Red String Theory Quotes

“You don’t need a plan. Life will unfold in front of us, depending on which corner we turn down. I’m always discovering new places this way.” “So, no plan.” I prefer plans. No, I require them. I need to know how long something will take. When can I expect to be back at my hotel? Is where we’ll be walking safe? There are too many unknowns without a plan.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“Love is so unknown, and I need to know the unknown. I’ve never met someone who I could feel secure enough with, I suppose. Never met someone who could be there consistently.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“It’s my new life’s mission to show you how much you mean to me.” He clears his throat, pausing for a moment. “How much I love you.” “You love me,” I repeat. “And not just in theory?”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“But you’re never going to get back the time you can spend together. When you find someone you want to dance with every morning, put on your dancing shoes and get stepping.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“You can’t believe in one thing sometimes and another thing at other times only when it’s convenient for you,” I say. Gōng Gong lifts his shoulders. “Why not? Are we not complicated, contradictory beings? I want to be at the aquarium with you. I also want to be home making ice cream.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“For us to witness aurora borealis at all, and to see certain colors, depends on where we are in the world. The timing has to be right. There are so many variables at play. So many environmental factors that need to align.” A weak smile crosses her face. “Just like fate.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“don’t subscribe to the belief that we should be passive in life. If we want something, we have the power to go get it. To make it happen.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“Love is so unknown, and I need to know the unknown. I’ve never met someone who I could feel secure enough with, I suppose. Never met someone who could be there consistently.” Rooney nods, listening intently. I continue talking. “Being in love seems like jumping into the deep end without knowing how to swim. Or going to space without a crew in Mission Control helping guide you.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“The thing about control”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“If I had to eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would probably be rice.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“Have you ever wondered how many good-bye kisses happen outside of taxis?” I ask, still in a daze.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“Occasional bright yellow taxis roll past us down the avenues, slowing just enough to make their presences known. There’s one about every three minutes or so, its roof light blinking on for attention before it disappears out of sight. New York City’s version of fireflies.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“Don’t wait around forever being an observer in your own life.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“We’re two bodies made of stardust colliding, burning brighter and hotter than anything else in the universe. Two people on opposite ends of a string coming together after years of tangling and stretching, but never breaking.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“You will always be busy chasing the next promotion, the next achievement. Rooney will, too, with her art shows. But you’re never going to get back the time you can spend together. When you find someone you want to dance with every morning, put on your dancing shoes and get stepping.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“And every night, no matter what happens in the day, the moon is always right where it should be in the sky.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“Jack and I, we’re a meteor. A streak of light burning up before it has a chance to make it anywhere at all. At least, for one night, we got to be a shooting star.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“Being in love seems like jumping into the deep end without knowing how to swim. Or going to space without a crew in Mission Control helping guide you.” “It does seem like that,” Rooney agrees. “But I love the unknown because it’s hopeful and explorative. You have to take a leap of faith.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“All I can say is I’m glad to be here in this moment in time with you.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“Here’s some ice cream science for you: when ice cream melts, it tastes sweeter than when it’s frozen. Frozen ice cream numbs the tongue. Melted ice cream doesn’t, so you taste more of the sugar when the ice cream is melted.