When the scary subject of race is finally broached, kids want to talk and talk. It's very satisfying.
Ruby BridgesRead
I never got the chance to meet Linda Brown; there were several times we were supposed to meet or be on the same stage together, but life gets in the way, and it never happened.
Interpretation
Life is unpredictable, and sometimes we miss opportunities to connect with others.
In this quote, Ruby Bridges reflects on the missed chances to meet Linda Brown, highlighting how life's unpredictability can affect our plans and relationships. It serves as a reminder that despite our intentions, circumstances often change, and we may not always have control over the timing of our interactions and connections with others.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of seizing opportunities, one might quote this to illustrate how life can intervene.
When the scary subject of race is finally broached, kids want to talk and talk. It's very satisfying.
I felt like there was something I needed to do - speaking to kids and sharing my story with them and helping them understand racism has no place in the minds and hearts of children.
Schools should be diverse if we are to get past racial differences.
I've seen schools in Detroit where the windows are broken, where there's no heat, and children are sitting with their coats on in class in the middle of a snowstorm. I've also seen schools in California with Olympic-sized swimming pools and cafeterias like five-star restaurants.
Throughout my life, my prayers have actively sustained me - held me up, carried me through.
My message is really that racism has no place in the hearts and minds of our children.
After it's all over, the early childhood, a chain of birthdays woven with candlelight, piles of presents, voices of relatives singing and praising your promise and future, after the years of schooling, fitting yourself into different size desks, memorizing, reciting, reporting, and performing for jury after jury of teachers, counselors, and administrators, you still feel inadequate, alone, vulnerable, and naked in a world that can be unforgiving and terribly demanding.
...life is all about chances. You might be safer not taking any. But playing it totally safe means you're only existing. Not living. I want to live.
There's mistakes that I have made. Some chances I just threw away. Some roads I never should've taken. Been some signs I didn't see. Hearts that I hurt needlessly. Some wounds that I wish I could have one more chance to mend, but it don't make no difference: The past can't be rewritten. You get the life you're given.
She was snatched back from a dream of far countries, and found herself on Main Street.
I try to be available for life to happen to me. We're in this life, and if you're not available, the sort of ordinary time goes past and you didn’t live it. But if you're available, life gets huge. You're really living it.
Looking back, I realize that this period of my life has irrevocably come to a close; my happy-go-lucky, carefree schooldays are gone forever. I don't even miss them. I've outgrown them. I can no longer just kid around, since my serious side is always there.
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