Monique Johnson > Monique's Quotes

“Cosmetic surgery is not "cosmetic," and human flesh is not "plastic." Even the names trivialize what it is. It's not like ironing wrinkles in fabric, or tuning up a car, or altering outmoded clothes, the current metaphors. Trivialization and infantilization pervade the surgeons' language when they speak to women: "a nip," a "tummy tuck."...Surgery changes one forever, the mind as well as the body. If we don't start to speak of it as serious, the millennium of the man-made woman will be upon us, and we will have had no choice.”
― Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth

“The surgeons' market is imaginary, since there is nothing wrong with women's faces or bodies that social change won't cure; so the surgeons depend for their income on warping female self-perception and multiplying female self-hatred.”
― Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth

“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”
― St. Catherine of Siena

“Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said,
"It made a difference for that one.”
― Loren Eiseley

“If you have to say or do something controversial, aim so that people will hate that they love it and not love that they hate it.”
― Criss Jami, Killosophy

“A spontaneous prayer makes differences and does changes.”
― Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut

“Delusional or not, maybe if I believe in a better world with enough conviction, and convince others to believe it as well, then it will be real.”
― Emilyann Girdner, The Labyrinth Wall

“Leaders try every possible means to leave the world better than they found it. They make an indelible impact and society remembers them for that.”
― Israelmore Ayivor, Leaders' Ladder

“As a leader, you will see things you may never like to see; yours is to correct those things so that next time you open your eyes, you will see better things you wish to be seeing always. Leaders learn to right the wrong of society.”
― Israelmore Ayivor, Leaders' Ladder

“You were created, fashioned and designed in a special form to leave in the world something that did not exist before you were born!”
― Israelmore Ayivor, Leaders' Watchwords

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson