Independence

The Berlin Wall limited my opportunities. It quite literally stood in my way. However, there was one thing which this wall couldn't do. It couldn't impose limits on my inner thoughts. My personality, my imagination, my dreams and desires — prohibitions or coercion couldn't limit any of that.

You were never Little Red Riding Hood. You were always the wolf.

Trust that inner voice. Because more than ever we need people to be guided by their own senses of principle — and not the whims of a culture that prizes ambition, and sensationalism, and celebrity, and vulgarity, and doing whatever it takes to win.

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail.

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail.

Don't be scared if you don't do things in the right order, or if you don't do some things at all. If you have a checklist, good for you. Structured ambition can sometimes be motivating. But also, feel free to let it go.

You have to have insane confidence in yourself, even if it's not real. You need to be your own cheerleader now, because there isn't a room full of people waiting with pom-poms to tell you you did it.

If I could go back and tell my younger self one thing it would be this: Abby, you were never Little Red Riding Hood. You were always the wolf.

Don't let anyone tell you that you have to follow a certain path. Especially don't let fear tell you that.

Succeed or fail on your own terms.

You define your value. No one else.

Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path, but leave a trail.