Artists are not cheerleaders, and we're not the heads of tourism boards. We expose and discuss what is problematic, what is contradictory, what is hurtful and what is silenced in the culture we're in.
Junot DiazRead
She would be a new person, she vowed. They said no matter how far a mule travels it can never come back a horse, but she would show them all.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a determination to transform oneself, despite others' doubts about the possibility of such a change.
In this quote by Junot Díaz, the speaker reflects on the desire for personal transformation and challenges the notion that one's fundamental nature is unchangeable. The reference to a mule and a horse symbolizes societal expectations and limitations, suggesting that with resolve and commitment, one can defy these perceptions and emerge as a 'new person', demonstrating that true change is possible regardless of past circumstances.
Themes
TransformationChangeDeterminationSelf-ImprovementNew Beginnings
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about personal growth.
More from Junot Diaz
All quotes →Run a hand through your hair, like the white boys do, even though the only thing that runs easily through your hair is Africa.
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I can see myself watching him shave every morning. And at other time I see us in that house and see how one bright day (or a day like this, so cold your mind shifts every time the wind does) he will wake up and decide it's all wrong. I'm sorry, he'll say. I have to leave now.
Junot DiazRead
Migration gives a blank cheque to put anything you don't feel like addressing in the memory hold. No neighbours can go against the monster narrative of your family.
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We all dream dreams of unity, of purity; we all dream that there's an authoritative voice out there that will explain things, including ourselves.
Junot DiazRead
I think 90% of my ideas evaporate because I have a terrible memory and because I seem to be committed to not scribble anything down. As soon as I write it down, my mind rejects it.
Junot DiazRead
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