Marta Maranda > Quotes

“I spent my childhood being cut down to fit a space where I never belonged in the first place. I spent the rest of my life searching for someone to tell me what to do with the scars.”
― Marta Maranda, What It Looks Like: An Awakening Through Love and Trauma, War and Music, Sports and History, Politics and Spirituality

“But there is a definite fork in the road with trauma. We can use it to make ourselves and others better by learning from it, or it can use us to make our lives and every life we touch worse by becoming a slave to it. My time had come to decide which way I was going to go.”
― Marta Maranda, What It Looks Like: An Awakening Through Love and Trauma, War and Music, Sports and History, Politics and Spirituality

“I have heard many express feelings of not belonging, of anxiety and insecurity, of awkwardness and self-consciousness, of incompetence and unworthiness, of being out of place or having no place, of feeling they should be someone or somewhere else, and that they could be
living this other, better life if only 'everyone else' would see how smart or creative or special they really are. These feelings came not just from
those who had yet to find their life’s purpose, but also from those who had but were using their gifts detrimentally to divide, control, ridicule, and create fear rather than unite, heal, encourage, and empower. High self-esteem, meaning to have self-efficacy and self-respect, removes the obstacles to feeling appropriate to life.”
― Marta Maranda, What It Looks Like: An Awakening Through Love and Trauma, War and Music, Sports and History, Politics and Spirituality

“Over time, the stories became precious inheritances that we assimilated into our lives. However, the value of stories is not in hoarding them but in telling them. You take what you need to learn, to grow, to heal, and then pass them on to others who also want to know themselves and the truth. Our stories make us all wealthy benefactors, enriching any who care to listen. There is no thinking one is too rich and famous, or average and mundane, or poor and inconsequential to tell his or her story, and I believe it is something we must all do. It can
be to millions, a roomful, a handful, or just one, but there is someone who needs help somewhere, and you are the only one who can make the difference. Tell your story.”
― Marta Maranda, What It Looks Like: An Awakening Through Love and Trauma, War and Music, Sports and History, Politics and Spirituality