Meredith Grey quotes from Grey's Anatomy

Meredith

[voice over] Why does it feel so good to get rid of things? To unload, to let go. Maybe because when we see how little we actually need to survive, it makes us realize how powerful we actually are to strip down to only what we need, to hang on only to what we can't do without, what we need, not just to survive, but to thrive.

Meredith

[voice over] There’s a stage you go through in childbirth and it’s the toughest part. It’s called the transition stage. You’ve been pushing so hard and so long. You’re exhausted, spent and there’s nothing to show for all of your effort. During this transition stage, it feels like you can’t go on but it’s because you’re very nearly there.

Meredith

[voice over] Transition is movement from one part of a life to a whole new one. And it can feel like one long, scary, dark tunnel. But you have to come out the other side. Because what’s been waiting there, might be glorious.

Meredith

[voice over] The average person touches their face about eighteen times every waking hour. That leaves you susceptible to infection about one hundred times a day. Infection has a nasty habit of taking advantage of our everyday behaviours. It spreads by touching doors, desks, elevator buttons, pens, sharing cups, even money. All we can do is try our best to prevent it from spreading because once it's out there, the infection usually wins.

Meredith

[voice over] It's a known fact that doctors make the worst patients. We ignore our symptoms until we're face down on the ground. We like to think we're a different species to our patients but none of us are invincible. Eventually we have to face the fact that we're human and that, sometimes, even the mightiest of us need help.

Meredith

[voice over] My Mom didn't think she would win, she thought it was a popularity contest, and she wasn't popular. She was a woman and a fellow, and her arrogance could rub people the wrong way. She hadn't allowed herself to imagine the possibility of winning, because she wanted it too much. And when they called my mom's name, she was genuinely shocked. It was validation of all her hard work and sacrifice. She came home and told me she didn't win the Harper Avery. She earned it.

Meredith

[voice over] Surgery is a solo act. We step up at the table with a scalpel in our hands and we go it alone. The isolation can start to define you. Because even though you are surrounded by teams... what it really comes down to is your training, your choices, your wits.. your hands, your stitch.

Meredith

[voice over] Over the past 20 years, one of the most valuable tools a doctor has is the algorithm. Your patient's main complaint goes into a box...and then the formula helps you decide what to do next. But what happens when a problem doesn't fix into a box? Well...you are suddenly on your own, unexpectedly, with about a thousand paths to choose from.

Meredith

[voice over] So, what do you do? How do you decide when you're left in the dark? How do you make sure you are not making the worst mistake in somebody's life? You close your eyes...you block out everyone and everything around you, and pray the voice inside you is right. Because once you decided...you can't ever go back.

Meredith

[voice over] Sometimes you just need to get out of town. Get a new perspective. but you can't always see that you need a new perspective because you, well need a new perspective to see that. It's complicated.

Meredith

[voice over] Open your eyes, what do you see? More possibilities? Does your new view give you more hope? That's the goal, although it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes a shift in perspective just makes you see what you've lost.

Meredith

[voice over] Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Emergency rooms are kept in business by people who've learned that lesson the hard way. Skydivers, bullriders, people whose bold ideas often result in broken bones and smushed spleens. Surgeons are trained to deal with the fallout of the bold ideas, we pick up the pieces and do our best to fit them back together.

Meredith

[voice over] The thing about the bold moves, they're terrifying. Could end in nothing but tears and broken bones. And that's exactly what makes them so damned exciting.

Meredith

[opening voice over] When I was 5, my mom lost me in a park. I don't remember much, except that one minute I was riding the carousel, and the next, she was gone. I don't remember how I found her. I don't remember how I got home. All I remember is what happened next. She told me not to worry. She told me everything would be fine. She told me it was time to play the quiet game, so I knew I wasn't supposed to ask any questions. Or else, I might have told her I forgot my doll. I loved that doll so much. It killed me to leave it behind. Funny, isn't it, the way memory works?

Meredith

[ending voice over] The things you can't quite remember, and the things you can never forget. There can be beauty in getting lost. Sometimes we have to get lost to find each other. And sometimes we find each other, only to get lost all over again. You can't always control it, the thing that's going to set you adrift. And as you stand there on the front porch, staring at the life you're about to leave behind, you have to accept it's gone, it's lost, just like you. All you can do now is stand very still, breathe in the moment, and try to be open to wherever the wind's going to take you next.