All my life, I faced sexism and racism and then, when I hit 40, ageism. - Rita Moreno

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No one's going to tell me how to make my own choices. For too many years, everybody told me what to say and what to do and how to be. - Rita Moreno

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But, truly, I have wept too much! The Dawns are heartbreaking. Every moon is atrocious and every sun bitter.

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Smell the roses. Smell the coffee. Whatever it is that makes you happy. - Rita Moreno

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Talk, talk, talk: the utter and heartbreaking stupidity of words.

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Bigger than life is not difficult for me. I am bigger than life. - Rita Moreno

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I still love the people I’ve loved, even if I cross the street to avoid them.

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I grew up as a child who felt she was very inferior to everyone else. - Rita Moreno

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Mellowing has never done much for me. You need to keep moving. - Rita Moreno

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I call myself the hardware shelf. There's a lot of awards and honors there. And I have earned that. I didn't ask for it, I didn't beg for it, I didn't pay for it. I earned that. People see the accomplishments - but it's good to remind people that so much strife and labor and tears and heartbreak came before that, that it really is earned. - Rita Moreno

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