Wars begin in the minds of men, and in those minds, love and compassion would have built the defenses of peace. U Thant Compassion • Defenses • Love • Men • Minds • Peace
The war we have to wage today has only one goal and that is to make the world safe for diversity. U Thant Diversity • Goal • One Goal • Safe • Today • War • World • World Safe
Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselves. U Thant Every Human • Human • Human Being • Others • Ourselves • Respect • Respect Others • Station • Whatever Origin
I prefer home-schooling because you can work at your own pace and go towards more what you're interested in, whether it be history or geography or math. Qorianka Kilcher Geography • Go • History • Homeschooling • Interested • Own • Pace • Towards • Work • You
I think it's important for us as a society to remember that the youth within juvenile justice systems are, most of the time, youths who simply haven't had the right mentors and supporters around them – because of circumstances beyond their control. Qorianka Kilcher Important • Justice • Juvenile Justice Systems • Remember • Society • Time • Us • Youth
I really identified with Pocahontas' struggles as a young woman trying to identify herself in a modern, changing world and trying to stay true to her culture and heritage. Qorianka Kilcher Culture • Her • Identify Herself • Modern • Pocahontas Struggles • True • Trying • Woman • World • Young Woman
I used to have all these plans and think 'Ah, I have my whole life figured out', but then I realized no matter how much I plan: life happens! So I find myself living day to day trying to do my best, embracing every moment as a learning opportunity and chance to get to know myself a little more. Qorianka Kilcher Ah • Best • Day • Learning • Life • Opportunity • Whole Life
If Pocahontas had been given the foresight to see what devastating consequences her actions and belief in the possibility of peace would have brought upon her people, I wonder if she would have avoided befriending the English or not. Qorianka Kilcher Actions • Consequences • Devastating Consequences • Foresight • Peace • People • Pocahontas • Possibility • She • Wonder
In Peru, if you gave somebody a little chance to do something, they took it to the furthest extent. They took nothing for granted. And here in L.A., you kind of get caught up in your own little dilemmas and your own little life. Qorianka Kilcher Chance • Furthest Extent • Kind • Life • Little Chance • Little Dilemmas • Nothing • Own • Peru • Something • You
I always wanted to be a singer, and so, when I was 5 years old, I started acting classes so I could be a better performer. I wanted to have a powerful voice so I could be heard. Qorianka Kilcher Acting • Better • Classes • Powerful • Powerful Voice • Singer • Voice • Years • Years Old
The things I do, I do from the heart and out of love and respect for our planet and all living things. And I draw my courage from my love for justice and truth, and I calm my fears by comforting those who are more scared than me. And I try to do my best to make the world a better place, one small action at a time, as good as I can. Qorianka Kilcher Action • Best • Better Place One • Courage • Fears • Good • Heart • Justice • Love • Planet • Things • Time • Truth
Yes, I'm proud to be indigenous. I'm half-Quechua-Huachipaeri from Peru. Qorianka Kilcher HalfQuechuaHuachipaeri • Indigenous • Peru • Proud • Yes
I just want to learn even more about my culture and about the Algonquin culture because I fell in love with Pocahontas and the Algonquin tribe. Qorianka Kilcher Algonquin • Culture • Learn • Love • More • Tribe • Want
I love the power of celebrity because you can give voice to the voiceless. Qorianka Kilcher Celebrity • Give • Love • Power • Voice • Voiceless • You
Portraying Pocahontas' story well was important to me because she was a real person and these were real events in her life. Qorianka Kilcher Events • Her • Important • Life • Me • Portraying Pocahontas Story • Real Person • She • Story
My father's Peruvian! I actually have a lot of family in Cuzco. I'm also Swiss, Alaskan, French, Spanish and Italian. Qorianka Kilcher Cuzco • Family • Father • French • Italian • Lot • Peruvian • Spanish • Swiss Alaskan French
I grew up doing a lot of traveling. My mom left home when she was 15 and traveled to 48 different countries and speaks six different languages. So I grew up with my eyes open. She raised me so that if my heart says something is wrong, I have to go help. What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong. Qorianka Kilcher Different Countries • Doing • Eyes • Heart • Heart Says Something • Home • Languages • Lot • Me • Mom • Open • Right • Wrong
