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.
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.
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
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
All quotes →I'm grateful for rain because, when I was kidnapped, that meant that I had something to drink.
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.
That happened to me, but I'm so much more than that girl that was kidnapped.
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.
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.
Similar quotes
If we die, we want people to accept it. We are in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us, it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life.
Acting is really about having the courage to fail in front of people.
Let the fear of a danger be a spur to prevent it; he that fears not, gives advantage to the danger.
I understand that fear is my friend, but not always. Never turn your back on Fear. It should always be in front of you, like a thing that might have to be killed. My father taught me that, along with a few other things that have kept my life interesting.
I've told the kids in the ghettos that violence won't solve their problems, but then they ask me, and rightly so; "Why does the government use massive doses of violence to bring about the change it wants in the world?" After this I knew that I could no longer speak against the violence in the ghettos without also speaking against the violence of my government.
Saying to someone 'I'm a transsexual' is the most empowering thing I've ever felt in my whole life.