Teju Cole Quotes
Being Nigerian is a strong part of my identity. Being American is a strong part of my identity. And there are important parts of who I am that really have nothing to do with my national connection.
Quotes to Explore
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When I was a kid, I had an Atari 2600, and I would play Pac Man, Frogger, all that kind of stuff. And I did enjoy going to the arcade.
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I hardly ever stretch the canvas before painting.
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I'm my own hero on the sets; why should I work with other heroes? The Khans did not want to work with me when I started. Why should I work with them now?
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Do we exert our own liberties without injury to others - we exert them justly; do we exert them at the expense of others - unjustly. And, in thus doing, we step from the sure platform of liberty upon the uncertain threshold of tyranny.
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When you're competitive, the last thing you want to do is come out of a game, regardless of what kind of injury it is - whether it's an ankle, a knee, a rib, or a head injury.
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I have two tutors - a maths tutor and another tutor who does all the other subjects. It is part of the deal with myself; I really want to finish school. I like learning and education, and I think it is really important.
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I've never been a calm, midrange type person.
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Of all presidential perks, the pardon power has a special significance. It is just the kind of authority that would attract the special attention of someone obsessed with himself and his own ability to influence events.
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When I was young, I was rather attractive, and I thought that I would be a leading lady. I always thought of myself as a dramatic actress, but of course the opportunities for blacks weren't there at the time.
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I wish I had given more time to learning classical singing.
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I have to admit I can be pretty high strung and tightly wound.
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To feel valued, to know, even if only once in a while, that you can do a job well is an absolutely marvelous feeling.
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She did not admire him any more than she had. It was merely that she considered him the Lesser of two evils.
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Everyone his own cinematographer. His own stream-of-consciousness e-mail poet. His own nightclub DJ. His own political columnist. His own biographer of his top-10 friends!
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I've travelled a huge amount, but almost all of it has been through work. I spent five years stationed in London in the special services of the American Air Force, producing and directing shows for the troops, which I absolutely loved.
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I'm now a member of a pretty small club.
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I don't think I was funny until college. I lived with some Harvard MD/PhD students - they were so smart, and what I contributed to the house was, I was the funny one.
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Oh God, are you supposed to collect things? I don't collect things. I like throwing things away.
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I was invincible. I believed all my problems were gone and I finally made it, that L.A. was my answer to everything.
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It's not a crime to make a mistake; in fact, it's human. I certainly have made mistakes.
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Be these people either Conservatives or Socialists, Yellows or Reds, the most important thing is - and that is the point I want to stress - that all of them are right in the plain and moral sense of the word.
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Whatever became of the moment when one first knew about death? There must have been one. A moment. In childhood. When it first occurred to you that you don’t go on forever. It must have been shattering, stamped into one’s memory. And yet, I can’t remember it.
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The ego is always looking to find something. The Spirit can see what's already there.
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Being Nigerian is a strong part of my identity. Being American is a strong part of my identity. And there are important parts of who I am that really have nothing to do with my national connection.
