"MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES FOR TEENS"
SUBMITTED BY TEENS
"A true friend never gets in your way,
Unless you happen to be going down."
Stephanie K., Age 16 --- Kentucky
Friends
Friends are people
That cares and loves you
Like a whole family in one person.
I have friends
Lots of them
Some are good, and some are bad
But they are still my friends,
And always will be.
Brittany S., Age 14 --- Alaska
"I believe everyone has a soul mate, but they don't always meet."
Jenna, Age 15 --- New Jersey
"When you walk into a room and the light is off,
You stumble to find it.
In life, don't stumble in the darkness to find the light,
Bring it with you and you will see life in a new light."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Charles G., Age 16 --- Michigan
"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Evenyouths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those whohope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings likeeagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint."
Isaiah 40:29 (the Bible)
--- Submitted by Gretchen D., Age 16 --- Oregon
"In life, things rarely go the way you plan.
Some people work hard and don't get it,
But others don't work at all and get it.
That's what fate is all about."
Ali, Age 17 --- Bahrain
"God Sees Us As He Would Like Us To Be...But Loves Us As We Are."
Sandra M., Age 18 --- Arizona
"The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself."
Unknown --- Sent in by Catherine, Age 15 --- British Columbia, Canada
"Always expect the unexpected. "
Unknown --- Sent in by Sam P., Age 16 --- Virginia
"Love without reason lasts the longest."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Laura M., Age 16 --- Iowa
"In life, there are no re-auditions."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Katie, Age 15 --- New Jersey
"If you can teach me not to think,
Then you can teach me not to feel."
William Shakespeare --- Sent in by Maddy, Age 15 --- Texas
"Jumping to conclusions seldom leads to happy landings."
Unknown --- Sent in by Meredith, Age 15 --- Ontario, Canada
"When a friend is in trouble,
Don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do.
Think up something appropriate and do it."
Unknown --- Sent in by Carrie, Age 17 --- Wisconsin
"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car Idrove. But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a boy."
Forest Witcraft --- Sent in by Barry S., Age 19 --- Canada
--- Author's name supplied by David Barnes --- Colorado
"In dealing with life and its complexities,
One should always remember that tomorrow contains more joy
Than any yesterday you can recall."
From the book, "Life's Little Instruction Book" Book No.3 --- Mr. Brown
--- Sent in by Mary Anne M., Age 17 --- Philippines
"The best way out is always through."
Robert Frost --- Sent in by Jake M., Age 17 --- Missouri
This Day Has Come
This day has come-we've worked so hard
The testing is at hand.
It has come for us to show what we can do.
We'll go out there and do our best-
It won't matter whether we win or lose,
The fight is what counts.
Joanne J., Age 17 --- Virginia
"This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."
From Shakespeare's play --- Hamlet
--- Submitted by Amber, Age 17 --- Oregon
"Few, if any, survive their teens.
Most surrender to the vague but murderous pressure of adult conformity."
Maya Angelou --- Sent in by Lexie R., Age 18 --- Florida
"Life is short, so party as much as possible!"
Becca W., Age 18 --- Wisconsin
"The biggest disease is not leprosy or tuberculosis,
But rather the feeling of being unwanted."
Mother Theresa --- Sent in by Kim B., Age14 --- Nebraska
"If your soul is smiling, notify your face!"
Unknown --- Sent in by April, Age 15 --- California
"The most important thing in this world it to be yourself.
Because, if you aren't yourself, then who are you?"
Kurt Aaron L., Age 18 --- Utah
"Persistence is the twin sister of excellence.
One is a matter of quality; the other, a matter of time."
Marabel Morgan --- Sent in by Steven A., Age 17 --- Illinois
"Risk more that others think is safe.
Care more than others think is wise.
Dream more than others think is practical.
Expect more than others think is possible."
Unknown --- Sent in by Nichole, Age 13 --- Pennsylvania
"A good friend is hard to find, hard to lose, and impossible to forget."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Molly K., Age 14 --- Pennsylvania
"If you can't find what you are looking for, look harder."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Marissa, Age 15 --- Ontario, Canada
"Happiness is not an accident.
Nor is it something you wish for.
Happiness is something you design."
Jim Rohn --- Sent in by Kristy W., Age 18 --- Wisconsin
"God gives every bird it's food,
But he does not throw it into it's nest."
Unknown --- Sent in by Amber G., Age 17 --- Oregon
"The most important tool for success is the belief that you can succeed!"
Written on the wall of Ocean Tumblers Gymnastics
--- Sent in by Alexis M., Age 16 --- Maryland
Believe In Yourself
Believe in yourself -
In the power you have to control your own life,
Day by day.
Believe in the strength that you have deep inside,
And your faith will help show you the way.
Believe in tomorrow and what it will bring -
Let a hopeful heart carry you through,
For things will work out if you trust and believe
There's no limit to what you can do.
Emily Matthews --- Submitted by Lisa G., Age 17 --- Illinois
"Success is a state of mind.
If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success."
