What's your favorite quote?
I was going through some old journals...um you know, the ones preceeding this fine electronic blog and I found a collection of wonderful quotes. I don't know if I love the quotes as much as the fact that I had enough sense to pen down with the quotes what it meant to me at the time, or where I had found it, who had given it to me, etc. and that makes the quotes even more powerful to me
A few of my favorites (from the journals) are:
"On my hill, I wait for wind"~ PJ Harvey. The high school that I went to was very small and as a result of it we each received a whole page in the yearbook to design to represent ourselves as seniors. I was a junior when a certain Mr. Dancy put this quote on his page. He was full of creativity and intellect that I felt I would never rival and yet, this quote captured my feelings of waiting for inspiration as well. It was in my writing journal just as it was on his yearbook page.
I felt very alone and alienated in high school going to the type of school that I went to. It was enriching and an enchanting learning environment but it was painful for me socially. I just could not (not ever) fit in. And to remain the outsider for so many years was a punishment I don't wish on anyone. For someone to have looked down with scorn at me such as Mr. Dancy (among the slew of others) to have the same quote as me, secretly filled me with the knowledge that he and I were not quite so different as he proclaimed us to be. (In hindsight we were, since he was a hoity toity bitch of a young man) But this is what I wrote in my notebook.
"Craziness is Heaven"~Jimi Hendrix. I keep this quote with me for different reasons. It really doesn't say anything unless you read into it. Who would ever keep this as a memorable quote except for the fact that Hendrix said it? That's something to keep in mind, specifically for my profession. Often times I say things without a second thought given to it and it immediately is getting translated, embedded in someone's mind as if it were law or perhaps absolute truth. It's a scary thought and perhaps a little overly dramatic in a sense but then again, you've never felt fear until you've been quoted verbatim after a years' time has passed, it can be eerie. Eerie to think of the damage that can be done as well as the good.
I keep the quote for the fact that being a creative person can take a toll on a person and I think I keep it to remember not to self destruct. I have tendencies, habits and inclinations to take everything to a certain level and keep pushing that boundary. I keep this quote because Hendrix didn't get that chance to reflect on himself, his accomplishments or his contributions...because he pushed his boundaries too far. Or if he did, he didn't have the time to reclaim his balance. We've all got our issues, it's whether or not we allow them to change us for the better or for the worst.
"I hate quotations. Tell me what you think" ~Emerson. Tongue in cheek of course because I love quotations. I love the words of others and the wisdom of what they say. Hell, I'm a reader...but it's good to stop and realize that 1) every quote is just a minute fraction of a message one is trying to convey...and part of that message gets lost in it's new fangled pithiness 2) quotes make it too easy for people to forget these longer works and 3) when one relies on the words of others solely, it makes me wonder if he or she is able to think themselves.
And of course, my true favorites are Mae West and Dorothy Parker...women I admire for their frankness, their wit, their sexuality and their unwillingness to be pigeonholed--their "reputations" were forged by themselves rather than thrust upon them by others.
So tell me, what are your favorite quotes and why?
A few of my favorites (from the journals) are:
"On my hill, I wait for wind"~ PJ Harvey. The high school that I went to was very small and as a result of it we each received a whole page in the yearbook to design to represent ourselves as seniors. I was a junior when a certain Mr. Dancy put this quote on his page. He was full of creativity and intellect that I felt I would never rival and yet, this quote captured my feelings of waiting for inspiration as well. It was in my writing journal just as it was on his yearbook page.
I felt very alone and alienated in high school going to the type of school that I went to. It was enriching and an enchanting learning environment but it was painful for me socially. I just could not (not ever) fit in. And to remain the outsider for so many years was a punishment I don't wish on anyone. For someone to have looked down with scorn at me such as Mr. Dancy (among the slew of others) to have the same quote as me, secretly filled me with the knowledge that he and I were not quite so different as he proclaimed us to be. (In hindsight we were, since he was a hoity toity bitch of a young man) But this is what I wrote in my notebook.
"Craziness is Heaven"~Jimi Hendrix. I keep this quote with me for different reasons. It really doesn't say anything unless you read into it. Who would ever keep this as a memorable quote except for the fact that Hendrix said it? That's something to keep in mind, specifically for my profession. Often times I say things without a second thought given to it and it immediately is getting translated, embedded in someone's mind as if it were law or perhaps absolute truth. It's a scary thought and perhaps a little overly dramatic in a sense but then again, you've never felt fear until you've been quoted verbatim after a years' time has passed, it can be eerie. Eerie to think of the damage that can be done as well as the good.
I keep the quote for the fact that being a creative person can take a toll on a person and I think I keep it to remember not to self destruct. I have tendencies, habits and inclinations to take everything to a certain level and keep pushing that boundary. I keep this quote because Hendrix didn't get that chance to reflect on himself, his accomplishments or his contributions...because he pushed his boundaries too far. Or if he did, he didn't have the time to reclaim his balance. We've all got our issues, it's whether or not we allow them to change us for the better or for the worst.
"I hate quotations. Tell me what you think" ~Emerson. Tongue in cheek of course because I love quotations. I love the words of others and the wisdom of what they say. Hell, I'm a reader...but it's good to stop and realize that 1) every quote is just a minute fraction of a message one is trying to convey...and part of that message gets lost in it's new fangled pithiness 2) quotes make it too easy for people to forget these longer works and 3) when one relies on the words of others solely, it makes me wonder if he or she is able to think themselves.
And of course, my true favorites are Mae West and Dorothy Parker...women I admire for their frankness, their wit, their sexuality and their unwillingness to be pigeonholed--their "reputations" were forged by themselves rather than thrust upon them by others.
So tell me, what are your favorite quotes and why?
<< Home