Liz Murray Quotes

Powerful Liz Murray for Daily Growth

About Liz Murray

Liz Murray is an American memoirist, motivational speaker, and social activist, whose inspiring story of overcoming adversity has captivated audiences worldwide. Born in the Bronx, New York, in 1975, to drug-addicted parents, Murray's childhood was marked by poverty, homelessness, and instability. Despite these challenges, she managed to graduate from Harvard University. Murray's life took a drastic turn when her parents' addiction led them to abandon the family, leaving Murray and her siblings homeless. To survive, they lived in abandoned buildings, subways, and even Central Park. However, Murray's determination to escape this cycle was unwavering. She attended high school during the day while living on the streets at night. Inspired by a teacher who recognized her potential, Murray applied for and was accepted into Harvard University. Determined to fulfill her dream of attending college, she overcame numerous obstacles, including lack of financial resources and legal guardianship issues. Her tenacity paid off, and in 1995, at the age of 20, she graduated cum laude from Harvard with a Bachelor's degree in Government. After graduation, Murray continued her journey, focusing on social activism and inspiring others through her story. She co-founded The Art of Education, an organization that provides free online college readiness resources to underprivileged students. Her memoir, 'Breaking Night,' published in 2003, chronicles her life and was later adapted into a Lifetime movie titled 'Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story.' Today, Liz Murray continues to be an influential figure, using her experiences to inspire change and empower others. Her story serves as a testament to the power of resilience, determination, and the transformative potential of education.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"From where I stood, my past was a dark tunnel and my future was an even darker forest, but I knew that somewhere deep within, there had to be a light."

Liz Murray's quote underscores resilience and hope in the face of adversity. She compares her difficult past and uncertain future to a dark tunnel and forest, respectively. However, despite the darkness, she recognizes that within herself lies an inner strength - a light - that will guide her through the challenges ahead. This quote encourages individuals to find their own source of resilience and hope even when confronted with seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

"I realized that we can't fully move forward until we first let go of what we're holding onto."

This quote emphasizes the importance of letting go of past experiences, attachments, or negative emotions in order to progress in life. It suggests that clinging to old ways, grudges, or failures can hinder personal growth and prevent us from moving forward towards our goals and potential. To truly advance and embrace new opportunities, we must first release the burdens of the past.

"Success doesn't come from one giant action, but from a series of small, consistent actions and choices."

This quote suggests that true success is not the result of a single momentous act, but rather a accumulation of consistent, smaller actions over time. It emphasizes that making positive, deliberate choices consistently is key to achieving one's goals or realizing success. In other words, it encourages patience, persistence, and discipline in pursuit of long-term objectives.

"Every single day is a chance to rewrite your story."

This quote emphasizes the power each individual has to change their life narrative on a daily basis. It suggests that despite past struggles or circumstances, every new day presents an opportunity for personal growth, self-improvement, and redefining one's life trajectory. In essence, it encourages resilience, optimism, and the belief that change is always possible when we seize the potential in each day.

"It's not the load that breaks you down; it's the way you carry it."

This quote emphasizes resilience and personal attitude in dealing with life's challenges. The "load" refers to difficult situations or hardships one encounters, such as poverty, illness, or loss. Rather than suggesting that adversity itself is overwhelming, Liz Murray suggests it's the manner in which we choose to shoulder these challenges that can break us or make us stronger. In essence, it encourages individuals to approach their struggles with a positive mindset and perseverance, transforming them into opportunities for growth and transformation.

When you take charge of your own narrative, it gives you a handle on it.

- Liz Murray

Own, Charge, Take, Handle

As well as being blind, Ma turned out to have the same mental illness that her mother had had. Between 1986 and 1990, she suffered six schizophrenic bouts, each requiring her to be institutionalised for up to three months.

- Liz Murray

Blind, Mental, Turned, Schizophrenic

There was just so much attention that got focused on my story, and what that created was an opportunity for me to share what were the tools, what were the strategies, what was the thinking that had me break though those boundaries.

