But we are all sorry when loss comes for us. The test of our character comes not in how many tears we shed but in how we act after those tears have dried.

You can't change the desert. You can only take the fastest course through it. Wishing it's an oasis won't make it so.

I wonder if our names determine our destiny, or if destiny leads us to choose certain names.

I'm not staring. I'm observing. . . . And what do you observe? . . . A brave young woman who has always fought for what was right, even when it was unpopular.

Why does life carry some people on the crest of the wave while others drown beneath the water?

Now you are no longer a giggling child, smiling at whoever comes along. You are a woman with power. Learn to control your smile, and you can control what men will think about you.

And when that time comes, let's hope your friends outnumber your enemies.