Top 45 First-Hand Quotes

Spending time in Soweto, and looking at the issues, and experiencing the poverty first-hand, had an enormous impact. I was brought up in a council house in South East London – I didn’t have a privileged or wealthy upbringing – but looking at the scale of the problems there just left me dumbfounded.

We were reminded first-hand of the work that still needs to be done in Iraq on the security front when insurgents fired five rounds into the base while we were still meeting with the nurses.

Growing up in Mississippi – a state that historically was a place of racial injustice, inequality and oppression – gave me the unique opportunity to experience first-hand the evolution of the civil rights movement through the eyes of my parents, grandparents, and the black elders of our community.

We Americans like to believe we live in a free country with the right to use the justice system to ensure that government abuses are stopped or redressed. That’s far from the truth, and it’s an awful thing to experience first-hand.

My dad lost his hearing in the last 18 months of his life, and as a result, I witnessed first-hand the effect that this can have on a family.

When I go to America, I’m fortunate enough to stay in the nicer areas but the last time I went there – to New York last October, November – I went and explored. I went to the rough areas – to Brooklyn, Harlem, the Bronx; I walked around and you see it first-hand, what life is like out there.

Texas’ and America’s farmers are suffering. As the Member of Congress representing the 10th Congressional District of Texas, I have traveled throughout our area and have seen first-hand how the drought has affected our agricultural communities.

I experienced Hip-Hop first-hand in the Bronx with the boys in New York; people like the Rock Steady Crew and The Dynamic Rockers, I looked at it for what it really was.

I think social networks are really working for the drivers, because we’re able to talk directly to fans and they get first-hand information. And I think it’s great for the partners as well and the businesses that are involved in Formula One.

I am an enthusiastic European, and my first-hand experience of war and hatred has strengthened that conviction. I have seen how misguided unilateral nationalistic identities have brought destruction and death. I am, however, a world citizen, too.

An ex-boyfriend of mine is living with HIV. He has an undetectable viral load so I know first-hand how this can affect people in a serodiscordant couple – which is where one partner is HIV-negative and one is HIV-positive.

An experience that shaped me happened early in my TV career when I filmed in Mozambique, Angola and Bangladesh for ‘Blue Peter’ and Comic Relief. Places with extreme poverty. When you see that first-hand as a young person, you take it with you for life.

With Skype video calling, teachers can provide their students with first-hand knowledge from experts around the world and with other classes who are studying the same subject halfway across the world.

I have no time for those who say there is no way Scotland could go it alone. I know first-hand the contribution Scotland and Scots make to Britain’s success – so for me there’s no question about whether Scotland could be an independent nation.

I think that we can learn a lot from the first-hand experiences of others and I think that if you look at these readings – celebrities or not – there’s information that comes through that is so specific and personal there’s no way you could research that.

Like Mr. Trump, an entrepreneur and business man by trade, I have seen, first-hand, the importance of the ‘Made in the U.S.A.’ label.

So many of my rookie mistakes could have been avoided by first-hand exposure to other, more experienced technology entrepreneurs.

During my career path, I’ve experienced first-hand what people deem as beautiful. It’s not me. It’s not most people. It’s limited and small.

I know first-hand how hard it is to start a business. Those first few years are rough.

Space has always fascinated me. As a young boy looking up at the stars, I found it impossible to resist thinking what was out there and if I ever would experience space first-hand.

I’ve experienced first-hand how the system is in Germany. I’ve seen how well-developed and professional they are, even at a young age. I learned and grew so much as an individual there.

Having seen first-hand how complex and difficult the job is, I believe it vital that the president be able to focus on his never-ending tasks with as few distractions as possible.

I witnessed first-hand the self-defeating results of putting yourself under so much pressure to perform.

I’ve experienced first-hand the wonderful work organizations like J Bar J do for young people in Central Oregon and I am encouraged that the federal government is taking an active role in the Cascade Youth and Family Center.

It would be suicide in the American academy to show too early an interest beyond your doctoral specialization: charges of everything from charlatanry to ambition would be levied and tenure denied. I’ve seen this first-hand.

I’ve seen suffering first-hand, and we have to make sure we relieve people’s suffering.

Experience taught me that working families are often just one pay check away from economic disaster. And it showed me first-hand the importance of every family having access to good health care.

Having witnessed first-hand the prowess of the Western Fleet, I am confident that the Indian Navy is fully capable of defending the nation against any form of threat.

I’m glad to see on a first-hand basis how both Andre Braugher and Andy Samberg work. They’re both pretty esteemed in both of their fields, respectively – comedy-slash-dramatic acting work.

Whether it’s Hollywood or Bollywood, sexual harassment is a reality. I’ve experienced it first-hand, and I know many of my counterparts have as well.

Some people work their entire lives to become a professional fighter and see certain guys with exposure or just a name, hop into the professional ranks. It can rub people the wrong way and have them very doubtful of your skills because they see first-hand the hard work and how many years it takes to master this.

I think it’s like that for people who don’t remember 1969 first-hand. It’s that sense of ‘old hat.’ Of ‘been there, done that.’ Space shuttles, space stations, communications satellites, GPS – they’re all part of our everyday, taken-for-granted world in 2009, not part of an incredible odyssey.

I live out of my van, which gives me a first-hand appreciation for power and lighting. A few years ago, I rebuilt the interior of my van to include solar panels and a battery that powers LEDs for lighting and allows me to charge my phone and laptop.

In my opinion I think there’s a difference between skepticism and cynicism; I tend to avoid cynicism because I feel it can err sometimes on the side of ignorance, by just disregarding something without actually seeing it or experiencing it first-hand.

I know at first-hand the importance of hard work and the value of work experience.

I hate it when people are rude to service staff. I grew up in my family’s hotel and experienced it first-hand.

I believe that modern slavery is the most outrageous assault on the rights of an individual. It is something that touches me deeply because I grew up in rural Brazil and could see first-hand how poverty forced people to work in harsh, exploitative conditions.

I’ve seen at first-hand what Labour Governments can achieve in power.

Many spiritual teachers – in Buddhism, in Islam – have talked about first-hand experience of the world as an important part of the path to wisdom, to enlightenment.

I deal with first-hand sources. And give the people, even John Sununu, the opportunity to respond to what I’ve been told by first-hand sources.

I saw first-hand that all schools are not created equal, and the students shouldn’t have to go without all of the materials that they need for a great education.

I will commit myself to making this state an even greater place to live, work and raise a family. I intend to reach out from border to border to hear first-hand from our citizens about their thoughts, concerns and ideas for our state.

While we were there, we saw first-hand the senseless violence and destruction from terrorist groups that have repeatedly called for the end of Israel. These kinds of attacks are an unfortunate part of everyday life for the Israeli people.

I’d heard about Texas football and how much of a religion it is, but to go to Odessa and experience it first-hand is something different than just hearing about it.

When you are raised, as John Edwards was, in a small town like Robbins, North Carolina, you get to understand poverty and unemployment, or inadequate health care, first-hand by seeing the daily struggles of your friends and neighbors.