MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES FOR TEENS
SUBMITTED BY TEENS
"Why try so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out?"
From the movie "What a Girl Wants" --- Submitted by Kayli S., Age 17 --- Michigan
I think everyone stands out in their own way and it's better to stand out than to follow the crowd, and to stand up for what you believe in rather than what everyone else thinks!
"Life has many paths, and we can't take all of them, but we can pave the way for others in the one we choose."
Written in 2003 by T.H., Age 13 --- Alberta, Canada
"Anything worth having is worth working hard for."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Britnee B., Age 14 --- Montana
I love this quote because I'm really good at basketball and I have really bad grades. I had one week to get all my grades above a C. In one week I did and I'm very happy because I can play basketball and school is a lot easier for me and a lot more fun.
"Don't judge by what the rumors say, judge by what you know in your heart and head."
Written in 2004 by Stephanie S., Age 15 --- Texas
Rumors are like poison. They intoxicate so fast and destroy a person so cruelly and most of the time, no one cares enough to find out the truth.
"For the ones who don't understand, walk a mile in my shoes, see what I see, feel what I feel, then maybeyou'll understand why I do the things that I do."
Written in 2004 by Micaela B., Age 13 --- Missouri
"All the small things in life seem to disappear when something big happens, funny how life works."
Written in 2004 by Kristin C., Age 15 --- Connecticut
I wrote this quote when my brother got kicked out of school. I never knew how much that would affect me, and when it happened all my small problems with my friends and grades just disappeared. No longer were they important to me, but my brother was the most important thing to me.
"What if your dreams and fears existed in the same place? What if to get to heaven, you had to brave hell? What if everything you've ever wanted cost you everything you've ever achieved? Would you still go there?"
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Laura M., Age 17 --- Scotland, United Kingdom
Remember to value everything correctly and people; "everything is okay in the end, if it's not okay, then it's not the end."
"No one, however persuasive they may be can force us to become angry or upset."
Marcus Aurelius --- Submitted by Rivers R., Age 16 --- Mississippi
I love this quote, because it means that you are only mad if you let yourself be. Nobody else can truly ever make you mad if you don't want them to. So whenever someone is trying to get to me, I just think of this quote.
"Take flight to your dreams; leave the past behind- soar above the clouds, a destiny you will find!"
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Laura M., Age 15 --- United Kingdom
I've successfully left the past behind. Believing in my dreams has freed me from the temptations of 'suicide' after four years of abuse. If only we could believe in the power of our dreams....if there one thing I've learnt in this life it is this, "IT GOES ON!!!" Live your life people, and don't ever stop dreaming...for it is within you- no one can take the dream away from you...you can have the will and power to succeed.
"TEAM: People who work together and support each other to achieve a common goal or purpose and better each other by inspiring each other and motivating each other. A team will never let a mistake get them down or let it ruin the team. A team will always overcome mistakes and learn from them."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Kami K., Age 15 --- Texas
"Life is your ride if you are willing to put forth the effort to take it and your foundation if you are prepared to build upon it."
Copyright © 2004 Leo Ogg
"A wise monkey never monkies with another monkey's monkey."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by R.S., Age 13 --- Idaho
To me, this quote means don't let the competition mess with your head. Friends are the key. If you are always talking about the competition coming up, your friends will be mad that you are so self-absorbent.
"If you go into a game thinking you're beaten, then you're already beaten before you start."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by H.S., Age 16 --- South Carolina
"Life is short, so eat the frosting first."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by E.D., Age 15 --- Illinois
People, especially teens, worry too much about the little things in life. A bad grade on a test, a breakup with a girlfriend/boyfriend, or what we look like every morning before we leave for school. But honestly, in ten years, we're never going to remember these things. Life is so short. Just enjoy it!
"Smiling makes life so much more enjoyable."
Written in 2004 by Lindsay C., Age 14 --- Virginia
From my point of view, when you smile it makes life much more enjoyable for you and everyone else. It makes my day every time I see someone with a smile on their face. It's very funny though because many people come up to me smiling and saying how much I made their day by simply putting on a smile. So put on a smile once in awhile and see where it will get you.
"You can't hear opportunity knock if the TV is always on."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Lauren W., Age 13 --- New York
I saw this on a poster in my English class; it is very true.
"The reason the Indian rain dance works is because they don't stop dancing until it's raining."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Lauren K., Age 16 --- Rhode Island
May all of you keep dancing until the rain comes and still be able to dance some more.
"No matter how bad the situation is, NEVER lower yourself to their level."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Brandon B., Age 18 --- Kansas
I thought of this when one of my friends was going through a tough time.
Don't be sad and don't be mad
Listen to your heart and follow your dreams
People help you through life but they don't make it
Please yourself and subside others
Let your heart lead you to those who care for you
Be patient and understanding with those who know not
You are in control and only you can guide your life
These things I have said are true to me and maybe you
Listen, read, think, and then judge
What is right for me could not be what's right for you
I love you and you love yourself
Dwell on that and incorporate that in your life
All is well when you find inner peace
Written in 2004 by Chris G., Age 18 --- Michigan
I wrote this for a friend who was having trouble with her friends and relationship problems.
"Why do we close are eyes when we dream? When we cry? When we imagine? When we kiss? Because the most beautiful things in the world are unseen."
