Yamile Saied Méndez Quotes

• “The sense of wonder and possibility – that I owed to the Argentine women who had fought for freedom before the universe conspired and the stars aligned to make me.”

  Yamile Saied Méndez

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• “If family folklore was to be trusted, I had never learned to shut up or do as I was told.”

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• “I felt joy for being alive, playing a sport that a generation ago could have landed me in prison.”

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• “I was the barefoot schoolgirl in my barrio apartment; he was a star flashing past us all, and the glow would disappear with him when he left again.”

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• “The rest of my life is a mess, but at least on the pitch I get to do what I love.”

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• “I’d leave this house the first chance I got, but not by chasing after a boy, including my brother. I’d do it on my own terms, following my dreams, not someone else’s.”

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• “I’ll rescue myself. No one will ever lock me up in a tower.”

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• “Our family was stuck in a cosmic hamster wheel of toxic love, making the same mistakes, saying the same words, being hurt in the same ways generation after generation. I didn’t want to keep playing a role in this tragedy of errors.”

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• “Did something count as a miracle if it possible only because of a lie?”

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• “Twenty years from now, would that be me? Would I be resigned to my fate, pushing my daughter toward the light so she could be free? Or pulling her down so I wouldn’t be along in the dark?”

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• “I was just a girl with a strong will. A girl who told too many lies. How was I going to save us?”

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• “I was tired of running. We were all buried underneath mountains of blame, shame, guilt, and lies.”

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• “My words came out too harsh, but I had stellar grades. I didn’t do drugs. I didn’t sleep around. Hell, I was seventeen andnot pregnant, unlike every other woman in my family. You would’ve thought she’d give me some credit, be on my side, but no. Nothing I did was enough.I was not enough.”

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• “It wasn’t like I’d had any say in how fast my breasts grew or when I got my period. Why was she making me feel guilty for being alive?”

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• “Lies have long legs.”

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• “I was just a girl with strong legs and a stubborn streak.”

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• “Rosario showed a different face depending on how you looked at her. She changed when you saw her from a bus, or a luxury car, or your own feet.”

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• “I wanted what he Diego had. I needed to play on a team like that, to feel the love of the fans. I needed the chance to do something impossible and amazing. To be great.”

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• “When we played, we were all the same. We were all one.”

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• “The girl Diego said he loved was the strong one, the winning Camila, the one with a future she was forging for herself… If he rescued me, if I quit for him. I wouldn’t be the girl he loved. I wouldn’t be myself.”

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• “Keep your goal in sight. Keep your priorities straight, and it will all be worth it.”

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• “I had forgotten how beautiful fútbol was. Without referees, lines on the ground, trophies, tournaments, or life-changing contracts, the ball was a portal to happiness.”

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• “Scoring a goal is almost like kissing. The more you do it, the more you want. I wanted to keep scoring until it hurt.”

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