I feel like, as a celebrity, I have a responsibility to tell important stories. Qorianka Kilcher Celebrity • Feel • Important • Important Stories • Responsibility • Tell
Films are very influential, and I especially feel a responsibility to tell stories that have been pushed aside. Being able to shed light on issues that need to be brought to the world. Qorianka Kilcher Able • Aside • Feel • Influential • Issues • Light • Need • Responsibility • Shed Light • Stories • World
I lose film roles because I'm a person who doesn't keep quiet about certain things. But if my heart tells me something is wrong, I'm going to go and do something about it. Qorianka Kilcher Certain Things • Film Roles • Heart • Heart Tells • Lose • Me • Person • Quiet • Something • Wrong
I honestly think I was an Indian living in the time of the Trail of Tears. Something like that. Every time I read books about back then, I get so devastatingly sad, so, so… I feel such a deep connection to it. Qorianka Kilcher Books • Deep • Devastatingly Sad • Every Time • Indian • Living • Sad • Something • Tears • Think • Time • Trail
You need people around you that care about you and are thinking about you in your best interest. And keep your mind straight. Qorianka Kilcher Best • Best Interest • Care • Mind • People • Straight • Thinking • You
I know that might sound silly coming from someone my age, but I remember on my 14th birthday having a crisis like my mom should be having. I kept thinking that I was getting older, and I haven't really accomplished anything. I remember thinking that I better accomplish something real soon. Qorianka Kilcher Accomplish Something Real • Age • Anything • Birthday • Getting Older • Mom • Older • Silly • Someone
My birthday is Feb. 11, and I'm both excited and not excited by it. You'll never be 15 again, and you really, really need to savor every day like it's your last. Qorianka Kilcher Birthday • Day • Every Day • Excited • Feb • Last • Need • You
Instead of locking people up and throwing away the key, it's important to invest in them and show them another way – show them what they can do, instead of telling them what they can't do. Because by investing in youth, we're investing into the future of this great nation of the United States of America. Qorianka Kilcher Future • Great • Great Nation • Important • Key • Locking People • People • United States • Way • Youth
'Firelight' is a beautiful story about a lot of young women. My character, Caroline, is a girl who has a bad boyfriend, and he ends up getting her locked up and incarcerated. Qorianka Kilcher Bad • Beautiful • Beautiful Story • Character • Character Caroline • Firelight • Girl • Lot • Story • Women • Young Women
Here in L.A., you kind of get stuck in your own little dilemmas and your own little life, and hearing a story like Pocahontas' reminds you there's a bigger world out there, and there are so many more important things in life. Qorianka Kilcher Important • Kind • Life • Little Dilemmas • Story • World • You
I'm writing from a place of – a center of authenticity, somewhere that only I know how to write from. K'naan Authenticity • Center • Know • Only • Place • Writing
It was not my dream to be an artist. How could it have been? I thought, artist, much like a leader, was something you either were or weren't. Never something you set out to be. K'naan Artist • Artist Much • Dream • Leader • Out • Something • Thought • You
It's not really that I'm interested in filmmaking. I'm interested in the instrument of it, you know. K'naan Filmmaking • Instrument • Interested • Know • You
Art isn't held with the same high regard as it is after success. In any country, in any language, you're a loser if you're making music until you prove otherwise. K'naan Art • Country • High Regard • Language • Loser • Music • Otherwise • Success
I wasn't making music consciously when I was younger. I was a musician, but that has its own stigmas. Anywhere on the planet, it's one of the more undervalued positions. K'naan More • Music • Music Consciously • Musician • Own • Planet • Stigmas • Undervalued Positions • Younger
You have to let the world speak to you and then you speak, you know, so I'm in that moment now where I'm finding the world's voice. K'naan Know • Moment • Speak • Voice • World • You
