Quote of the Week [January 10]

(Image courtesy of South Africa The Good News)

I love coming across fantastic, inspiring, moving, funny and other quotes that stand out to me. So I thought I'd share various quotes that I've come across in the weeks to come. My idea was to share one a week here on this blog (once in a while, I might switch out a quote for a Tweet of the Week if there's a certain tweet that stands out to me).

Here's this week's Quote of the Week:

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to to change the world."

--Nelson Mandela

I fist came across this quote back in my Junior or Senior year of high school. Our history teacher had us go around the room, read the various quotes on the posters and other papers hanging on the walls, and pick a quote to write about. I picked the above quote. And ever since that day, this quote has stuck in my mind.

At the time, I was planning on becoming a teacher after high school and college. I did begin majoring in Elementary Education for a while in college, but it never ended up working out for me. And while it still pains me sometimes to think about what could have been, I think in the end, everything worked out the way it should have. I ended up graduating with an English degree and now I'm a freelance writer and editor.

And even though I'm no longer going down that teaching path, the above quote is still my favorite quote ever because it's so very much true. Look at our education system right now. Look at what it takes now to get a good job in our country. Look at the gap between the rich and poor. It's everything. It all comes back to education. An education can do wonders.

What does an education mean to you? What do you think receiving a strong, quality education can do for our next generation? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, January 11) will be my first first Photo/Video of the Week. It will be just like today's Quote of the Week. I will share either a photo or a video that I've come across lately and want to share with you all. Some TV show was playing a YouTube video last week, and I just loved what happened in the video so much that I knew right away what my first Video of the Week was going to be.

If there's a great quote, photo or video you've come across, send it to me via Twitter, e-mail or in the comments below, and I might share it on this blog.

Follow me on Twitter @TheJeffDodge. I tweet various thoughts and opinions there. Anything I post on this blog will be tweeted there as well (so that's the best way to find out when the blog's updated). If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, either tweet me, e-mail me or leave a comment below.