I would have written 'Brown Girl Dreaming' if no one had ever wanted to buy it, if it went nowhere but inside a desk drawer that my own children pulled out one day to find a tool for survival, a symbol of how strong we are and how much we've come through.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of creating for oneself rather than for the validation from others.
Jacqueline Woodson expresses the idea that the act of writing is valuable in and of itself, irrespective of external validation or commercial success. She highlights the notion that her work, 'Brown Girl Dreaming', serves as a legacy not just for her own children but as a testament to resilience and strength, reflecting the struggles and triumphs of her life and heritage.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of pursuing your passions, this quote can be used to inspire others to create for their own enjoyment and fulfillment.
'Brown Girl Dreaming' was a book I had a lot of doubts about - mainly, would this story be meaningful to anyone besides me? My editor, Nancy Paulsen, kept assuring me, but there were moments when I was in a really sad place with the story for so many reasons. It wasn't an easy book to write - emotionally, physically, or creatively.
In the midst of observing the world and coming to consciousness, I was becoming a writer, and what I wanted to put on the page were the stories of people who looked like me.
Sometimes you do have to laugh to keep from crying. And sometimes the world feels all right and good and kind of like it's becoming nice again around you. And you realize it, and realize how happy you are in it, and you just gotta laugh.
I don't want anyone to walk through the world feeling invisible ever again.
The strength of my mother is something I didn't pay attention to for so long. Here she was, this single mom, who was part of the Great Migration, who was part of a Jim Crow south, who said, 'I'm getting my kids out of here. I'm creating opportunities for these young people by any means necessary.'
I love how much love there is in the world of young adult and children's literature.
Let us therefore continue our triumphal march to the realization of the American dream... for all of us today, the battle is in our hands... The road ahead is not altogether a smooth one. There are no broad highways that lead us easily and inevitably to quick solutions... We are still in for the season of suffering... How long? Not long. Because no lie can live forever... our God is marching on.
I'm writing. The pages are starting to stack up. My morale is improving the more I feel like a writer.
Every Pixar movie at one time was the worst motion picture ever made.
I was not naturally talented. I didn't sing, dance or act, though working around that minor detail made me inventive.
I am not ashamed of my past; I am not ashamed of my humble beginnings.
The urge to explore has propelled evolution since the first water creatures reconnoitered the land. Like all living systems, cultures cannot remain static; they evolve or decline. They explore or expire. . . . Beyond all rationales, space flight is a spiritual quest in the broadest sense, one promising a revitalization of humanity and a rebirth of hope no less profound than the great opening out of mind and spirit at the dawn of our modern age.
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