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“Rumor has it that the host of the party worked with a local artist to make these. They may even be biodegradable and fire resistant. Once the fuel runs out, the lantern will drift back to earth safely.” Jack frowns. “Have those claims been tested? What’s the plan? Do we go collect them around the city afterwards?” “We’re about to test them right now.” I set the used match on the table. “The plan is this: I just lit the fuel cell, and now I’ll lift this up by myself, which is, of course, even more dangerous to do alone.” I peek over at Jack out of the corner of my eye. He doesn’t move. “Your wish is definitely not coming true now,” I continue, maneuvering my way under the lantern. “Only people who help get wishes.” Jack watches on stubbornly as I try to balance the lantern in my arms. I gasp at a light dent I’ve made in the lantern, trying to be dramatic enough so he’ll help. Jack finally gives in, grasping for the lantern as it wobbles against me. “You’re a bad influence,” he says. “Am I really so bad?” I carefully move my hands under the lantern. Jack overcompensates and extends his long arms under the entire rim to the point where we’re practically holding hands. We push the lantern down low enough so we can see each other over the top of it. In the yellow glow, I see pink blossom across his cheeks. I feel my face warm in the same way, and I know it’s not because of the heat from the flame below us. “If we do this, we have to do it the right way,” Jack says. “I can do some quick math. Figure out the coordinates and proper angle to release this. Preferably away from the police station. Do you know where that is?” He looks at me expectantly. I wave one of my arms toward downtown, and the lantern is thrown off balance. “Somewhere over there.” Jack steadies the lantern and looks up at an angle. “The wind is blowing west. That’s good. Let’s use that to our benefit. Lift it higher. Come slightly more toward me.” I shuffle three baby steps in his direction. “We can aim it toward the river and away from all the buildings and people.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“That’s art, baby. You gave it to the world when you created it. It’s no longer yours.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“It’s a Chinese legend where Yuè Lǎo, the god of love and marriage, connects two people by the ankles with a red thread. Those two people are then destined lovers, regardless of place, time, or circumstances. The magical string may stretch or tangle, but never break. Romantic, right?”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“It’s not like I’m famous or anything. Literally no one knows who I am. They just can’t see me making the art, because then they will know.” “And what’s so wrong with people knowing who you are?” Mom asks. I think of how to phrase it. That if people know who I am, they’ll put the pieces together that I’m Wren Gao’s daughter. The infamous baby who was born in a museum. It was such a sensation that it had become my entire identity until enough time had passed and I was no longer a child. I also don’t need the literal beginning of my life on display for everyone to see. It’s why I want to buy Baby Being Born back so no one can own something that is private and personal to me. So that a museum can’t play the moment I entered the world on repeat for days on end against a large white wall for strangers to watch and comment on. Is that so much to ask? I don’t know how to explain it to her. Instead, I just ask one question. “Do you regret it? Filming my birth?” Mom shakes her head firmly. “I don’t believe in looking backwards. It gave us financial security, that video. It gave me the career of my wildest dreams. Long-lasting art imitates life.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“This installation is my interpretation of something scientific to show how fate has more influence than we think. When visitors come by, they’re supposed to grab a Fate Note and write on it,” I explain, uncapping my red pen to write something onto the wrinkled note as an example. “Here, I’ll show you how it works. People can write a joke, a wish, whatever they want. They slip the note between the web of string and grab one in return. By doing this, they’ll become linked with the person who wrote the note. They’ll be influenced no matter how far apart they are.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“At forty-one years old, Wren Gao had become a name that was read aloud in newspapers and whispered about around dinner tables. Even when she toted me around as a kid from country to country, her career didn’t slow down once. If it takes eighteen years and giving birth for a career to take off, then I have a very, very long road ahead of me. I shouldn’t compare myself with her. Our careers are completely different. My mom is a famous artist whose work now commands five-to-six figures at auction, and I can hardly scrape by with string pet portraits. Not that she doesn’t offer to help me out. I just don’t want her money or connections. My career is supposed to be something that I accomplish on my own. And when I one day match or, better yet, exceed her level of success, I’ll know it was because of my efforts. We hide behind a thick tree trunk, watching people’s reactions from afar. I’m pleased to see that their attentions are drawn from their phones mid-walk, which is not an easy feat.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“But maybe, just maybe, there’s more to it than you think,” Rooney says, pushing on. “There’s more happening in the universe than we’ll ever see. Some things in the past take time to reach us in the present. In the meantime, we wait.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“Thank you for helping me make my point,” I say. “You believe that dark matter is real, even though you can’t see it or feel it. It’s literally a mystery. And yet fate is too difficult to fathom. The signs are more obvious to me now than they’ve ever been. You can’t honestly tell me you don’t see any.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“Behind the glass windows on the far side of the wall are the San Gabriel Mountains. This view from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory never gets old.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory

“Chinese restaurants are like the North Star. They’re always there when we need them. Constant and dependable. They guide us when we’re lost, hungry, or just need to get our bearings.”
― Lauren Kung Jessen, Red String Theory