I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences.
Sonia SotomayorRead
As you discover what strength you can draw from your community in this world from which it stands apart, look outward as well as inward. Build bridges instead of walls.
Interpretation
Strength can be derived from our communities, and we should foster connections instead of isolation.
This quote by Sonia Sotomayor emphasizes the importance of recognizing the strength that comes from being part of a community. It encourages individuals to look both within themselves and outward to build connections, advocating for the creation of supportive relationships rather than barriers that separate people from one another.
In practice
During a community meeting, I reminded everyone of the importance of working together and building bridges, quoting Sonia Sotomayor.
I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences.
This wealth of experiences, personal and professional, have helped me appreciate the variety of perspectives that present themselves in every case that I hear.
I was fifteen years old when I understood how it is that things break down: people can't imagine someone else's point of view.
The truth is that since childhood I had cultivated an existential independence. It came from perceiving the adults around me as unreliable, and without it I felt I wouldn't have survived. I cared deeply for everyone in my family, but in the end I depended on myself.
There are uses to adversity, and they don't reveal themselves until tested. Whether it's serious illness, financial hardship, or the simple constraint of parents who speak limited English, difficulty can tap unexpected strengths.
I want to state upfront, unequivocally and without doubt: I do not believe that any racial, ethnic or gender group has an advantage in sound judging. I do believe that every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge, regardless of their background or life experiences.
A community that sees so clearly its own disadvantage or its own hardships also has a harder time seeing its potential: its ability to work together to change the community and change their lives.
Many people are good at talking about what they are doing, but in fact do little. Others do a lot but don't talk about it; they are the ones who make a community live.
Our true destiny...is a world built from the bottom up by competent citizens living in solid communities, engaged in and by their places.
Where there is not community, trust, respect, ethical behavior are difficult for the young to learn and for the old to maintain.
A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.
My view is that good community management is like having good municipal government: You should be able to have dissenting opinions and so on, freedom of speech, but your grandmother should also be able to walk down the street at night without having to worry about getting mugged.
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