Michelle Obama

We get the leaders we vote for. We get the policies we vote for. And when we don’t vote, that’s when we wind up with government of, by and for other people.

Do not bring people in your life who weigh you down. And trust your instincts … good relationships feel good. They feel right. They don’t hurt. They’re not painful. That’s not just with somebody you want to marry, but it’s with the friends that you choose. It’s with the people you surround yourselves with.

Any woman who voted against Hillary Clinton, voted against their own voice.

Let us not forget: I didn’t just wake up First Lady… I mean, I went to law school, I practised law, I worked for the city, I ran a nonprofit (and) I was an executive at a hospital. I’ve been in the world. I’ve worked in every sector, and you don’t do that without coming up against some stuff. You know, having your feelings hurt, having people say things about you that aren’t true… Life hits you, so over the course of living, you learn how to protect yourself in it. You learn to take in what you need and get rid of the stuff that’s clearly not true.

The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system, then someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more.

The only other person who has a clue about what this is, the good, the bad, is your partner.

The genius, wit, and the spirit of a nation are discovered by their proverbs.

I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.

Sometimes we are inclined to class those who are once-and-a-half witted with the half-witted, because we appreciate only a third part of their wit.

One night awaits all, and death’s path must be trodden once and for all.

Learn to say “I don’t know.” If used when appropriate, it will be often.

A picture is a poem without words.

Tis very certain that each man carries in his eye the exact indication of his rank in the immense scale of men, and we are always learning to read it. A complete man should need no auxiliaries to his personal presence.

I lose my respect for the man who can make the mystery of sex the subject of a coarse jest, yet when you speak earnestly and seriously on the subject, is silent.

Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel.

Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

Behave so the aroma of your actions may enhance the general sweetness of the atmosphere.

Ignorance… is a painless evil; so, I should think, is dirt, considering the merry faces that go along with it.

One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives.

The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.