All Quotes

"I would let them know that the road may be long and tough, but at the end of it all, it is more than worth it. I would let them know that they have to just be true to themselves and set a goal for where they want to get to if the playing field was levelled. After they imagine that, they should put in the effort and do what they can to make it happen."

"I did not know we were refugees until I got to junior secondary school."

"If you were looking for me, the basketball court is where you would find me."

"I went through hell and back, but I can now can be responsible for changing the life of somebody so they don't have to go through what I went through."

"When I blow my whistle, people are going to listen to me."

"It shows me that when I take a stand in life, people are going to stop and listen to me. I shouldn't just let them walk all over me; I should have a whistle in life, to stop the whole commotion around me and make my call on what's going to happen next."

"The journey in sport, especially for females, never appears to be one that is easy."

"The politics around it is plenty. Gender bias exists and being sidelined happens. However, none of this is reason enough to abandon your passion. Rather it must fuel you to push harder."

"Your strength as a female is undermined and not praised enough, but I come to tell you that your strength will get you to the endline and beyond. Believe in it, believe in yourself, do not lose yourself now. Stay, be patient, shut your ears and put in the work."

"I kept on going back every weekend after that game because I enjoyed being able to provide a platform for fair play."

"I was so busy making sure I worked hard to provide for them that sometimes I buried myself in work. Now, I can spoil their kids and be the adviser."

"I cannot stress this enough, no one wants a referee who doubts themselves and looks unsure on the court. They won’t have confidence in your abilities, therefore be confident on the court, fake it if you have to, and never look weak."

"My biggest takeaway [from the movie] is that we still have a long way to go. The beauty standards were set by the Western World, and now here we are in Africa trying to fit those standards."

"It has taken a while for us to get to a place where a full-figured woman like myself can be part of the lead cast of a big telenovela. Just a couple of years ago, that was unheard of."

"It is truly unfortunate, because we see stories that sound familiar but never look familiar. These women who fill our screens, we often don’t even relate to them because we don’t see ourselves in them."

"My argument has always been: in SA we have a lot of full-figured women, if we don’t predominantly have full-figured women, why must my story as a full-figured women be told by a woman who is a smaller size than me because that apparently looks better?"

"I am so glad to be in the forefront with other thick women who are telling South African stories because there is a girl who is shaped like me, sitting at home and watching. That teenager is looking at me thinking, ‘I can also make my dreams happen because there she is on screen and she looks like me.’"

"I tell stories from an honest place, and no matter my body shape I should be given an equal chance to do that."

"As an actor, it is always great to be challenged by a role, especially ones that are very far from who you are as a person."

"An actor prepares: acting cannot be done without preparation."

"My own expectations can be so high. In my mind, I see the character and visualise what it looks like. Then, if I’m afforded the opportunity to see my work, I criticise myself so much!"

"I think something major needs to happen to a person to reach a point where one is so petty, bitter and always angry and always lashing out."

"If we don’t tell our stories, no one is going to do it for us."

"If we don’t communicate something, society will be under the impression that all is well and that everything is fine. But it isn’t."

"A lot of damage is done by poverty and being thrown into circumstances where you are forced to raise a child when you are not ready. We need to tell more of these."

"I look back and wish I would have been more gentle because mothers experience so much pressure but we never give them a break."

"Our appeal is always a call for peace: we call for de-escalation, because war is always a defeat and serves no one. All problems, even those between states, can be resolved without violence. We bishops are united when we say and exhort our communities: Let us pray for peace."

"I was excited to see more of us telling our stories with real roles."

"I’ve lived a fulfilling life, one that is filled with storytelling but more than anything I’m known as that woman who loves to share."

"We didn't have theatres that accepted black people."

"I come from a background of artists being poor, and I have vowed that I will not put up a production if artists are not going to be paid. I will look for funding. I will look for money so that artists--especially the young artists--know that you can actually live in this career. You can be able to make money and not stay poor."

