Justine Larbalestier Quotes

It wasn't that the teachers were bad. From what I can remember, they were pretty good. It was about the selection of books. It was about not seeing my young life reflected back to me: my family dynamics, the noise and complexities of my neighborhood, the things I loved, like ice cream trucks and Kool-Aid.

When I was writing stories about Chinese American characters in my fiction classes, I'd get comments like, 'You should consider writing more universal stories.' But anything can happen to a Chinese American girl - just as much of the canon of English literature involves white men or women.

I'm looking forward to it, to be able to represent the black culture... but I'm doing my best at managing it, keeping it behind me, and that's the best thing I can do.

They're strange, the Aussies. Because if they like you, they say, 'Oh, he's an Aussie.' And I keep saying, 'I'm not, I'm from Preston.' There's nothing Australian about me. Don't start claiming me just because I've got a job over here.

My introduction to art history was like everybody else's. You see an art history book that has works by Rembrandt and Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Yes, these things are great. But I don't see a reflection of myself in any of these things I'm looking at.

I paint American people, and I tell American stories through the paintings I create.

I wanted to represent for Polynesians, and that was always my goal, because not everyone knows about us, and I just want to represent for them.

You hold everybody that's Polynesian or Samoan on your shoulders. You want to do your best to represent that in the best way that you can.

When I looked at 'Dear White People,' you have four African-American students who are all very different and who are trying to figure out who they are. They're dealing with identity issues and crises. That is exciting to me, to see African-American young people on a page, on a screen, who are so diverse and whose stories are all so different.

I find Australia compelling and vexatious at the best of times; I've never been able to get it out of my system since going there as a young lecturer, and yet however much I love revisiting it, I always feel I have to leave again.

Growing, up I didn't really have anyone to look up to. There weren't a lot of Mexicans on T.V. except for those in boxing.

When I asked myself what I'd want to see in a comic about a Pakistani superhero, the first word that came to mind was 'relatable.'

Growing up in Malaysia, there wasn't really a problem with representation. We saw faces like ours on screen because Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, China and Hong Kong all have their own film markets. It was only until I went back to the U.K. when I realized, 'Where did all these faces go?'

Authorities in Rabat believe that if we create a Moroccan character, even in a work of fiction, we are responsible for the image of Moroccan women.

Even if Pearl S. Buck hadn't spent most of her life in China, she'd have every right to write about it.

Each Disney princess is unique in their own way, but Moana is especially close to my heart because she's Polynesian.

I always wanted to let people know I was Filipino, but I didn't want to go up on stage and make it so you wouldn't understand my jokes because you're white or black. I always wanted to let people know I was Filipino through my mom. That was always my goal. That way, everyone got it. You don't have to be Filipino to understand my mom.

As an ethnic female in wrestling, there will be people reading my words and I want to set an example. I did experience racism.

At age 10, or even 15, it would have meant the world to me to see a Pakistani girl portrayed positively, let alone as a comic book superhero.

I feel that its important for me to be out there and to represent the face. At the same time, for me as an individual, I think the Asian-American face can be crowded with the American identity.

Being Latino in this market, in the past 20 years, I hadn't gone out for the white dude next door, but Netflix had that vision. Netflix is changing all of that, not only in the production aspect, but they're trying to include everybody.

I don't know what it is to feel very British, but I feel that it's home, so I'm very happy to represent Great Britain.

I don't mean it egotistically, but I've been given the chance to be in front of people and sing, and I feel that it's part of my job and my duty - especially where I'm from - to speak the language of the people I'm around and speak for them.

When I could choose which national team to play for, I could choose between Luxembourg, France, and Bosnia, and I chose Bosnia because I felt it was important to demonstrate, especially to the young people, that a dream can become true.

I think it's amazing that I can go out there and be myself, and the fact that I'm carrying Puerto Rico on my back a little bit is such an honor.