Decoratively Pruned Quotes & Sayings

The greatest blessing of our democracy is freedom. But in the last analysis, our only freedom is the freedom to discipline ourselves. — Bernard Baruch

I think it's important for us to believe in one another's capabilities. If I didn't have someone to believe in me, I wouldn't be the individual I am today. Neither would I strive for new territory or new direction or to believe in myself. — Usher

Do you know what STF is?" "I just ound out," he admitted, "and I am so, so,sorry..." He tried to look like he meant it, but I could tell that a little smile was peeking out at the corner of his mouth. "This is so not funny. I have to wear a plastic suit of armor!" "Well," Marcus said, stifling a giggle, "at least you have a date. And metallics are really in this year. — Lisa Papademetriou

I loved 'Ghana Must Go' by Taiye Selasi. It's about a first-generation African family living in America that has to return home to Nigeria when their estranged father passes away. — Uzo Aduba

The most terrible struggle in our recent history is being played out. It is not only a struggle for our land, it is a struggle for our soul ... A thousand years of tradition suffice for a nation to learn once and for always these two things: to defend its existence, and with all its heart and all its strength to stand on the side of peace and liberty. — Karel Capek

I just need to get more aggressive and let my teammates feel all that energy and all that emotion. — Pau Gasol

Some people fear seeing or feeling anything about which there is no general agreement. For others, it is thrilling to be aware of innuendo, shading, complexity. — Deena Metzger

no amount of external validation will ever be enough (though damn it can feel good in the moment, and it sort of makes me mad at god, actually, like, okay god, you built me like this so teach me how to validate myself in a way that feels as good as when a boy does it or the Internet does it, because there is always a cost when a boy does it or when the Internet does it): a love story. Yeah, — Melissa Broder

Trusty, dusky, vivid, true,
With eyes of gold and bramble-dew,
Steel-true and blade-straight,
The great artificer made my mate. — Robert Louis Stevenson

No sooner is the exploitation of the labourer by the manufacturer, so far, at an end, that he receives his wages in cash, than he is set upon by the other portions of the bourgeoisie, the landlord, the shopkeeper, the pawnbroker, etc. — Karl Marx

Paul Ryan looks like the car rental salesman who bullies you into getting full coverage. — Damien Fahey

That's not the one you were thinking of?"
"No." There was accusation in her voice. "Mine was different, — Lorrie Moore

We ended up our talk by my asking Dennis his feelings now about the Marines. Any regrets for all those wounds? Or about having been sent to and having to fight an unpopular war?
"No. The Marine Corps meant a tremendous amount to me. And even today I gain momentum from it. The Corps is one of the prime reasons Marines are so successful in whatever we do - because we refuse to quit. — James Brady

I find that vegetables like butternut squash, which I feel unexcited about as a side dish, I'm thrilled to eat in a soup. — Cynthia Nixon