- Liz Murray

Break, Though, Strategies, Much Attention

Shortly after I turned 13, Child Welfare took me into care. I was sent to a residential centre where girls with behavioural problems were 'evaluated'. My time there comes back to me now only in flashes of smells, images and sounds.

- Liz Murray

Welfare, Back, Turned, Flashes

I realized eventually that when I ran out of places to stay and found myself on the D train and in Central Park, I was actually homeless.

- Liz Murray

Myself, Homeless, Realized, Ran

If I had a magic wand, I would live in a building in New York, big enough so my friends, my family could all have apartments in it. We'd raise our kids in the same space and have backyard barbecues and get old and fat together.

- Liz Murray

Magic, Big, Had, Backyard

If I could have a family and a home one night, and all of it's gone the next, that must mean that life has the capacity to change. And then I thought, 'Whoa! That means that just as change happens to me, I can cause change in my life.'

- Liz Murray

My Life, Thought, Next, Whoa

Ma was legally blind due to a degenerative eye disease she'd had since birth. This meant she was entitled to welfare, and our lives revolved around the first day of every month when her payment was due.

- Liz Murray

Blind, Had, Entitled, Payment

People are surprised by the poverty and think that I wasn't cared for. But that wasn't the case - I was deeply loved.

- Liz Murray

Loved, Think, Cared, Surprised

I thought, 'Let's make it a check list. What if I got my education even though I lost my mother, even though my dad is in a shelter?' and looking at these things as hurdles to go over. I could inspire myself.

- Liz Murray

Education, Thought, Shelter, What If

The lesson that people can't give me what they don't have, and if there's anything I took from it, it was: okay, I don't really expect anyone to hand me anything. There's going to be me and the world.

- Liz Murray

Give, Okay, Took, Give Me

I had a calling inside of me. I had a sense that when I was going through experiences like living on the streets, losing my parents to AIDS, just having my whole world turned upside-down, there was this feeling inside of me like I was meant for something greater.

- Liz Murray

Through, Streets, Turned, Calling

I feel like my life has been a series of miracles. I was in every sense a lost cause.

- Liz Murray

My Life, Like, Been, Miracles

Like my mother, I was always saying, 'I'll fix my life one day.' It became clear when I saw her die without fulfilling her dreams that my time was now or maybe never.

- Liz Murray

My Life, Die, Became, Fulfilling

If I want to be a loving, generous, giving person, I'm not going to test the waters. I'm simply going to be a loving, generous, giving person.

- Liz Murray

Loving, Test, Waters, Simply

I was 17 and living on the streets. I had the education of technically an eighth-grader, but in reality, I had never had a formal education.

- Liz Murray

Living, Never, Formal, Technically

I have just one black and white photograph left of my mother when she was younger. She was 17 when it was taken and beautiful with wispy curls and eyes that shone like dark marbles.

- Liz Murray

Black, Younger, Like, Marbles

I'd been living on the streets of New York, and I was sleeping at my friends' houses, sometimes in the subway.

- Liz Murray

New, Living, Been, Subway

My mother used to sit at the foot of my bed, and she would share her dreams with me.

- Liz Murray

Mother, She, Bed, Foot

I think there is something to be said for what you can do when you don't know what you aren't supposed to be able to do.

- Liz Murray

Think, I Think, Able, Supposed

I realized that I had the ability to carve out a life for myself, that it was in no way limited by what had already occurred in my past. And that inspired me to go to school.

- Liz Murray

Past, Limited, Carve, Occurred

I guess more than anything, I just realized, okay, one day I had a home to live in and my family around me. The next day, I did not.

- Liz Murray

More, Next, One Day, Okay

When I grew up in the Bronx, we always had everyone telling us, 'Watch out for the system, watch out for child welfare, watch out, they'll get you,' and I grew up with this feeling of, 'Society is over there and they're dangerous and not safe.'

- Liz Murray

Dangerous, Telling, Had, Welfare

I guess if there is a big spiritual experience in my life, it is me becoming a mother.

- Liz Murray

My Life, Big, Becoming, Spiritual

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