Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. -Aristotle

For the longest time, I’ve been in love with quotes. I remember that it probably started in seventh grade, in my engineering technology class. For some reason, we had to make a poster with a quote on it. I really had no idea what to put at that point in life, so I probably Googled “quotes.” The one I found is still my favorite. It’s from Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Hope is the Thing with Feathers.” 

“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all...”

It’s only the first line of the poem, but I’m sure I will never forget it. When I found it, I suppose that in my little seventh grade mind, it was just some pretty words. And they are beautiful words. But they also have astounding meaning. I don’t think I can explain my thinking very clearly on why I find it so lovely. This quote in particular is simply poetic, musical; it is light. 

While this is a quote from a poem, I even more love quotes of what people have said. It’s like a snapshot of what someone was thinking at one time. Quotes tend to be deep and to just imagine what was going through someone’s head when they said it is simply fascinating. What made them say that? What situation prompted them think that way? It’s a little window into someone’s mind, letting you get a glimpse of their inner workings. 

Of course, it calls for a specific type of quote. There’s a huge difference between “I mowed the grass today,” and “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” (Eleanor Roosevelt) The quote has to have meaning, the speaker must be trying to get a point across, and they must be trying to teach you something. 

So if you ever want a quick snippet of wisdom, try looking for some quotes. You may never know how much one sentence can change your way of thinking.