"MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES FOR TEENS"
SUBMITTED BY TEENS
"Confidence is not always being right,
It's not fearing being wrong."
Unknown --- Contributed by Stephanie T., Age 17 --- Indiana
"No matter how bad something is,
Something good will always come out of it."
Sent in by Nicole L., Age 15 --- Washington
"A friend drops their plans when you're in trouble,
Shares joy in your accomplishments,
Feels sad when you're in pain.
A friend encourages your dreams and offers advice ---
But when you don't follow it,
They still respect and love you."
Doris Wild Helmering
--- Contributed by Amanda G., Age 15 --- Ohio
"Into each life some rain must fall.
So wake up and start walking on sunshine!"
Jennifer, Age 17 ---Tennessee
"It takes less time to do something right
Than to explain why you did it wrong."
Cindy R., Age 16 --- South Carolina
"Friends are the roses of life.
Pick them carefully and avoid the thorns."
Andrea, Age 15 --- Iowa
"Another time and another place
And we might have been soul mates."
Malcolm S., Age 16
"I have loved to the point of madness;
That which is called madness,
That which to me, is the only sensible way to love."
Author Unknown
--- Sent in by Laura M., Age 16 --- Iowa
"The only limit to a mind
Is the idea that the limit existed in the first place!"
From Crossing the Universe
--- Contributed by Michael R., Age 15 --- Hawaii
"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.
The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. "
Winston Churchill
--- Contributed by Melissa, Age 16 --- Oregon
"In the midst of winter I finally
Learned that there was in me
An invincible summer."
Unknown
--- Sent to us by Laureen M., Age 14 --- Washington
"If your life was a book,
Would you read the cliff notes or read the classic?"
Anonymous
--- Contributed by Malini D., Age 17 --- Kansas
"Ideas are like wondering sons.
They show up when you least expect them."
Bern Williams
--- Sent in by Kellie B., Age 16 --- California
"Life is a book, and you are the author."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Alix S., Age 14
"When you love you risk losing your heart
But receiving someone else's."
Ruby V. M., Age 16 --- Hawaii
"It's the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter. "
Marlene Dietrich --- Contributed by Brandy F., Age 15 --- Florida
"You can't be a cream-filled jelly-doughnut."
Jamar Jones --- Contributed by Shawn R., Age 19
"Variety's the very spice of life that give it all its flavor."
William Cowper --- Contributed by Emily M., Age 17 --- Ohio
"Some people dream of success,
While others wake up and work hard at it."
Author Unknown --- Contributed by Julie, Age 15 --- Michigan
"Perhaps the best thing in life
Is being able to choose the ones you love,
Perhaps the worst thing in life
Is not being able to choose the ones who love you back."
Unknown --- Sent in by Ray, Age 15 --- New York
"People can't change the truth...
But the truth can change people."
Unknown --- Sent to us by Katie, Age 15 --- New Jersey
"It is better to be defeated on principle than to win on lies."
Arthur Calwell
--- Contributed by Leslie H., Age 17 --- Missouri
"Small steps...They don't have to be big steps.
They just have to head in the right direction."
Tom Clancy --- Without Remorse
--- Submitted by Lianne H., Age 14 --- Hawaii
"Seek not outside you, heaven is within."
Mary Lou Cook --- Submitted by Michael M., Age 17 --- Ohio
"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.
Nothing can be done without hope and confidence."
Sent in by Elizabeth V., Age 18 --- North Carolina
"To forgive is holy, to forget takes restraint:
To forget what you forgave is the mark of a saint."
Unknown --- Sent in by Jocelyn H., Age 16 --- Ontario, Canada
Thanks for Always Being There
"The world is moving faster now;
We're on a changing course.
But you have helped me deal with life;
You've been a stable force.
When I have had to follow;
New directions, you were there.
When the world was hard on me;
You always seemed to care.
When nothing held together;
Made the slightest bit of sense.
You have always helped restore;
My inner confidence.
Everyone needs someone;
Who's reliable and true.
Through the moments I've endured;
I'm grateful there was you."
Unknown --- Sent in by Aaron K., Age 15 --- Virginia
Teenage Athletes:
"If your one of these teens that drink and do drugs,
Remember that there are younger children out there
Who look up to you and everything you do,
So they can be just like you.
Don't lead them to death just cause you wanna be cool
And hang with a group who drinks.
