"I want to live my life, not record it."

- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

"I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally; I never expected it to do anything special for me, yet I seemed to accomplish far more than I had ever hoped. Most of the time it just happened to me without my ever seeking it."

- Audrey Hepburn

"If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing."

- Margaret Thatcher

"There's a lot of pressure on girls. My advice: Don't waste so much time worrying about your skin or your weight. Develop what you do, what you put your hands on in the world."

- Meryl Streep

"It is past time for women to take their rightful place, side by side with men, in the rooms where the fates of peoples, where their children's and grandchildren's fates are decided."

- Hilary Clinton

"When it comes time to settle down, find someone who wants an equal partner. Someone who thinks that women should be smart, opinionated and ambitious. Someone who values fairness and expects or, even better, wants to do his share in the home. These men exist, and trust me, nothing is sexier."

- Sheryl Sandberg

"Leadership is not bullying and leadership is not aggression. Leadership is the expectation that you can use your voice for good. That you can make the world a better place."

- Sheryl Sandberg

"Do not fall for the lie that ambition is counter to femininity. What creature is stronger and more motivated than a mother protecting her children? Use that feminine strength. It's a huge asset. Trust yourself. Confidence is infectious and builds momentum. Share your faith in yourself. You'll be surprised how quickly others will come to have faith in it."

- Kristen Gillibrand

"You might be thinking who is this Harry Potter girl? And what is she doing up on stage at the UN. It’s a good question and trust me I have been asking myself the same thing. I don’t know if I am qualified to be here. All I know is that I care about this problem. And I want to make it better. And having seen what I’ve seen—and given the chance—I feel it is my duty to say something. English statesman Edmund Burke said: “All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for enough good men and women to do nothing.”

- Emma Watson

"One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world."

- Malala Yousafzai

"What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing you are doing; knowing that it is not enough, that you have got to have hard work and a certain sense of purpose."

- Margaret Thatcher

"Reading this made me so sad because I love seeing you in your videos and photos being so happy and wide eyed, like the world isn’t as harsh and unfair as it actually is. I hate thinking about your pretty face covered in tears, but I know why you’re crying because I’ve been in your place. This isn’t a high school thing or an age thing. It’s a people thing. A life thing. It doesn’t stop. It doesn’t end or change. People cut other people down for entertainment, amusement, out of jealousy, because of something broken inside them. Or for no reason at all.

It’s just what they do, and you’re a target because you live your life loudly and boldly. You’re bright and joyful and so many people are cynical. They won’t understand you and they won’t understand me. But the only way they win is if your tears turn to stone and make you bitter like them. It’s okay to ask why. It’s okay to wonder how you could try so hard and still get stomped all over. Just don’t let them change you or stop you from singing or dancing around to your favorite song.

You’re going into high school this week and this is your chance to push the reset button on how much value you give the opinion of these kids, most of whom have NO idea who they are. I’m so proud of you and protective of you because you DO. If they don’t like you for being yourself, be yourself even more.

Every time someone picks on me, I’ll think of you in the hopes that every time someone picks on you, you’ll think of me… and how we have this thread that connects us. Let them keep living in the darkness and we’ll keep walking in the sunlight. Forever on your side, Taylor."

- Taylor Swift