Messages
“Much of the joy of fiction is that dimension of reaching out, of imagining, and creating other types of experiences. It’s an interesting question, ‘What is the imagination?’ Different writers have different answers to this. There are some who say everything comes from within you. But the imagination is from that bit within you that is capable of reaching out beyond yourself. It is the greatest thing we have as human beings.”
Kamila Shamsie , Novelist
“My English was pretty bad. I couldn’t write a decent sentence, but my pictures were pretty good. In fact, they were paragraphs.”
Abelardo Morell
Photographer
“Your education, from beginning to end, is like a collection of Legos. You’re picking up little pieces along the way, and throughout your life, you’ll figure out ways to put them together.”
David Shaye, M.D.
Fulbright scholar; facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
“Chief among those natural rights our founders identified is the freedom of speech. Unfortunately, the mindset on a lot of campuses is ‘You do you, as long as you agree with us on the right issues.’ This isn’t the free exchange of ideas.
It’s an audition for ideological purity.”
Max Nikitas ’13
University of Notre Dame Law School student
There were times when I didn’t believe in myself, but my community never gave up on me. Because of that, I’ve been able to get to a place in my life where I can come back to Milton Academy and be proud of what I’m telling you about my work.”
Soerny Cruz ’12
Educator, Cambridge Health Alliance
“The only people who are experts on an issue in this world are the people who have lived the issue. My advice for you is to be exactly who you are. To know exactly who you are in this exact moment is enough. If you lead with who you are, you will be on the right road.”
Mónica Ramírez
Activist and civil rights attorney; cofounder, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas (the National Farmworker Women’s Alliance)
“It doesn’t matter the color of your skin, or how you pray, or whom you pray to. But be of service. Give back. Be grateful. Be grateful that you are hearing from the last of the survivors. Who will tell the story? You will. I’m depending on you. I’m making you responsible. So take me. Take my story. Live good lives, no matter who you are, or how you are.”
Sylvia Ruth Gutmann
Holocaust survivor and author of A Life Rebuilt: The Remarkable Transformation of a War Orphan
“I tell stories that I’ve felt shame around, about being black, being queer, being a ghetto kid. These stories are specific to my life. All of our stories are hugely important, even the ones that you don’t want to tell.”
Lakirya “Oompa” Williams
Poet and hip-hop artist