Remember, the little eyes which look upon you
Every night and day."
Lacy D., Age 17 --- Texas
"Standing still is a moving experience."
Unknown --- Sent to us by Nic J., Age 16 --- Washington
"Don't ask meaningless questions
And you wont get meaningless answers.
Ask something with a full heart
And you might get somewhere."
Samantha H., Age 14 --- North Carolina
"Be yourself or be dead, cause change.
Show some emotion.
Never, ever, be bored."
Brian Bosworth --- Contributed by Abby S., Age 16 --- Ohio
"Life is mostly froth and bubble;
Two things stand like stone:
Kindness in another's trouble, Courage in your own. "
Adam Lindsey Gordon
--- Contributed by Kristin, Age 17 --- Wyoming
"Sometimes you can see a lot by just looking."
Yogi Berra
--- Sent in by Julianne J. L., Age 19 --- New York
"Listen to your heart, because in the end,
It is your heart that counts."
Tricia G., Age 16 --- Ohio
"There is always room at the top."
Daniel Webster --- Sent in by Josh W., Rising Junior
--- West Florence High School --- South Carolina
"Perfect practice makes perfect."
Rick Pitino --- Contributed by Marisa L., Age 16
"Each man's life touches so many others,
But when he isn't around it leaves an awful hole."
From the movie - 'It's A Wonderful Life'
--- Contributed by Emily B., Age 16 --- Michigan
"Forgiveness is a gift of high value, yet it costs nothing."
Unknown --- Sent in by Courtnie, Age 17 --- Georgia
"Pain is temporary...Pride is forever."
Unknown --- Submitted by Jeanine G., Age 15 --- Florida
"Life isn't a destination, its a journey.
We all come upon unexpected curves, turning points,
Mountains, and valleys.
Everything that happens to us shapes who we are becoming
And in the process and adventure of each day,
We discover the best in ourselves."
Unknown --- Submitted by Jennifer P., Age 17 --- Pennsylvania
"If you don't learn from your mistakes,
There's no point in making them."
Anonymous --- Contributed by Jim L. --- Wisconsin
"Life is like a bicycle,
You only fall off if you stop pedalling."
Elisa M., Age 14 --- Idaho
"Love what you have,
When you don't have what you love."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Jenni, Age 16 --- Arizona
"They are ill discoverers that think there is no land,
When they can see nothing but sea."
Francis Bacon --- Sent in by Aaron K., Age 15 --- Virginia
"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want,
But the realization of how much you already have."
Unknown --- Contributed by Karen T., Age 17 --- Tennessee
"I'm not old enough to play baseball or football. I'm not eight yet. My mom told me when you start baseball you aren't going to be able to run that fast because you had an operation. I told mom I wouldn't need to run that fast. When I play baseball, I'll just hit them out of the park. Then I'll be able to walk."
Edward J. McGrath, Jr.
--- Submitted by Dana G., Age 17 --- Michigan
"I can only please one person per day.
Today isn't your day.
Tomorrow doesn't look good either."
Author Unknown --- Contributed by Matt K., Age 16 --- Ohio
"Everyone is an explorer.
How could you possibly live your life
Looking at a door and not open it?"
Robert D. Ballard
--- Sent in by Kellie B., Age 16 --- California
"Don't marry the person you think you can live with,
Marry the person you can't live without."
Unknown --- Submitted by Sarah C., Age 17 --- Louisiana
"Sometimes the best advice you can receive is EXPERIENCE."
Jill, Age 16 --- Iowa
"Teamwork is the fuel that allows Common People
To Produce Uncommon Results!"
CSR, Age 18 --- Arizona
"Enjoy yourself.
These are the good old days
You are going to miss in the years ahead."
Unknown --- Contributed by Amanda G., Age 15 --- Ohio
"Life is like a candle... very delicate
It only will burn until something blows it out...
But only until then so be careful,
And do anything to keep it burning,
Because once it burns out
It can never be lit again!"
Alix S., Age 14
HEARTPRINTS
" Whatever our hands touch---
We leave fingerprints!
On walls, on furniture,
On doorknobs, dishes, books,
As we touch we leave our identity.
Oh please where ever I go today,
Help me leave heartprints!
Heartprints of compassion
Of understanding and love.
Heartprints of kindness
And genuine concern.
May my heart touch a lonely neighbor
Or a runaway daughter,
Or an anxious mother,
Or, perhaps, a dear friend!