I know that often times a lot of people who work in music, whether they be labels and so on or even artists, want personal recognition. We want to be recognized for something, for what we did. I'd rather my song be recognized for what it's doing and that's important. It's not so important how many people know me. K'naan Doing • Important • Labels • Lot • Many • Me • Music • Music Whether • Often • People • Recognized • Something • Song • Times • Work
I am one of those people that's never been really cynical about life, you know. K'naan Cynical • I Am • Know • Life • Never • People • You
I faced quite a few challenging times, and in front of those, I was more positive than some people not facing those conditions. I'm actually of the belief now that it is that struggle that offers you that open-hearted hope. K'naan Actually • Belief • Challenging • Front • Hope • People • Positive • Struggle • Times • You
To reach your goal authentically is probably, in the end, going to mean much more to you than having reached it in a false way. K'naan End • Goal • Goal Authentically • Mean • Much • Probably • Reach • Way • You
You want to reach people, but you also want to reach them in the most authentic way. You now have a mass market and an audience that's listening, but they're in love with a song that means absolutely nothing to you. K'naan Authentic Way • Listening • Love • Mass Market • People • Song • Want • You
The people of Somalia just do not have a voice. They are to me the most forgotten people in the world. K'naan Forgotten • Forgotten People • Me • People • Somalia • Voice • World
I enjoy mediation. I think the artist's position is often to mend the things we feel are broken. Whether that's between two cultures or two thoughts. We're always trying to reach, trying to expand something. K'naan Artist • Between Two • Broken • Enjoy • Position • Something • Things • Think • Thoughts • Trying • Whether
I don't feel political most of the time. Sometimes I'm placed in positions because no one else will go there. K'naan Feel • One • Political • Positions • Sometimes • Time • Will
I'm an optimist about other people. I'm not an optimist about myself. K'naan About • Myself • Optimist • Other • People
My question about my art and my music has always been, 'Am I good, or am I good because?' I'm not the artist who wants to have the 'because' attached. K'naan Art • Artist • Good • Music • Question • Who
I think it's a mistake to work on success in career. I've worked on my passions obsessively. How can I say what I want to say more precisely than the last time I said it? Success is such an elusive concept. When you work for it, I think you get it in a way you might regret it. K'naan Career • Last Time • Mistake • Passions Obsessively • Precisely • Regret • Success • Time • Way • Work
It was interesting to find how dominating American vision is all over the world. I think there's something to be said about the world's mindset and its economics and all of that, and I think it affects the way we see ourselves and it affects music. K'naan Dominating American Vision • Economics • Interesting • Mindset • Music • Something • Think • Vision • World
The poetry I grew up on is really an intense form of poetry; it's so pure and powerful. K'naan Intense • Intense Form • Poetry • Powerful • Pure • Up
From the stage, I can reach a large audience, and you learn from being on stage how much a song reaches, what extent of the crowd a song can reach. I write in a way that can reach most of the audience, but I also wanted to have truly intimate moments as well, many intimate moments, more so than the big moments. K'naan Audience • Intimate • Large • Learn • Moments • Much • Reach • Song • Stage • Way • You
The only way I see the world now is through coming out of and growing up and living in Somalia. In the time of war, everyone was basically trying to live and manage the best they could. But you also had another period which was not a hard time at all – it was just a beautiful time. I lived in both eras. K'naan Another Period • Beautiful • Best • Eras • Hard Time • Live • Somalia • Time • War • War Everyone • Way • World
Somalis really are very musically sophisticated, and they're about their own thing. K'naan Musically • Own • Sophisticated • Thing
I'm not about trying to get and get and get. I feel good when I get, but I kind of feel better when I give. K'naan Better • Feel • Feel Good • Good • Trying
U Thant
Qorianka Kilcher
K'naan
