There is power in seeing a face that looks like yours do something, be someone. There is power in moving from the sidelines to the center.
Interpretation
Seeing representation empowers individuals to take action and be seen.
Jenny Han's quote emphasizes the importance of representation and visibility in fostering self-confidence and empowerment. When individuals see others who look like them succeeding or taking charge, it encourages them to step out of the shadows and assert their own identities and potential. The transition from the sidelines to the center symbolizes taking an active role in one's life and society.
In practice
Using this quote in a speech at a diversity and inclusion conference.
It's important for Asian American kids to see themselves in stories and to feel seen. They need to know that their stories are universal, too, that they, too, can fall in love in a teen movie. They don't have to be the sidekick; they can be the hero.
If I had not been discriminated against or had not suffered persecution, I would never have received the Nobel Prize.
A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.
Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills. Your steps and breath like the wind of dawn smother houses. The city shudders, Stones exhale— you are life, an awakening. Star lost in the light of dawn, trill of the breeze, warmth, breath— the night is done. You are light and morning.
Never underestimate the power of intrinsic values. They inspire every struggle for a better world.
Over the years, I had nurtured the hope to be able to fly; to handle a machine as it rose higher and higher in the stratosphere was my dearest dream.
The sun is always shining someplace.
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