Simone

“The most powerful determinant of who you are is inside you,” he said. “Professor Steinberg says this is Pygmalion. Think of the story, Tara.” He paused, his eyes fierce, his voice piercing. “She was just a cockney in a nice dress. Until she believed in herself. Then it didn’t matter what dress she wore.”
― Tara Westover, Educated

“Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves.”
― Horace Mann

“Compassion, what I sometimes also call human affection, is the determining factor of our life. Connected to the palm of the hand, the five fingers become functional; cut off from it, they are useless. Similarly, every human action becomes dangerous when it is deprived of human feeling. When they are performed with feeling and respect for human values, all activities become constructive.”
― Dalai Lama XIV, My Spiritual Journey: Personal Reflections, Teachings, and Talks

“that never again would I allow myself to be made a foot soldier in a conflict I did not understand.”
― Tara Westover, Educated