Eleanor Roosevelt was and is the shiz

David and I stumbled upon our old baby names book this morning and he looked up Eleanor. Under famous names, was Eleanor Roosevelt, which for some weird reason hadn't even occurred to me that she and Ella(Eleanor, our daughter)share the same name. I would love to be able to claim that she was the reason that we named her that, but it was actually really random and let's just say that Ella was not named for two days, that's all I'm going to say about that, hehe. Anyway, I remembered that as a child I had a really fond sentiment towards the woman after seeing her character in "Annie" and learning bits about her at school. I googled her, and I came across the following 17 quotes which astounded me on THIS quotations website.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962) [check the time, first off]

A woman is like a tea bag- you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.

Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.

Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.
[this is SO true]

Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.[wow...truth]

I could not at any age be content to take my place in a corner by the fireside and simply look on.
[beautiful]

I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.

If someone betrays you once, it's their fault; if they betray you twice, it's your fault.
[so completely true with just about everything]

It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself.
[amen.]

Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both.

Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.

Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.
[i completely agree]

One thing life has taught me: if you are interested, you never have to look for new interests. They come to you. When you are genuinely interested in one thing, it will always lead to something else.
[boy, i have learned this to be true]

The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
[A-FREAKIN-MAZING]

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
[fo sho]

People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.
[the key is in the honestly and courageously]

 

Not only are her words incredibly true and extremely relevant still today, but they are also words that aren't spoken or truly understood by everyone. These are the words of a truly evolved woman/human. She was born almost 100 years before me. This is not the wisdom that comes simply from being a first lady, or from being privledged, this is the wisdom of a woman who was truly ahead of her time and probably much ahead of most, still today, in terms of self-actualization.