Quotes from Girl in Translation

Jean Kwok ·  290 pages

Rating: (39.5K votes)


“What a relationship looks like on the outside isn't the same as what it's like on the inside. You can be more in love with someone in your mind than with the person you see every day.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


“Sometimes our fate is different from the one we imagined for ourselves.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


“Nobody can change who you are, except for you.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


“I never want to love someone like that,not even him,so much that there would be no room left for myself,so much that I wouldn't be able to survive if he left me.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


“You may need to change your dreams.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation



“I was a fool. I should have grabbed him when I could have had him all to myself, snatched him up like a ripe mango at the market. But how was I to know that this was what love felt like?”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


“We would be allowed to work and not cause any trouble for her, but she didn't want us to be any more successful than she was”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


“I have not been so much pushed by winds as pulled forward by the force of my decisions.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


“No matter how flawed someone else may be, that doesn't give us the right to be less than we are, does it? We are decent people and we repay our debts.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


“When I’m with you, I could drink water and be full.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation



“Dice un proverbio chino que el destino es como un temporal de vientos que, provenientes de todos los rincones, azotan nuestras vidas y nos empujan por las sendas del tiempo; quienes posean fuerza de voluntad, lucharán contra la tormenta y podrán escoger su propio camino, mientras que los débiles acabarán allá adonde los lleve la tempestad.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


“It may not seem like much - a few kisses in the dark - but it was enough to burn a hole like an ulcer in my heart.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


“There's a Chinese saying that the fates are winds that blow through our lives from every angle, urging us along the paths of time. Those who are strong-willed may fight the storm and possibly choose their own road, while the weak must go where they are blown. I say I have not been so much pushed by winds as pulled forward by the force of my decisions.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


“Avevo perso gran parte del mio interesse per i cosmetici. Non che avessi smesso di preoccuparmi del mio aspetto, anzi, ma non riuscivo a comprendere sino in fondo come si potesse risultare simpatica o bella. Non capivo come funzionavano queste cose.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


“I would have chosen statistical probabilities over luck any day.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation



“Me sentía como un espantapájaros ante una tempestad. En cualquier momento, el viento podría derribarme y esparcir todas las piezas que formaban mi cuerpo. Me despertaría para darme cuenta de que no quedaba nada de mí, ni rastro de la persona que quería ser.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


“I never want to love someone like that, not even Matt, so much that there would be no room left for myself, so much that I wouldn’t be able to survive if he left me.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


“nadie puede cambiar lo que eres, excepto tú misma.”
― Jean Kwok, quote from Girl in Translation


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About the author

Jean Kwok
Born place: Hong Kong
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“From time to time, Musk will send out an e-mail to the entire company to enforce a new policy or let them know about something that’s bothering him. One of the more famous e-mails arrived in May 2010 with the subject line: Acronyms Seriously Suck: There is a creeping tendency to use made up acronyms at SpaceX. Excessive use of made up acronyms is a significant impediment to communication and keeping communication good as we grow is incredibly important. Individually, a few acronyms here and there may not seem so bad, but if a thousand people are making these up, over time the result will be a huge glossary that we have to issue to new employees. No one can actually remember all these acronyms and people don’t want to seem dumb in a meeting, so they just sit there in ignorance. This is particularly tough on new employees. That needs to stop immediately or I will take drastic action—I have given enough warnings over the years. Unless an acronym is approved by me, it should not enter the SpaceX glossary. If there is an existing acronym that cannot reasonably be justified, it should be eliminated, as I have requested in the past. For example, there should be no “HTS” [horizontal test stand] or “VTS” [vertical test stand] designations for test stands. Those are particularly dumb, as they contain unnecessary words. A “stand” at our test site is obviously a *test* stand. VTS-3 is four syllables compared with “Tripod,” which is two, so the bloody acronym version actually takes longer to say than the name! The key test for an acronym is to ask whether it helps or hurts communication. An acronym that most engineers outside of SpaceX already know, such as GUI, is fine to use. It is also ok to make up a few acronyms/contractions every now and again, assuming I have approved them, eg MVac and M9 instead of Merlin 1C-Vacuum or Merlin 1C-Sea Level, but those need to be kept to a minimum.”
― Ashlee Vance, quote from Elon Musk: Inventing the Future


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