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\"She's always so happy,\" Williams said. \"You can learn this from kids, it's like they don't have a care. Sometimes we put too much emphasis on things and on stuff that we really just have to rely on us and just being happy. That's very inspiring for me.\"

Aside from these women, the tennis legend -- who has 23 Grand Slam singles titles under her belt -- said she finds inspiration in everyday women and recently partnered with Bumble to select five deserving women for the app's inagural \"Women of Courage\" list.

The women selected include a teacher who has adapted to virtual teaching amid the pandemic, a nurse who has worked on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19 and other women who went above and beyond to lift up their communities.

\"2020 was a very tough year for everyone; it's been difficult -- and with that comes a lot of courage,\" Williams said. \"The courage that we saw comes from everyday women -- not people you automatically look up to or people that are posters on your wall, it's really people for me that are either in your house or people next door to you that you can be inspired by.\"

\"PHOTO:
FilmMagic via Getty Images, FILE
PHOTO: Serena Williams (R) and sister Venus Williams pose with their mother Oracene Price at the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Ceremony in New York, Dec. 15, 2015.
>

While the women highlighted by Bumble's \"Women of Courage\" list have all done incredible things to stand out, the four-time Olympic gold medalist said it doesn't take that to be considered courageous and sometimes \"just literally getting up every day\" is enough.

\"You never know what people are going through and you never know the challenges they face,\" Williams said. \"I really feel it's so important not to judge a book by its cover; it's so much more on the inside and what's on the outside.\"

\"So I think having resilience is something that really we all can relate to [this year],\" she continued. \"I'm really excited to lift these women up and let them have a voice.\"

As the year comes to a close, Williams said she is setting \"reasonable expectations\" for 2021 because this year has shown her how things can change \"in a blink of an eye.\"

\"It's all just about positive energy,\" she said. \"I'm just looking forward to just hopefully having a better year but also just staying positive no matter what happens.\"

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