Comparing how you feel on the inside (bad) to the way someone else looks on the outside (great) is a losing proposition. It's an impossible standard.

— Maria Shriver

Having kids — the responsibility of rearing good, kind, ethical, responsible human beings — is the biggest job anyone can embark on

— Maria Shriver

Having kids - the responsibility of rearing good, kind, ethical, responsible human beings - is the biggest job anyone can embark on. As with any risk, you have to take a leap of faith and ask lots of wonderful people for their help and guidance. I thank God every day for giving me the opportunity to parent.

— Maria Shriver

I don't believe in gutter politics. I don't believe in gutter journalism.

— Maria Shriver

I like to make jokes I consider myself a funny person. I just think making jokes about people who are in a situation beyond their control is not funny to them or their families.

— Maria Shriver

Listen: You can't short-circuit the learning process. It takes time to get to the top, and that's good-because by the time you get there, you'll have learned what you need to know in order to stay there.

— Maria Shriver

My mother's death brought me to my knees. She was my hero, my role model, my very best friend. I spoke to her every single day of my life. I really tried hard when I grew up to make her proud of me.

— Maria Shriver

No matter who you are, what you've accomplished, what your financial situation is - when you're dealing with a parent with Alzheimer's, you yourself feel helpless. The parent can't work, can't live alone, and is totally dependent, like a toddler. As the disease unfolds, you don't know what to expect.

— Maria Shriver

Starting at the bottom is not about humiliation. It's about humility—a realistic assessment of where you are in the learning curve.

— Maria Shriver

The gift my mother gave me was the gift of possibility. From an early age, she instilled in me a belief that I could do anything I wanted to do. It wasn't a matter of, 'Can I?' or 'Should I?' It was just, 'You can, you must, you will!' She wanted me to believe that anything was possible.

— Maria Shriver