Women Born In The 1960s

"In today's world where we are seeing signs of hate proliferating across our campus and our world in a way not seen in years, these policies need to be clarified and evaluated."

"It has been my privilege to serve as president of this remarkable institution. It has been an honor to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni and community members to advance Penn’s vital missions."

"Our Jewish community is afraid. Our Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian communities feel unseen and unheard. I condemn the death threats and doxing that many at Penn are experiencing based only on their identity, their affiliations, or their views of the suffering in this war."

"Rep Elise Stefanik: I am asking, specifically calling for the genocide of Jews, does that constitute bullying or harassment? Magill: If it is directed and severe, pervasive, it is harassment. Stefanik: So the answer is yes. Magill: It is a context-dependent decision, congresswoman."

"I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate [...] It's evil, plain and simple."

"In that moment I was focused on our university's long-standing policies aligned with the U.S. Constitution which say that speech alone is not punishable."

"Nigerian athletes work very hard. In terms of training and seriousness, Nigerian athletes are far ahead of their European and American counterparts. What is lacking is the absence of the right facilities and this is where their foreign counterparts have an edge."

"I regretted not going far at the Seoul Olympics due to what happened to me at the Games. It was the second round of our 400m hurdles and an athlete crossed my lane and collided with me. I fell down and could not finish the race. I was rushed to the hospital and ended the Olympics with the Plaster of Paris (POP). I was very sad because I was unable to achieve my aims and target and I will never forget that incident in my life"

"The development of a world class athlete is a long process. We need to put the process or system in place to discover and develop new athletes. The best way to do this is to start from the primary and secondary schools. Any potential athlete needs to be taught the basics in whatever event they are likely to participate in."

"I am a poet. Poets take the beauty from ashes."

"To become an Olympian is tough, but it is an achievable task which anyone can attain through hard work and support from their coaches and sports administrators."

"Sometimes its blood and tears; at other times, it falls easy like rain. I have note books, filled with the scraps of words. I try to catch the moments… a flock of birds on the wings of twilight, the moon majestic on a tableau of darkness. I am a scribbler. I go back to weave the various scraps into the cloth that becomes a poem."

"We were very dedicated and proud to wear the national colours. With support from every corner, we were always happy running for the country (Nigeria), as it was a privilege for the few of us selected to represent the country then."

"My dominance in the hurdles was mainly because of my determination to become a world-class hurdler, and I ensured that I put in my best for the country in those days."

"I was working with the poems as visual imagery, how it impacts the reader on paper and how it can be read in different directions with various layers of meaning, reflecting the many-sidedness, the enigma that an individual is. I think, often times, the poem decides how it wants to take life. Sometimes, you try to develop it in a certain direction and you see that’s not working, so you just let it be."

"Poetry is always my best friend, a ready platform, when l need to testify for myself and society."

"I do not see how it is possible to live in Nigeria or be Nigerian and write art for art’s sake. I think a poet should be the voice of her society. It has been so from ancient times. Contemporary Nigerian poetry still reflects the pulse of the society, the disappointment with our poor leadership and a voice for the common man. There is a lot more innovation now, the use of multimedia, fusing music and drama, a marriage of the arts. Admirable efforts to actually make a living from writing."

"I started out writing poetry and it’s the bedrock on which my work rests. So yes, my primary identity will always be hinged on that. For prose, you need to do more research. Obviously, it’s not as spontaneous as poetry can be, at least for me. You need to do character development, get their voices right, immerse yourself in the context of the story, invoke the atmosphere and engage the reader to stay with you. A writer needs to be well read. Alertness and an eye for detail are essential in your toolkit."

"I am a woman of faith and l find the Bible inspirational for living and writing."

"Song of a first born daughter to the beats of gangan. I am the first fruit of your loins. Seasoned with grace. Seasoned with salt. I stride to drumbeats. Flywhisks attend my hands. Like anklets of brass, joy encircles. I am the consolation, born for the day of affliction. I am the vigour, the virgin seed, roosting under coverlets of aso-oke. Down the winding road, I nurture the handkerchiefs for champions who cry... Behold the daughter, your blessed harvest. Your basket of plump yams. Your scented one."

"People are always looking for labels, boxes, compartments, a so-called easier way of dissecting what you write and I think in that process, they miss out on the real wealth of engaging your imagination. Having said that, I am a woman who is writing from my varied experiences (as a citizen of the world, Nigerian, daughter, sister, mother, wife, and mentor) and those of other women in my society. I see myself as a voice for woman, child and man. I advocate for woman rights and human rights. I am not inferior to anyone and I never hesitate to take my place. How does that describe me?"