"If you are on stage and use theater as a tool to talk to people, you reach them better. People don't want to be lectured. People don't want to be screamed at. People don't want to feel sad. But, you need to entertain as well as giving out the message. So, we kind of felt like in a community, people want to laugh."

"People want to laugh at themselves. But, who is going to start the joke?"

"But, along the way I realized you actually need to understand there's a lot more than just being on the stage. There's a lot involved that one does when one is an artist."

"My wish list is to have a proper theater in each and every township within South Africa. A proper theater. Because at the moment we're performing in halls, in school halls. We don't get the excitement of the lights, the sound…. That magic thing that happens when you put all of those things together on stage we can't have because we do not have all of the resources. So, for me, if I were to win loads and loads of money, I would plant theaters, proper theaters in each and every township in South Africa."

"The play doesn't pull any punches. It doesn't skirt the issues. It allows viewers to make up their own minds."

"I always think of how I have survived in this industry and try to make sure young actors do not struggle as much."

"Motherhood has taught me that nothing is impossible as long as you set your mind to it."

"But put yourself first before you can attempt to assist others. The world has many challenges but don’t ever think you can overcome all of them. Always say please and thank you."

"You go to bed worrying about what tomorrow will bring, but God always has a plan. Pat yourselves on the back and say “well done” every day. I know some mothers are struggling, but ladies, reach out – you are not alone."

"The bottom line is that there is this sore that hasn't healed in the country. We can't go anywhere, we can't go forward without healing this wound."

"Why is it we can't make use of the land? The ownership isn't as important as the use."

"I am very passionate about theater and acting and never let my circumstances stand in my way of living my dream."

"They put salt on the wound, and that made things worse. The way they have handled the whole situation, this is not what we expected as South Africans and people who have voted for this government to be in control"

"But I think fighting for your own fate is not the wrong thing to do. But fighting for something that was never meant to be yours, it's not worth it"

"Let us be under no illusion; military forces today are not designed to wage war; their purpose is to prevent it. There will be no campaigns like the old ones, with victory at the end of a long and balanced struggle; total war today can only mean total destruction."

"' is unique in many ways. Endemic to the of Mexico and the United States, its broad, persistent, heavy leaves are unlike any of its associates. Its large edible seeds contain about 50% oil, which is directly used as a and as a . The oil has excellent qualities for many industrial and medicinal uses. Chemically it is a liquid wax and by is easily converted to a hard white wax. ’s singular characteristics as a , however, present many problems facing its development as a cultivated plant."

"In , s are scattered like gems in an arborescent matrix. They grow mainly upon the rocky slopes of hills and mountains and are generally lacking in the valleys and on the plains. Hence, the distributional pattern is islandlike. Compared with the massive populations of agaves in and in the , they are very sparse in Sonora. However, they are distinctly characteristic of the succulent component in the vegetation of our America deserts and arid regions ... … Desert species exist with about 5 inches or less annual precipitation and can endure rainless years; montane species receive 30 or more inches annual precipitation."

"In North America, perhaps had as much to do in fostering the beginnings of agriculture as any other of plants. In Agaveland anyone can plant and grow agaves. All that is needed is to dig up or pull up a young offset and bury its base in moist or dry soil, with or without roots, wherever it is wanted. If it does not strike root and grow the first season, the chances are that it will the next. (1965) has made a strong case that such transplants were the primary agricultural subjects of the . Compared with seeds, the shift of useful plants from the open wild site to camp or village was more obvious and direct with transplants, and their care, protection, and culture were simpler. The hunting and gathering tribes had good reason to regard agave with special attention, because agave supplied them with food, fiber, drink, shelter, and miscellaneous natural products. Protection may have been one use, for when planted around a cottage, the larger species make armed fences, a common practice in modern Mexico."

"Howard Gentry was an inspirational figure from an heroic age of arid plant science — exploring from horseback the of the in the 1930s, working on the wartime t in the 1940s, travelling around Iran in search of gum s and around the deserts of Arizona and California in search of in the 1950s."