Author Unknown
--- Submitted by E.G., Age 16 --- British Columbia, Canada and Heather R., Age 16 --- Texas
"If you look at your past, you will never go anywhere. If you look at your feet, you will hit a wall. If you look at your goal, you will fall over in a pit. Instead, find a balance. Look far enough ahead that you can reach you goals, and close enough that you can see your pits."
Copyright © 2004 Jonathan Reeve
I went through a time where I couldn't get anywhere. I looked back at what I did wrong, and didn't get anything done. I looked at my end goal, and the small problems kept stopping me up. I looked at the small problems, and came up against impassable barriers. This past New Years, I met someone who has helped me find the balance, and they don't even know it. Find someone who can help you the same way she helped me.
"Maybe sometimes you have to stop waiting for someone to come along and fix what's wrong. Maybe you have to stop feeling sorry for yourself, and realize that no one else has the answer... sometimes, you've got to be your own hero."
Written in 2003 by M.L., Age 16 --- Ohio
"Life isn't easy; I learned that today. Maybe I should have opened my eyes sooner, but I didn't. And now, at 17, I'm finally realizing that there has to be some bad things in your life. They are the things that make you realize how lucky you are when the good things come along."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Carla G., Age 17 --- Pennsylvania
"Conquering land is an achievement, yet conquering someone's heart is the real challenge."
Copyright © 2004 Sammy Farahzad
Think of the land as yourself, and think of the someone's heart as your friends/loved ones.
Moral: Don't Be Selfish.
"Choosing a path for yourself doesn't always mean its the right path in the eyes of others. But, whatever path you choose, make it mean something. Something you can tell a story about 40 or 50 years down the road."
Written in 2003 by Megan M., Age 14 --- California
Because I just started high school, I know that there will be many decisions down the road. I know I'll make mistakes and have to turn around and head down another path because of it, but I'm not willing to let people's judgment distract my train of thought for life.
"What happens to you in the future, YOU ARE fully equipped for. What you have learnt from life now, you WILL have to use. If it brings you sadness and confusion, remember there is something to learn."
Written in 2003 by Saz H., Age 14 --- England, United Kingdom
I made this up in an RE lesson because I've learnt a lot from the sad things that have happened to me. They don't seem so bad when you know they are happening for a reason- you are learning something that you're gonna have to use later on to help yourself or even someone else. My parents were divorced when I small and I only understood what was really going on when I was about 9. I was distraught when I understood, but I got through it. My experience, my lesson, helped a friend who I met at school whose parents were divorcing and she was grateful that someone was there to understand. Though divorce is terrible, it was for a reason. I would've been unhappier if they were together, but now I have a wonderful stepmum and two gorgeous stepbros!
"Never look at it as the end of today, but as the beginning of tomorrow."
Copyright © 2004 Amber Tompkins
"When life lets you down, don't give up, because you have your whole life ahead of you. Just trust yourinstincts and you'll make it, with a story!"
Written in 2003 by Christina B., Age 14 --- Ontario, Canada
I wrote this when I just gotten out of being in depression, because I was suicidal...I listened to my ownadvice, and I'm still here, happier than ever! And I have a story, too!!!
"They say best friends are forever. They say try your hardest and you will succeed. They say, they say,... I can go on forever with tons of lists, but the main thing is to believe that you can. You can, even if it's hard, you can do it!"
Written in 2004 by A.H., Age 13 --- Illinois
"Loyalty is the essence of friendship."
Written in 2003 by J.E., Age 16 --- WA, Australia
May this encourage others to savour friendship as much as they do love.
"It's interesting in life that people lose their health to make money...and then lose their money to restore their health and that by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Chantel E., Age 16 --- British Columbia, Canada
"No matter where you go or what you do, the stars stay the same. So why run away from what will always be in your life?"
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Toni S., Age 16 --- Michigan
"Without suffering, there would be no compassion."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Emma D., Age 17 --- Queensland, Australia
"Intolerance comes from ignorance."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Sarah R., Age 15 --- Pennsylvania
This quote means a lot to me. People don't accept what they don't understand. If someone doesn't have the answer to something right in front of their face, they're not going to accept it. Rather than taking the time to explore, they see the unknown as bad and avoid it like the plague.
"If you stand in front of the mirror holding one dozen roses, you'll see thirteen of the most beautiful things."
Billy Martin --- Submitted by K.D., Age 16 --- Missouri
"Life is "Grandview Drive" - a long and tedious uphill battle with loads of speed bumps and windy curves. Yet once you reach the top, boy, do you have one heck of a view."
Azaelia --- Submitted by Amy L., Age 17 --- NSW, Australia
If anyone knows the area or the road, they would have to agree it's one long journey.
"If you reveal your secret to the wind, don't blame the wind for revealing it to the trees."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Ames H., Age 16 --- Washington
"Being in love is like being an underdog. No matter how many times you lose, it's the times you win that you will never forget."
Written in 2003 by C.D., Age 17 --- Indiana
Sometimes failure overwhelms us in life and we find it hard to move on, but it's in rising above adversity that we can truly find happiness in life.
"The mistakes we make, the falls we take, the many failures and trials... don't regret'em, just forget'em and come back with a smile!"
Written in 2003 by Stephanie S., Age 15 --- Texas