Quotes from Maya Angelou

I have respect for the past, but I'm a person of the moment.

It's very hard for adults to maintain respect and romance so that a love affair can be sustained over years.

I have great respect for the past.

Nothing hurts more than realizing they meant everything to you, but you meant nothing to them.

I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.

Segregation shaped me education liberated me.

The customs are as formalised as an eighteenth-century minuet, and a child at the race's knee learns the moves and twirls by osmosis and observation.

When you learn, teach, when you get, give.

Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs?

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive

Courage - you develop courage by doing small things like just as if you wouldn't want to pick up a 100-pound weight without preparing yourself.

I was very blessed to have family and friends, but particularly family, who told me I was not only all right, I was just right, so I believe that my brain is a good one, and it's lasting me very well.

Information helps you to see that you're not alone. That there's somebody in Mississippi and somebody in Tokyo who all have wept, who've all longed and lost, who've all been happy. So the library helps you to see, not only that you are not alone, but that you're not really any different from everyone else.

I created myself. I have taught myself so much.

It is a no-fail, incontrovertible reality: If you get, give. If you learn, teach. You can't do anything with that except do it.

It is sad but true that sometimes we need the tragedy to help us to see how human we are and how we are more alike than we are different.

Whether you are happy or whether you are sad, it is wise to remember you are really in process.

Tragedy, no matter how sad, becomes boring to those not caught in its addictive caress.

If you have only one smile in you give it to the people you love.

If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don't be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning 'Good morning' at total strangers.

Our stories come from our lives and from the playwright's pen, the mind of the actor, the roles we create, the artistry of life itself and the quest for peace.

Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin. We can illuminate our paths or darken our way. It is a matter of choice.

You only are free when you realize you belong no place - you belong every place - no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.

Life is a gift, and i try to respond with grace and courtesy.