A Life Worth Living
Every day I choose life. Not because it's always easy, but because life is worth the choice.
Ocean Vuong
Vietnamese-American poet and novelist exploring family trauma and identity, author of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
All moments: Ocean Vuong
- Gladness as an Act of Resistance — Ocean Vuong
To be glad, to be full of life in a world that often wants to crush you — that is an act of rebellion.
- Between Two Worlds — Ocean Vuong
I'm not quite Vietnamese, I'm not quite American. I'm something in between, and that gives me a unique view of both cultures.
- Hope Demands Courage — Ocean Vuong
Hope is not naive. It's the most courageous choice you can make when the world tells you there is none.
- Language as Home — Ocean Vuong
Language is your first home. It gives you a place to be. For me, English was salvation because it gave me a voice when I had lost one.
- Writing as Healing — Ocean Vuong
When I write, I speak about pain, but I also describe the beauty that coexists with that pain. Life is not black and white.
- Kindness as Rescue — Ocean Vuong
I came into this life with suffering in my body. But I also came with love. And that love saved my life.
Related moments
- All Music Is Folk Music — Louis Armstrong
All music is folk music. I ain't never heard a horse sing a song.
- The Power of Compassion — Michael Jackson
The most important thing is love and compassion. They override everything.
- Music Is Life — Jon Batiste
Music is a spiritual practice, a therapy, a way to connect us to ourselves and each other
- Compromise and Conscience — Bob Dylan
I'll never sell my soul for money or fame. It's my only true asset.
- The Soul of Music — Questlove
Soul is what makes music real. It's what people feel
- Humble Beginnings — Paul McCartney
Nobody believed in us at first. We just believed in ourselves and the music.