Dr. Joyce Brothers --- Contributed by Tricia G., Age 17 --- Ohio
"Faith, like light, should always be simple and unbending."
Martin Luther King --- Sent in by Kristin, Age 17 --- Wyoming
"You can't stuff a great life into a small dream."
Malini D., Age 17 --- Kansas
"Cherish your friends, for one day when everyone else has let you down,
They will be there to comfort you."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Katie, Age 15 --- Kentucky
"True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils.
Strive to have friends, for life without friends
Is like life on a desert island.
To find one good friend is good fortune;
To keep him is a blessing."
Baltasar Gracian --- Sent in by Rebecca M., Age 18 --- Washington
"You never know how high you are until you are asked to try
And then if you are true to form your stature will touch the sky."
Emily Dickenson --- Sent in by Caitlin D., Age 16 --- New Hampshire
"There's the people that you've known forever.
Who like...know you...in this way, that other people can't,
Because they've seen you change.
They've let you change."
From My So Called Life --- Sent in by Laura, Age 15 --- Pennsylvania
"Ambition is nothing but stubbornness refined to follow our dreams."
DeAnna F., Age 17 --- Illinois
"You can't leave everything up to fate,
She has a lot to do,
Sometimes you have to give her a hand!"
Unknown --- Sent in by Domonique, Age 14 --- West Virginia
"The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Suzanne, Age 18 --- Illinois
"People won't remember what you said,
People won't remember what you did,
But they will always remember how you made them feel."
Unknown --- Kristen B., Age 14 --- Connecticut
"It takes hard work to be a friend.
But cherish them,
For one day when everyone else has let you down,
They'll be there for you."
Katie F., Age 16-----Kentucky
"Remember, a true love is a dear love.
One that cannot start, work, or end
Without at least one tear of joy."
Jenny Ann, Age 17 --- Wisconsin
"Whatever you do in life there will be walls, troubles, and fears.
Surmount them."
Brian H., Age 15 --- Ohio
"We mortals, men and women,
Devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time;
Keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips,
And in answer to inquiries say, "Oh, nothing!"
Pride helps us; and pride is not a bad thing
When it only urges us to hide our own hurts, not to hurt others."
George Eliot, Middlemarch --- Sent in by Meagan, Age 19 --- Iowa
"Succeed because you want to.
Do not reach your goals by depending on others.
Rather, accomplish your dreams by making them happen yourself."
Ian M., Age 16 --- NSW Australia
"I live everyday as if it is my last.
That's why my room is never clean.
Who wants to clean their room on their last day?"
Erin S., Age 15 --- Georgia
"One of the largest problems among teenagers is the concept of self-esteem.We all yearn to be "beautiful", or how we perceive beauty. Many times welook in the mirror and think "I am ugly, I hate my hair, my body, my face"etc., instead of thinking "Oh my gosh I am so beautiful!" But, that is calledstuck-up in modern terms. And it's not. You should be pleased with yourselfand love yourself and tell yourself you are beautiful, even if no one in theworld agrees, because you are."
Bethelene, Age 15 --- Virginia
"I knew who I was when I got up this morning,
But I must have changed several times since then."
Lewis Carroll --- Submitted by Tracy N., Age 13 --- Colorado
"Life is like a game of monopoly.
Whenever you stop, you usually have to pay a price.
That's why you want to keep going and going and going."
Kiara M., Age 14 --- West Virginia
"Make today's setbacks tomorrow's victories."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Kristin, Age 17 --- Maine
"If your going to sit back and just be a number....
You might as well be number ONE!"
Adam K., Age 15 --- New Jersey
"Life is amazing, live it with grace."
Sara A., Age 14 --- New Mexico
"If you follow your bliss,
You put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while,
Waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living.
When you can see that,
You begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss,
And they open the doors to you."
Joseph Campbell --- Sent in by Sally, Age 17 --- Indiana
"There is only one percent allowed on my field;
That's a hundred and ten percent."
Rob, Age 16 --- Massachusetts
"Live your life in a way so that in the future,
You won't regret your past."
Laura, Age 17 --- Virginia
"The world is ours,
Precious in our hands."
Unknown --- Sent in by Andrea D., Age 14 --- Missouri
"Life is like a grindstone.
Whether it grinds a man down, or polishes him up
Depends on the stuff he's made of."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Anne B., Age 17 --- Ohio
"Trials aren't meant to break you but to build you."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Andrea, Age 18 --- Maryland
"Never does Nature say one thing and Wisdom another."
Juvenal C., Age 15 --- Quebec, Canada
"Some say that life is a game and that we shouldn't help the other players.
I say let's play open-handed."
Allison T., Age 13, --- Texas
"Laughter is medicine for the soul. Always keep on smiling."
Breanna O., Age 15 --- Michigan
"Life is what we make it, it always has been, always will be!"
Unknown Author --- Sent in by Sarah, Age 16 --- Ohio
"It takes ability to get a man to the top,
But it takes character to keep him there."
