“I don’t want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I’ve never met. I want to go on living even after my death!” ~ Anne Frank

For those of you who don’t know, Anne Frank is the author of one of the most read books in the whole world – The Diary of a Young Girl. Anne started her diary at the age of only 13, while she and her family were hiding from the German occupation of Amsterdam during the second world war.

And even though Anne never survived – she died when she was 15 years old, her father Otto Frank, the family’s only known survivor, later on, found her diary and published it, making it a world wide wonder.

25 Life Changing Lessons to Learn from Anne Frank

I read this beautiful book in 2008 and I remember being so impressed by it. I still am. And that is why I decided to share with you some of the most inspiring quotes from Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl. Here are 25 life changing lessons to learn from this brave and courageous soul:

1. Have the courage to be yourself.

“I know what I want, I have a goal, an opinion, I have a religion and love. Let me be myself and then I am satisfied. I know that I’m a woman, a woman with inward strength and plenty of courage.” ~ Anne Frank

2. Never give up on yourself. Never give up on your dreams.

“It’s difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.” ~ Anne Frank

3. Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news.

“Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!” ~ Anne Frank

4. Never stop improving.

“When you are on your bed at night just analyze all the happenings you have been go through whole day and learn from your mistakes, you will be a better person then.” ~ Anne Frank

“How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the whole day and consider exactly what has been good and bad. Then without realizing it, you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day.” ~ Anne Frank

5. Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power.

“Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. People are just people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness.” ~ Anne Frank

6. Underneath it all, we are all good.

“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” ~ Anne Frank

7. Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.

“I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.” ~ Anne Frank

“As long as this exists, this sunshine and this cloudless sky, and as long as I can enjoy it, how can I be sad?” ~ Anne Frank

“I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again.” ~ Anne Frank

8. Where there’s hope, there’s life.

“Where there’s hope, there’s life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again.” ~ Anne Frank

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” ~ Anne Frank

9. Writing is therapy.

“I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” ~ Anne Frank

“Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me. Not only because I’ve never written anything before, but also because it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year old school girl. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I feel like writing.” ~ Anne Frank

10. No one has ever become poor by giving.

“No one has ever become poor by giving.” ~ Anne Frank

11. The final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.

“Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.” ~ Anne Frank

12. Nature brings solace in all troubles.

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” ~ Anne Frank

“Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.” ~ Anne Frank

13. People can tell you to keep your mouth shut, but that doesn’t stop you from having your own opinion.

“People can tell you to keep your mouth shut, but that doesn’t stop you from having your own opinion.” ~ Anne Frank

14. Whoever is happy will make others happy.

“Whoever is happy will make others happy.” ~ Anne Frank

15. The sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit

“In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit.” ~ Anne Frank

16. We are all different, yet we are all the same.

“We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.” ~ Anne Frank

17. Women, who struggle and suffer pain to ensure the continuation of the human race, make much tougher and more courageous soldiers than all those big-mouthed freedom-fighting heroes put together.

“Women should be respected as well! Generally speaking, men are held in great esteem in all parts of the world, so why shouldn’t women have their share? Soldiers and war heroes are honored and commemorated, explorers are granted immortal fame, martyrs are revered, but how many people look upon women too as soldiers?…Women, who struggle and suffer pain to ensure the continuation of the human race, make much tougher and more courageous soldiers than all those big-mouthed freedom-fighting heroes put together!” ~ Anne Frank

18. Laugh at everything and forget everybody else!

“There’s only one rule you need to remember: laugh at everything and forget everybody else! It sound egotistical, but it’s actually the only cure for those suffering from self-pity.” ~ Anne Frank

19. Memories are worth a lot more than material things.

“Memories mean more to me than dresses.” ~ Anne Frank

20. You can be lonely even when you are loved by many people.

“You can be lonely even when you are loved by many people, since you are still not anybody’s one and only.” ~ Anne Frank

21. Those who have courage and faith shall never perish in misery.

“Those who have courage and faith shall never perish in misery.” ― Anne Frank

22. Laziness may look inviting, but only work gives you true satisfaction.

“Earning happiness means doing good and working, not speculating and being lazy. Laziness may look inviting, but only work gives you true satisfaction.” ~ Anne Frank

23. You only really get to know people when you’ve had a jolly good row with them.

“Anyhow, I’ve learned one thing now. You only really get to know people when you’ve had a jolly good row with them. Then and then only can you judge their true characters!” ~ Anne Frank

24. Be like a little child. Never stop questioning.

“Ever since I was a little girl and could barely talk, the word ‘why’ has lived and grown along with me. It’s a well-known fact that children ask questions about anything and everything, since almost everything is new to them. That is especially true of me, and not just as a child. Even when I was older, I couldn’t stop asking questions. I have to admit that it can be annoying sometimes, but I comfort myself with the thought that “You won’t know until you ask,” though by now I’ve asked so much that they ought to have made me a professor. When I got older, I noticed that not all questions can be asked and that many whys can never be answered. As a result, I tried to work things out for myself by mulling over my own questions. And I came to the important discovery that questions which you either can’t or shouldn’t ask in public, or questions which you can’t put into words, can easily be solved in your own head. So the word ‘why’ not only taught me to ask, but also to think. And thinking has never hurt anyone. On the contrary, it does us all a world of good.” ~ Anne Frank

25. Not everyone has the gift of believing in heavenly things.

“People who have a religion should be glad, for not everyone has the gift of believing in heavenly things.” ~ Anne Frank

~love, Luminita💫

Do you have a favorite quote from Anne Frank? If you do,  you can share your comment in the comment section below 🙂

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