I’d like them to appreciate the power of the individual–and I don’t mean me; I mean the power each person has to make choices and be accountable for himself or herself. I’ve noticed that people are quick to put you in a category–if you come from this place then you are that thing. But I’ve never placed much value in statistics and trends, bar graphs and socioeconomic data that sum people up. I stop listening when somebody asks me if I know what my chances are. I don’t know that I believe in probability. People are inexplicable and incomprehensible, and nobody really knows what’s possible until they try. I prefer the exceptions to the rules. I like people who try, even when their chances are zero. Kenny Porpora
About This Quote

The idea that people are scary, mysterious, and unpredictable is the antithesis of what Nelson Mandela wanted to say in his quote. He wanted us to think that our own choices matter and that we can choose to do good or bad. We don’t just have to be victims of circumstance or external forces. We have a choice in every situation.

Source: The Autumn Balloon

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More Quotes By Kenny Porpora
  1. I’d like them to appreciate the power of the individual–and I don’t mean me; I mean the power each person has to make choices and be accountable for himself or herself. I’ve noticed that people are quick to put you in a category–if you come...
  2. To the members of my family who are no longer with us, I’d like to say I’m sorry. There is a quote by Stephen Dunn I’ve always loved; he says, “Our parents died at least twice, the second time when we forgot their stories.” I...
  3. I ask for tons of notebooks for my birthday, the ones with college ruled lines, and I carry them with me, pretend they're my friends, and write anything that comes to mind. Something about my stories makes me happy, allows me to drift away a...
  4. We met in a school elevator, and he could tell from the way I spoke that we had some sadness in common.
  5. I remember watching those balloons as a little boy, each fall, wondering if someday I, too, would be nothing but a balloon in the sky, soaring towards the sun until I begin to fall slowly back to earth and into the hands of a stranger.
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