From a card --- Sent in by Bryan M., Age 18 --- Kentucky
"A kiss is a pleasant reminder that two heads are better than one."
Anonymous --- Sent in by Ryan K., Age 18 --- Florida
"If you don't daydream and kind of plan things out in your imagination,
You never get there. So you have to start someplace."
Robert Duvall --- Sent in by Cheryl, Age 15 --- Florida
"This is the beginning of a new day.
I can waste it or use it for good.
What I do today is important because-
I am wasting a day of my life for it.
When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever.
Leaving in its place, something I traded for it.
I want it to be gain not loss, good not evil, success not failure,
In order that I shall not regret the price I paid for today."
Shawnee Lacrosse team motto --- Submitted by Stacy G. --- New Jersey
"When you have to cope with a lot of problems,
You're either going to sink or you're going to swim."
Tom Cruise --- Sent in by Andrea C., Age 15 --- Kentucky
"Others are merely mirrors of you.
You cannot love or hate something about someone else
Unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Sarah, Age 15 --- Pennsylvania
"We don't accept the possibilities of defeat."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Brandi G., Age 16 --- Colorado
"Follow your heart and believe in yourself.
That's the best any of us can do."
Alec Q., Age 16 --- Washington
"The sense of achievement and joy after overcoming the impossibleare the most treasured and fulfilling ones. So, never bow down toobstacles, conquer them and enjoy the fruit of your courage!"
Tan Z., Age 16 --- Singapore
"If you doubt yourself, others will too.
If you give up hope, only you can bring it back.
No matter how offended you get,
Strong feelings can only make the stereotype grow."
Mike S. --- Indiana
"Sometimes things get so loud
And the mouths just keep on
Talking and talking
And the noise has no rhythm,
It's like a war of sounds.
Then I see my family in our quiet home
Under the dark sky
And I smile."
Fay Hoover --- Sent in by Lauren H., Age 14 --- Pennsylvania
"Think of all the mistakes you haven't made."
Annie, Age 15 --- Michigan
"When the world hands you a frown,
Turn it upside down and SMILE!!!"
Megan U., Age 16 --- Texas
"The seemingly endless agony, that emotion we feel;
Thus, the agony of love, an orange we slowly peel;
So the tapestry unfolds, the canvas painted;
And the magic explodes, the innocent now tainted;
Mistakes and wrongs we no longer feel,
For with our bottle of fears, love tightens the seal;
And as the clouds pull away, the sky now clear;
Our emotions become jumbled, maybe a tear;
A breakdown of thought, all systems shut down;
The blend of gifts, in love we slowly drown;
Life seems but a blur, a roller-coaster ride;
For a timeless masterpiece, is taken in stride;
Take it all in, remember the feeling;
Though if the end should come, the longer the healing;
But I say to you this, never place the blame,
For it was from the depths of honesty, that she really came."
Copyright © 1999 Curt Bachman
"A stranger is a friend unmet."
Unknown --- Sent in by Bonnie, Age 16 --- Florida
"Seek to create change not because a thing is wrong,
But because it is no longer a statement of who you are."
Unknown --- Sent in by Megan, Age 17 --- New Jersey
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law."
Alister Crowley --- Sent in by Chris G., Age 15 --- Pennsylvania
"The emptied mind is more prepared to see the truth."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Kim Q., Age 16 --- New Jersey
"People never really grow up, they just learn how to act in public."
Bryan White --- Submitted by Sara, Age 16 --- Minnesota
"Think about things before you do them
Because you can't change the past once its happened,
And no matter how hard you try,
Things can't go back to the way they were."
Rachel, Age 14 --- California
"Love is the blood of a relationship for without it,
The heart has nothing to do."
Justin M., Age 15 --- Georgia
"Life is like a map; you can't read it
And you don't know where you're going,
So shut you eyes, have faith and coast."
Lisa H., Age 19 --- Ontario, Canada
"I know of no more encouraging fact
Than the unquestionable ability of a man
To elevate his life by conscious endeavor."
Henry David Thoreau --- Sent in by Robin, Age 15 --- New York
"I have learned that no matter what, never turn your life around
For someone who doesn't love you back."
Michelle S., Age 17 --- Montana
"I am not everyone,
But still I am someone.
I can not do everything,
But still I can do something."
Helen Keller --- Submitted by Brittany B., Age 14
"See with your eyes as if you will be struck blind tomorrow."
Unknown--- Sent in by Mandy, Age 17 --- Ohio
"There are no barriers in life; only challenges!"
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Jarrett B.r, Age 14 --- Alabama
"Most people don't know that there are angels,
Whose only job is to make sure you don't get too comfortable
And fall asleep and miss your life."
Brian Andreas - Still Mostly True
--- Sent in by Kaili N., Age 18 --- California
"Every exit is an entrance to somewhere."
Lianne H. --- Age 14 --- Hawaii
"We are one,
And the sooner we move beyond the belief that we are separate,
The sooner we will recognize that the way to solve our problems
Is to mutually support one another in creative and caring ways."
Unknown --- Sent in by Hunter W.--- North Carolina