"My most memorable moment was when I became the first women’s champion from Texas Southern in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) meet history, winning the 400m hurdles in 55.16secs. That was in 1986. The time broke the stadium record of 55.47secs set by Anna Kastelskaya of the Soviet Union in 1982, and I was happy being a Nigerian."

"Will get married to my perfect partner someday."

"According to her, she was sexually abused as a child, and when she confronted her abuser as a grown woman, she was stigmatised."

"Lastly, being traumatized isn’t a spiritual issue; it is a mental issue that needs a therapist."

"People get into a relationship with you because you are a star and they have certain expectations, which after living together for a while, the realization that you are just a simple human being sets in, when the veneer of stardom is rubbed off and the simple part of you is revealed, men just want to move on because they didn’t come for your simplicity or person at first, they came for the stardom."

"It’s funny how you don’t realise that you’ve been missing something until you see it in the flesh."

"People take the sky for granted, they don’t look up enough"

"At the end of the day, the delectable actress triumphed and came out stronger. Clarion says her driving force is her unshakable faith in God, and more importantly, her never-say-die spirit"

"feel misunderstood, terribly unhappy and sometimes wish I had not become a star whenever controversies arise on my relationship with them."

"I don’t follow any type of routine. If I’m staying indoors, all I do is to brush my teeth. Sometimes, I don’t even have my bath until about 8pm at night. At times, I do a full bathtub or a shower depending on the weather. I also use scent oil and candles to relax myself."

"Entertainers are going into politics for money."

"Know your strengths and weaknesses and work towards your strengths and improve your weaknesses and have that crazy dream that will drive you on. There will always be people who will tell you that you can’t do something or that a certain path is not for you, but work out what you can do and go for it."

"I want everybody within the university and beyond to be reaching for the stars.To work out what works for them, what they love and to have a career in that area, because if you work at what you love it's hardly working at all."

"Heidi is what got me started in reading."

"want to see what you have done to better the lives of the people in your immediate community."

"I want to inspire the next generation of scientists, and especially girls, and let them know that STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths] is for them."

"Dreams don’t show up on government surveys or school league tables, but they are the fuel that makes us want to get up and get on. For young people to feel that the low road is the only one available to them is nonsense. We won’t climb out of recession, or meet the challenges of climate change, by thinking small."

"Without hammering you over the head with it, the movie gets you to ask questions. That's what good movies do."

"I'm just going where the stories are. I'll quite happily work in a tiny theater in the middle of nowhere if it's the right story. It always leaves a bit of a nasty taste in my mouth when I do something purely for money. I always end up being absolute shit in it. I'm not really an actor who can make rubbish writing good. Some people are very good at it. It's a real skill."

""The root-base of people’s opinion matters a lot. What I say, is my own opinion. All of us have the right to our opinions. I am an ordained minister of the gospel. Consequently, I have come to know things, which I did not know before now. When it comes to “morals,” I always tell people there is one who created the world – and, in doing so, set the standards for moral behaviour. I am trying to live accordingly and play the role that is accrued to me. And I will be damned if I don’t speak out!""

"“I’m not particularly intellectual, the way I approach things. I’m a completely physically actor; I think physically and I let my body lead me to the emotions.”[https://variety.com/2020/tv/features/sophie-okonedo-ratched-criminal-uk-psychology-1234775958/ ]"

"I'm drawn to stories about ordinary people who get tangled up in an extraordinary event or idea or emotion. I'm not saying I don't love films about super-people or super-doctors, but my preference is for stories about how we get through this life, what it is to be human, because I'm always struggling with it myself."

"[on being awarded the OBE in June 2010] The cherry on the cake and way beyond anything I would have imagined for myself."

""The film was controversial, because its subject matter is something a lot of people don’t want to talk about. You know, it’s what’s going on in a lot of homes""

"I don't like going for more than a year without doing theatre. I don't mind falling flat on my face so long as I feel I'm open to the possibility of something extraordinary happening."

"When I do things that aren't very good, I'm worse as an actor. I don't know what I pick up - but it's something not very nice."

"Being a character actor, I can go on until I'm 70 or 80; I'm not bound to the way I look."

""What I would tell you is that when Paul in the Bible was called, he moved around a lot and I’m moving around a lot now and God has not told me to slow down or settle in one particular place.""

"“I use all sorts of sources — but I always go back to the script. And then I just let the thing live in my body a bit. So when I’m on set I’m not thinking in any linear way about what I’m doing: I just do it.”"