Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni, Jr. (Nikki Giovanni) Quotes
If I can't do what I want to do, then my job is to not do what I want to do. It's not the same thing, but it's the best thing I can do.

Quotes to Explore
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Although I grew up as a fan of the culture from the disco D.J. era as a young kid and hearing the beginnings of hip-hop, I'm hearing it all from another borough in Brooklyn.
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Five guys on the court working together can achieve more than five talented individuals who come and go as individuals.
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Music is art, and once you become an artist, you need to learn how to accept criticism.
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If you go to a tree with an ax and take five whacks at the tree every day, it doesn't matter if it's an oak or a redwood; eventually the tree has to fall down.
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People look to time in expectation that it will eventually make them happy, but you cannot find true happiness by looking toward the future.
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I grew up poor in India, and there were days when we struggled to find food and other basic necessities. Our mother worked odds and ends jobs to keep the family together and educate us.
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I grew up such a horror fan, it's kinda cool being named 'Scream Queen.' I like that.
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In America, music is more tightly categorized.
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You don't want to meet anybody in Cannes. It's the worst place, I think, to meet somebody - one of the worst places.
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The bottom line is, I want us to rebound, defend, share the ball, play hard. That's all. Now if you can't do that, if that's not important enough to you, it's not on me.
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Sesame oil is probably my favorite condiment, period.
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In many ways, our campaign this year will be the same as last time: We're still going to focus on fixing up basics and cleaning up ethics at City Hall.
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I used to be the best comic actor in my batch. Everyone knew that my comic timing was impeccable.
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Christlike communications are expressions of affection and not anger, truth and not fabrication, compassion and not contention, respect and not ridicule, counsel and not criticism, correction and not condemnation. They are spoken with clarity and not with confusion. They may be tender or they may be tough, but they must always be tempered.
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I just felt like I had to create a life for myself where I was more independent.
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Derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction.
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I don't think you get to be pope without making some enemies, like you do when you're president.
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I certainly went to high school with some mean girls, and I would not wish that hell on anybody.
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In many ways, anger is a misdirected plea for love.
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Along with success comes a reputation for wisdom.
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I'm a freak, everything has to be totally flat when I play. Ed Will, my jazz teacher, set up everything completely flat, and then you'd tilt your snare drum away from you, so I do that too. So my snare tilts away from me.
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It is not attention that the child is seeking, but love.
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I do not want to fall in love. I want to stand in love.
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If I can't do what I want to do, then my job is to not do what I want to do. It's not the same thing, but it's the best thing I can do.