13 Quotes To Help You Feel More Optimistic In 2017
by Buffy Flores
Rushay Booysen / EyeEm/EyeEm/Getty Images
2017 has been a rough year... and we're less than three months in. Between the stress of Trump's administration, which is literally being declared a public health threat, trans students potentially all losing federal protection in school, James Baldwin's I Am Not Your Negrobeing as real today as it was decades ago, and on a lesser, but still existentially painful note, Hollywood continuing to blatantly and disrespectfully whitewash films that should have white people nowhere near the lead role. Nowadays it's hard to have a heart, painful to have compassion, and overwhelming to be empathetic. But nevertheless, we keep trying.
Though hope can often seem lost, we don't need to give in and quit. People before us, and people today, have fought too hard for that. When you feel like you can't handle the world, surround yourself with words, visuals, songs, whatever it is that inspires you and reminds you that it's all worth fighting for. Books are, as they are in almost every situation, a great choice. Although, there could have been a list of hundreds of quotes (maybe another time), below are thirteen quotes that will (hopefully) leave you feeling more optimistic in 2017.
And, if none of these work for you, share with us some quotes you think might have worked better.
1“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what."
2“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”
4“Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them—if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry.”
