The deeper into Helen’s life we look, the deeper her personality appears. She was certainly a very determined woman; the first deafblind woman ever to graduate from university, she also became renowned worldwide as a champion of social justice, a talented public speaker, and an inspiration to millions around the globe.
It isn’t only that Helen was able to overcome the barriers of being blind and deaf in a time when they were much greater disadvantages than they are now; her intelligence and perception speak to many people, blind or sighted, deaf or hearing, regardless of boundaries. Here are just some of the many insightful quotations that pepper her speeches and writing.
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."
I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.
There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.
We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.
The highest result of education is tolerance.
It is not possible for civilization to flow backwards while there is youth in the world. Youth may be headstrong, but it will advance it allotted length.