The rich emotional tapestry of being a mother, becoming a mother, connects you to your own mother. I didn't realize how much I'd become her. I pass a mirror, and am surprised by how much I look like her. Maya Soetoro-Ng More Quotes by Maya Soetoro-Ng More Quotes From Maya Soetoro-Ng My whole family was Muslim, and most of the people I knew were Muslim. Maya Soetoro-Ng whole-family whole people Faith and optimism come from love. Maya Soetoro-Ng optimism Being a parent has become incredibly important to me. I never knew how much I would be altered by my children. I would like to be remembered by them in much the way I remember my mom: as loving and kind. Maya Soetoro-Ng parent mom children You really need to love something or someone in order to work hard enough to be very successful. You have to believe in something and have a certain optimism. Maya Soetoro-Ng hard-work successful believe You have to have a government that does give both money and energy to function in a leadership role modeling giving for the people. Government is supposed to lead by example in many cases. Maya Soetoro-Ng government giving people Government should exist in order to help fortify the country and make those who are in need better able to meet their own. Maya Soetoro-Ng government order country The world is intertwined and we therefore have to be gentle in the way that we treat one another and the Earth, so that our impact on others is benevolent and good. Maya Soetoro-Ng impact earth world And that the best things that grownups do, we do for the children, and that they inspire great good in us. I also want them to remember that the world is intertwined and that we therefore have to be gentle in the way that we treat one another and the Earth, so that our impact on others is benevolent and good. Maya Soetoro-Ng impact inspire children I absolutely do believe that we need to not be so myopic. We ought to throw open widely the windows on the world in order to learn more about it. Maya Soetoro-Ng order believe needs Meanness is the one thing I do get upset about on those rare occasions when I see it. Maya Soetoro-Ng rare-occasion meanness upset Government that's not particularly caring and is hands off is not particularly inspiring. Maya Soetoro-Ng government caring hands I think we could benefit from world history that is specifically taught in a multi-faceted fashion that allows for an understanding that perspectives on truth can be very different. I'm an advocate of an approach that endeavors to foster empathy and which tries to find a common humanity across the divide. Maya Soetoro-Ng common-humanity fashion thinking That's a powerful way to love, when you accept your children, however they emerge, with all their peculiarities. Maya Soetoro-Ng powerful children way Children come into the world with a lot of personality already imbedded in them. Maya Soetoro-Ng personality children world We need to teach our children empathy and care and love and communication and social responsibility in preparation for adulthood. Maya Soetoro-Ng empathy communication love children My mother was a courageous woman, and she had such tremendous love for life. She loved the natural world. She would wake us up in the middle of the night to go look at the moon. When I was a teenager, this was a source of great frustration because I wanted to sleep. Maya Soetoro-Ng woman mother love life Slow down and think about the lessons of the elders. Maya Soetoro-Ng slow down think elders The facts are simply that my brother was born in the United States at the Kapiolani Hospital for Women and Children in 1961. His birth certificate has been authenticated by a number of sources. Maya Soetoro-Ng women brother children facts My mother would have enjoyed the idea that her name was being used to build bridges. She cared a great deal and was very thoughtful and passionate about education and young women. Maya Soetoro-Ng great women mother education Barack himself is very much a regular guy, not a silver spoon, incredibly smart, but, you know, he's a scholarship kid, made good use of the resources that were available to him, worked incredibly hard. Maya Soetoro-Ng good know you smart