Luvvie Ajayi Quotes
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Telling the truth - telling thoughtful truths - should not be a revolutionary act. Speaking truths to power should not be sacrificial, but they are.
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People think you can find a mentor by walking up to somebody and saying, 'Hey, be my mentor,' or by sending an e-mail to someone you've never e-mailed before and saying, 'Hey, I want you to mentor me.' But, mentorship really happens in rooms that you're actually in.
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I think it's important for service to be a part of your life instead of an option. It's awesome to make it a point to do something that's gonna make the world slightly better than you left it.
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Through my school years, I learned more about slavery, anti-black racism, and oppression in the U.S., and my blackness could no longer be an afterthought. I started wearing it proudly, and as my consciousness deepened, so did my love for black folks.
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There are two types of people in this world: people who can be on time and Nigerians. I am in the latter group, and I confess to my inability to arrive anywhere punctually.
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I knew I was Yoruba and Nigerian for the first 9 years of my life. I did not become conscious of my color and all that came with it until I moved to the United States with my family.
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Find me someone who is Nigerian who is always on time for things that aren't work-related, and I will find you a Tyrese quote that makes perfect sense. They might exist, but they sure are rare.
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I could write a whole other book called 'I'm Judging You, America!' I still might.
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Fear has a very concrete power of keeping us from doing and saying the things that are our purpose.
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I have no love for those who consider themselves 'good people' but stand idly by as the world crumbles around them. It's not enough to personally not do damage. If you're present as someone else destroys what's around you and you do nothing, you helped them.
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You can be tweeting strangers and saying, 'Don't say that,' but are you saying that to your friends? How about your mom? Your boyfriend at the dinner table who says something homophobic? If you're not saying the same things in person that you're saying online, then what are your tweets doing?
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People love my voice because they say I say what they were thinking but dare not to say because they had a filter or a job.
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Being a 'good man' is something you do, not something you are.
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I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. I was like, 'I'm going to be a doctor!' Doctor Luvvie was the dream. I was Doc McStuffins before it was a thing.
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Never underestimate the power of confidence. If you believe you're the dopest thing walking, you might convince people of the same just because you're so headstrong about it as a fact.
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Humor is this great equalizer. It gets people's defenses down, and once they're down, you can discuss some really difficult topics.
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Unless life is one giant rap battle, you don't need to freestyle your way to success.
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Toddlers are couthless. Lord. They are so couth-deficient. They'll tell you, 'Those shoes look like my nightmares' without a second thought because your feelings don't matter to them.
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The cool thing about the Internet now is it's democratized platforms. Like, anybody can create a blog. Anybody can give themselves some type of place where their work is visible.
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My integrity is something I hold dear.
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When I set out to write 'I'm Judging You,' I wanted to create something that was both timely and timeless. But I didn't know how timely this book would be until we, the people of the United States, elected a walking Cheeto to the highest office in the land on November 8, 2016.
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Under promise and over deliver. People will be pleasantly surprised that you gave more than they expected. And remember that there is always room for us to be better and do better. That's what I am calling for. Not just everybody else - myself, too.
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Being able to live without having to be defined by your skin color is the hallmark of privilege.
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The most glaring aspect of white privilege is that when someone is described neutrally - without indicating color or ethnicity - more often than not, people will assume that the person is white. That assumption indicates an uncomfortable truth: in our society, whiteness determines humanity.