Independence

An intellectual is a person knowledgeable in one field who speaks out only in others. It required no intellectual effort whatsoever. Suddenly he was elevated to a plane from which he could look down upon ordinary people.

You are graduates of one of the two or three greatest universities in America. You have been raised in a tradition of straight thinking and straight talking.

Even Terminus, the god of limits, refused to recognize that limits are everything. The open sky above his head testified to his yearning to escape the ground beneath his feet.

Right after graduation today, make a list of the people who don't believe in you. And you call them tonight, and tell them to go to hell!

The only limits that really matter are the ones you put on yourself, and in those crucial moments when you know what you need to do but others advise against it — know yourself, trust your whole self, and don't blink.

When a door is hard to open, and if nothing else works, sometimes you just have to rear back and kick it open.

We all live under the same sky, but we do not have the same horizon.

Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim. Your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours to lead.

Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there.

Recognize your limitations, and sure enough, they're yours. The world will provide you with every imaginable obstacle, but the one most difficult to overcome will be the lack of faith in yourself.

The only way sexism can truly harm you is if you get used to it. Don't ever get used to it.

And at last you'll know with surpassing certainty that only one thing is more frightening than speaking your truth. And that is not speaking.