Favorite poems are like favorite children. We definitely have them but we never tell as the others would have their feelings hurt.
Nikki GiovanniRead
A lot of people resist transition and therefore never allow themselves to enjoy who they are. Embrace the change, no matter what it is; once you do, you can learn about the new world you're in and take advantage of it.
Interpretation
Resisting change prevents personal growth and enjoyment of one's true self.
Nikki Giovanni's quote emphasizes the importance of embracing change, suggesting that many individuals hold onto resistance which hinders their ability to discover and appreciate themselves fully. By welcoming transitions, people open themselves to new experiences and opportunities that enhance their understanding of the world and themselves.
In practice
During a motivational speech about personal growth.
Favorite poems are like favorite children. We definitely have them but we never tell as the others would have their feelings hurt.
I want to be clear about this. If you wrote from experience, you'd get maybe one book, maybe three poems. Writers write from empathy.
Art is not for the cultivated taste. It is to cultivate taste.
Style has a profound meaning to Black Americans. If we can’t drive, we will invent walks and the world will envy the dexterity of our feet. If we can’t have ham, we will boil chitterlings; if we are given rotten peaches, we will make cobblers; if given scraps, we will make quilts; take away our drums, and we will clap our hands. We prove the human spirit will prevail. We will take what we have to make what we need. We need confidence in our knowledge of who we are.
If you were a pure bolt of fire-cutting the skies I'd touch you-risking my life-not because I'm brave or strong, but because I'm fascinated by what the outcome would be.
Don't want to be near you for the thoughts we share but the words we never have to speak.
What really distinguishes this generation in all countries from earlier generations ... is its determination to act, its joy in action, the assurance of being able to change things by one's own efforts.
Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.
I think when you work on fossils, and you realize that a species is there, and it's abundant for quite a long period of time, and then at some point it's no longer there - and so, when you look at that bigger picture, yes, you realize that either you change and adapt, or, as a species, you go extinct.
We are building a country where a person's prospects are determined by their own initiative and hard work and not by the color of their skin, place of birth, gender, language, or income of their parents.
We all want things to stay the same. Settle for living in misery because we are afraid of change, of things crumbling to ruins. Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation.
Repentance may begin instantly, but reformation often requires a sphere of years.
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