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Yesterday from my office window I saw a crippled girl negotiating her way across the street, her shoulders squarely braced. At each jerky movement her hair flew back like an annunciatory angel, and I saw she was the only dancer on the street.
Elizabeth Smart
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights the resilience and determination of a girl overcoming her challenges, symbolizing courage in adversity.

In this quote, Elizabeth Smart describes a moment of inspiration observed from her office window, where a crippled girl crosses the street with a strong sense of resolve. The imagery of her movements and the comparison to a dancer not only emphasizes her bravery in facing physical limitations but also encapsulates the beauty and grace that can emerge from struggle. This portrayal serves as a reminder that courage often shines in the most unexpected places.

Themes

CourageResilienceDeterminationOvercomingAdversity

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about overcoming challenges, one could use this quote to illustrate the spirit of resilience.

More from Elizabeth Smart

Privacy is so sacred, and any time a victim is returned, a survivor is found and rescued, privacy is one of the greatest gifts we can give them because if they decide to share, that's up to them, and they will come forward.
Elizabeth SmartRead
I'm grateful for rain because, when I was kidnapped, that meant that I had something to drink.
Elizabeth SmartRead
How can I be kind? How can I find bird-relief in the nest-building of day-to-day? Necessity supplies no velvet wing with which to escape. I am indeed and mortally pierced with the seeds of love.
Elizabeth SmartRead
That happened to me, but I'm so much more than that girl that was kidnapped.
Elizabeth SmartRead
Even when I get on airplanes, very often, as I walk down the aisle, I notice a lot of people staring or whispering. I recognize the fact that yes, to a lot of people, I will always be that 14-year-old girl who was kidnapped and who was held captive.
Elizabeth SmartRead
I think forgiveness is probably one of the greatest forms of self-love there is because you don't do forgiveness for anybody else. My captors will never care if I forgive them... It will not make a day of difference to them at all, but it will make a huge difference to me.
Elizabeth SmartRead

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