(At the request of houseofmirrors)
This amazing woman was an American poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist.

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." 

----------------------

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." 

----------------------

"What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain." 

----------------------

"When someone shows you who they are believe them; the first time." 

----------------------

"I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better."

----------------------

"Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently." 

----------------------

"I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass." 

----------------------

"I don't trust people who don't love themselves and tell me, 'I love you.' ... There is an African saying which is: Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt." 

----------------------

"Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness." 

----------------------

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."