"MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES FOR TEENS"
SUBMITTED BY TEENS
"If you want your place in the sun, you've got to expect a few blisters."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Ann F., Age 15 --- Maryland
"There are years that question, and years that answer."
Susan McKallen --- Sent in by Elizabeth, Age 15 --- California
"The real lost souls don't wear their hair long and play guitars.
They have crew cuts, trained minds,
Sign on for research in biological warfare,
And don't give their parents a moments worry."
J.B. Preistly --- Sent in by Laetitia, Age 15 --- Australia
"Some succeed because they are destined to,
But most succeed because they are determined to."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Lisa, Age 18 --- New York
"Your strength does not come from life handed to you on a silver platter.
Your greatest strength comes from the pain you have survived."
Michael Karpovich --- Sent in by Laura M., Age 17 --- Michigan
"I believe in God like I believe in the sun.
Not because I can see it, but because by it,
I can see everything!"
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Karen F., Age 16
"This is a team.
We're trying to go to the moon.
If you can't put someone up, please don't put them down."
NASA Motto --- Sent in by Kaili N., Age 18 --- California
"Don't give up...Don't ever give up!"
Jimmy Valvano (1946-1993)
--- Sent in by Dustin R., Age 18 --- Pennsylvania
"Don't be sad on this fine day.
Why not have some fun and play?"
Carey McFaddin --- Sent in by Abigail B., Age 16 --- Oregon
"Life lesson #1 Never give up.
Life lesson #2 If you forget refer back to #1"
Unknown --- Sent in by Brandi, Age 13 --- Virginia
"I've learned that when adults tell their children
That the world is too complicated to understand,
They mean it is too cruel for themselves to understand."
Lilian T., Age 17 --- Hong Kong
"Make Something Happen!"
Bear Bryant (and said by my dad during basketball games)
--- Sent in by Karen K., Age 16 --- Michigan
"You may not have faith in my friend fate,
But my friend fate has faith in you."
Matthew Lillard --- Submitted by Kyle M., Age 16 --- Washington
"I want to walk through life."
Alanis Morissette --- Sent by Jonathan B., Age 16 --- Pennsylvania
"Stand up for what you believe in, even if you're standing alone."
Saw on a poster --- Sent in by Brandi, Age 13 --- Virginia
"Cherish yesterday... Love today... Dream Tomorrow"
Melissa, Age 18 --- California
"Your parents may not always like you,
But they will always love you."
Kerry, Age 13 --- Maryland
"Maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had,
And what you've learned from them,
And less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated."
Unknown --- Sent in by Tracy E., Age 17 --- Kentucky
"The heart does heal and you will love like this again.
Except that when you do,
You'll deny that you ever loved like this before."
Unknown --- Sent in by Kelly B., Age 17 --- Ohio
"Don't let others success' get in the way of your goals
Let it motivate you."
Lauren R., Age 14 --- Pennsylvania
"The task ahead of us is never as strong as the power within us."
Unknown --- Submitted by Jenny Y., Age 17 --- Oregon
"Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years.
People grow old only by deserting their ideas.
Years wrinkle the face, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul."
Watterson Lowe --- Sent in by Katie, Age 15 --- Washington
"One of the greatest tragedies in life is when love fades."
Anonymous --- Sent in by Melyssa K., Age 16 --- Arizona
"Oh, I just today remembered
How your hand fits the curve of my waist
And how your smile fits the curve of my mind."
Juliana Shortell --- Sent in by Tiff S., Age 16
--- Author's name provided by Shellei Guenther --- 2/19/03
"Show, don't tell."
Mrs. Frick --- English teacher @ Sauk Prairie High School
--- Submitted by Carrie S., Age 18 --- Wisconsin
An Angel in Disguise
You are an angel
Disguised as my friend
When I want to be happy
On you I depend.
When times get tough
And I need someone there
Out of the blue
You suddenly appear.
And yes it's true
You won't always be at my side
But your faith in me
I use as a guide.
Because I know you must continue on
And be an angel to another
And take on a new disguise
As maybe a father or a mother.
But you have restored life in me
And have shown me there is hope
And if there is ever another tough time
I know that I can cope.
You may have to leave me
But you are never gone
You directed me the right way
When I was headed towards wrong.
So if you must move on
Please know we'll never be apart
Because there will always be a piece of you
Disguised in my grateful heart.
Copyright © 1999 Jillian Kohl
"I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful
Than a lifetime of nothing special."
Submitted by Geoff C., Age 14 --- Canada
"Some things are viewed more clearly when you look away."
Bryan M., Age 15 --- South Carolina
"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."
Thomas Edison --- Sent in by Elizabeth R., Age 17 --- Virginia
"No one is ever promised tomorrow, so make today your best."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Tami P., Age 16 --- Georgia
"People who mind don't matter, and people who matter won't mind."
Unknown --- Sent in by Jen L., Age 14 --- New York
"We are humans first.
Second, we are all individuals
With unique talents, personalities, and needs.
We all have to develop our strengths.
Life is an endless series of problems.
Our only choice is which ones we choose to work on.
We all succeed and we all fail.
We all have to find our own inner light."
Annette Godow --- Sent in by Nora F. --- South Carolina
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career.