I shall go out today
To leave heartprints,
And if someone should say
"I felt your touch,"
May that one sense be...YOUR LOVE
Touching through ME..."
Unknown
Sent in by Lianne H., Age 14 --- Hawaii
--- Sent in by Karen, Age 15
"Winners train, losers complain."
Unknown --- Sent in by Sam P., Age 16 --- Virginia
"Life is like a roller coaster,
Live for fear and don't ever fear to live."
Sent in by Katie S., Age 15 --- Alaska
"Better to have met you in my dream
Than to awake and reach for hands that are not there."
Otomo No Yakamochi
--- Sent in by Laura M., Age 16 --- Iowa
"Citius, Altius, Fortius --- {swifter, higher, stronger}"
The Olympic Motto
--- Sent in by Ashley W., Age 15 --- Virginia
"All the strength and force of a man
Comes from his faith in things unseen.
He who believes is strong;
He who doubts is weak.
Strong convictions precede great actions."
JF Clarke --- Sent in by Alison, Age 18 --- Ohio
"Success is having.
Excellence is being."
Pat Riley --- Sent in by Betsy M., Age 17 --- Illinois
Things That Never Die
"The pure the bright
The beautiful that stirred our hearts in youth
The impulses to wordless prayer,
The streams of love and truth,
The longing after something lost,
The spirit's yearning cry,
The striving after better hopes;
These things can never die.
The timid hand stretched forth to aid a brother in his need,
A kindly word in grief's dark hour that proves a friend indeed;
The plea for mercy softly breathed,
When justice threatens high,
The sorrow of a contrite heart;
These things shall never die, shall never die.
Let nothing pass,
For every hand must find some work to do,
Lose not a chance to waken love.
Be firm and just and true,
So shall a light that cannot fade beam on thee from on high,
And angel voices say to thee;
These things can never die."
Charles Dickens --- Submitted by Jessica P., Age 16 --- Wisconsin
"Though the tragedies of life and death may separate us,
We will always have each other."
Unknown --- Submitted by Jenny Ann C., Age 16 --- Wisconsin
"When I think I need to belong,
I follow others.
When I follow my heart,
I feel like I belong regardless of others."
Tully
Sent in by Catherine, Age 15 --- B.C., Canada
"Don't look back.
Something might be gaining on you."
Satchel Paige --- Lisa D., Age 16 --- Illinois
EYES
"They say the eyes are the windows of the soul.
I believe.
There are things that the eyes can show
That a mouth cannot speak."
Meng, Age 19 --- Philippines
"When you change your focus,
You will change your results."
Charlotte S., Age 16 --- Ontario, Canada
"Generosity always has admirers, but rarely imitators."
Nestroy --- Sent in by Courtnie, Age 17 --- Georgia
"We don't have to change friends
As long as we understand
That friends change."
Unknown --- Submitted by Jenifer I., Age 18 --- Pennsylvania
"If you respect others, than they will respect you."
Lacy D., Age 17 --- Texas
"Sometimes life has a way of putting us on our backs,
In order to force us to look up."
Charles L. Allen
--- Submitted by Julianne J. L., Age 19 --- New York
"You either make dust or eat dust."
Anonymous
--- Contributed by Neisha B., Age 15 --- North Carolina
"When in a fight, argument, or dispute,
Showing your emotions only worsens the matter."
Shawn R., Age 19
"When it comes right down to it,
We all just want to be loved. "
Jamie Yellin --- Contributed by Brandy F., Age 15 --- Florida
"The door to happiness opens outward."
Soren Kierkegaard
--- Contributed by Kristin, Age 17 --- Wyoming
"The impossible is usually untried."
Author Unknown
--- Contributed by Amber M., Age 16 --- British Columbia, Canada
"Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries."
James A. Michener
--- Contributed by Leslie H., Age 17 --- Missouri
"He who never fell, never climbed."
Unknown --- Contributed by Emily M., Age 17 --- Ohio
"Experience is not what happens to you.
It is what you do with what happens to you."
Aldous Huxley
--- Contributed by Collen, Age 18 --- Pennsylvania
"Find the seed at the bottom of your heart,
And bring forth a flower."
Shigenori Kameoka
Submitted by Michael M. --- Age 17 --- Ohio
"Let your love be like the misty rain...
Coming softly, but flooding the river."
Contributed by Concitta C., Age 19 --- Illinois