerous because they know they can survive.”
15. “Shopping is cathartic. Buy the shoes and deal with one-ply toilet paper for a while. It will get better, but it will never be perfect. Learn to live through the small moments of happiness. When they disappear, remember they will resurface. I promise that cookie will not change anything (except that it will make you smile). Please, please, take care of yourself. You are everything to somebody. You are everything to your self. That alone is enough.”
16. “Life is tough, darling, but so are you.” - Stephanie Bennett-Henry
17. “True love will triumph in the end, which may or may not be a lie, but if it is a lie, then it’s the most beautiful lie that we have.” - John Green
18. “What feels like the end is often the beginning.”
19. “Then, she began to breathe, and live, and every moment took her to a place where goodbyes were hard to come by. She was in love, by not with something; she was in love with her life. And for the first time, in a long time, everything was inspiring.” - R.M. Drake
20. “And though you may stumble, you will not fall.” - Oprah Winfrey