I've lost almost 300 games.
26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.
I've failed over and over again in my life.
And that is why I succeed."
Michael Jordan --- Sent in by Sara, Age 14 --- Massachusetts
"Whatever you want in life, other people are going to want, too.
Believe in yourself enough to accept the idea
That you have an equal right to it."
Diane Sawyer --- Sent in by Christy B., Age 14 --- Tennessee
"It's always helpful to learn from your mistakes
Because then your mistakes seem worthwhile."
Garry Marshall --- Submitted by Lianne H., Age 14 --- Hawaii
"A team's true spirit and character are revealed
Not when they are winning , but when they are losing."
Author Unknown --- Contributed by Tricia G., Age 17 --- Ohio
"Assumption is the first of all mistakes!"
Amber L., Age 19 --- Oklahoma
"Life does not require us to be the biggest or the best:
It asks only that we try."
Unknown --- Sent in by Erin B., Age 15
"There is no future, there is no past,
I live this moment as my last.
No other road, no other way, no day but today."
Jonathan Larson, RENT --- Sent in by Michelle M., Age 15
New Day
The sun quietly sinks down
Not all your trials and battles have been won
Though you faced the day with a good will
It seems as if the air is still
Mistakes were undeniable of course
But everything is not lost
Sweep up the cobwebs from today
Tomorrow is a rise and shine day
It awakens new possibilities
Bringing in added responsibilities
Begin it with the past behind
Start it with a peace of mind.
Copyright © 1999 Jenelle Jack
"Hope is the feeling you have that the feeling you have isn't permanent."
Jean Kerr --- Jessica G., Age 16 --- Ohio
"Always reach for the stars.
Why do you think God put them out so far?"
Unknown --- Submitted by Lindsay, Age 17
"Speak when your angry
And you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Samantha F., Age 15 --- Texas
"Bad things are always going to happen in life.
People will hurt you.
But you can't use that as an excuse to hurt someone back.
You'll only hurt yourself."
Touched by an angel calendar --- Sent in by Jenny, Age 16 --- South Carolina
"It is easy in the world to live by the world's opinion;
It is easy in solitude to live by our own;
But the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd,
Keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self Reliance
--- Sent in by Carolyn L., Age 16 --- California
"Most look up and admire the stars;
A champion climbs the mountain and grabs one."
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Emily G. --- Alabama
"When an emotional injury takes place,
The body begins a process as natural as the healing of a physical wound.
Let the process happen.
Trust that nature will do the healing.
Know that the pain will pass, and, when it passes,
You will be stronger, happier, more sensitive and aware."
Mel Colgrove --- Sent in by Heather W., Age 18 --- New Jersey
"This is a story about four people named:
Everybody, Somebody, Anybody,and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about
that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it,
But Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.
Consequently, it ended up that Nobody told Anybody,
So Everybody blamed Somebody."
Sent in by Cassie W. --- Alabama
--- Received it from: Buckhorn Varsity Cheerleading Coach Laura Wilson
"The only person that can stop you from reaching your dreams
Is looking at you in the mirror."
Ruby M., Age 16 --- Hawaii
"Sometimes the help we need is not the help we want.
Do you know why God put people's faces on the front of their bodies?
Faces are in front so people can see where they're going,
Not where they've been.
We have to go forward, not backward."
When Angels Speak by Martha Williamson
--- Sent in by Lisa, Age 17 --- Illinois
"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment.
Full effort is full victory."
Mahatma Gandhi --- Sent in by Liz C., Age 17 --- California
"You are never so lost that an angel cannot find you."
Unknown --- Sent in by Jocelyn H., Age 17 --- Ontario, Canada
"Try not to become a man of success,
But rather try to become a man of value."
Albert Einstein --- Sent in by Sandie E., Age 17 --- Malaysia
"The most important thing in the Olympic Games
Is not to win but to take part,
Just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle.
The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
Olympic Creed --- Sent in by Mary Beth R., Age 17 --- Iowa
"You have only failed if you fail to try."
History teacher in 9th grade --- Sent in by Nick M., Age 17 --- Florida
"Some people think it's holding on that makes one strong...
Sometimes it's letting go."
Unknown --- Sent in by Jenny, Age 16 --- South Carolina
"If you don't risk anything, you risk even more."
Erica Jong --- Contributed by Jenna, Age 15 --- Rhode Island
"In the end, only kindness matters."
Jewel --- Sent to us by Carrie S.r, Age 18 --- Wisconsin
--- Author's name supplied by Kristin
"Fear is but the mask of courage."
Matthew P., Age 17 --- Massachusetts
"We must love while these moments are still called today."
Emily Saliers --- Sent in by Nicole D., Age 17
"Just because someone doesn't love you in the way you want them to,
Doesn't mean that they don't love you with all they've got."
Unknown --- Sent in by Kiara M., Age 14 --- West Virginia
"You have to color outside the lines once in a while
If you want to make your life a masterpiece."
Albert Einstein --- Sent in by Annahita S., Age 16 --- Florida
"Achievement is largely the product of steadily raising one's levels
Of aspiration and expectation."
Jack Nicklaus --- Sent in by Amanda G., Age 18 --- Indiana