A Pho Love Story Quotes

“But in anything you love, isn’t there always some bit of sadness, some essence of suffering? That, to me, is what makes art worth it. Suffer through it—mine the emotions you keep inside yourself, face whatever’s emotionally burdensome, take control of it—then emerge reborn in the end.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“Think about what you want. What you want to make and add to the world.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“There’s so much in your life that you can’t control.… So maybe you can use this chance to do something for yourself.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“She's scared. And I wish I could tell her that I am too, that I don't know how it'll work. But if we could just hold hands a bit longer maybe we could figure it out.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“I regret many things in life, and I know I’ll regret many more at the rate I’m going.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“I watch her shoulders move as she breathes, until I realize I’ve timed my breathing with hers.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“When I paint, there’s always a moment where I just know that I’m finally finished. The colors and textures come together to depict a feeling of rightness.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“Ba, all the struggles that you went through. You’ve surpassed them. Now you just deserve to live.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“I’m still here, you know. Nothing’s changing the way I feel about you. Whatever we find out, we’ll find out together.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“Sometimes when I think too much, I make myself sadder, which doesn't help at all.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“I find refuge in art, escaping thoughts like this, to regain control when life throws another obstacle my way. When I work, magic happens; for a few hours at a time, the world just slips away.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“We're background characters in each other's stories.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“It’s an unfortunate reminder that as much as my community represents the true American Dream—building a foundation out of uncertain hopes and dreams—people like you would rather be ignorant or spread hate than accept this reality.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“A good life only comes if you have security—that’s what my mom’s basically saying. Anything beyond that is just a pipe dream”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“There are people out there who don't have the energy to help people get better. They just accept the other person's flaws, and sure, there's less conflict to deal with, but it's almost like living out a lie. Then there are people who aren’t afraid to point out something’s wrong—even something as little as a typo. In the end, you’re making something better, and that’s more than other people are willing to do.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“For people like us, sadness is part of our inspiration. Others might bottle up their sadness and pour it out on certain occasions, but we let it pour from us and into our medium.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“It’s crushing to see my parents look scared. Because when they’re frightened they’re no longer the people who raised me to be strong, but strangers who look older than they really are.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“Why does bánh xèo taste good when it rains?”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“The light falls on our family’s black-and-white photos, which have watched over me as long as memory serves me. The sight of them sends me some hope. Whatever happens today, they will be our witnesses.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“This is becoming something more, but like many things in my life, it can’t all happen at once. These feelings, this crush, whatever you call it, they’re something to keep to myself. To contain before it gets reckless.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“That’s Ali. This is me. And I want you, specically, to read this.”
“Why?” I say, laughter bubbling in my throat.
“Because I’ve never written something like this. So I want you to be the first one to read my first article.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“It’s easy, when you’re having fun, to forget about matters that seemed important only an hour ago. Or at least pretend that they don’t exist.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“A good life. A good life only comes if you have security—that’s what my mom’s basically saying. Anything beyond that is just a pipe dream.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“It’s just a suggestion, she probably thinks nothing of it, but the easy dismissal of my hobby makes the taste of patê sô linger uncomfortably on my tongue.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“But I lied to you, Bao. I want us. I've always wanted us.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“I sit up quickly and my vision spins. Sometimes when I think too much, I make myself sadder, which doesn’t help at all. I find refuge in art, escaping thoughts like this, to regain control when life throws another obstacle in my way. When I work, magic happens; for a few hours at a time, the world just slips away. I don’t have to listen to customers comparing me to Evie. Any worries about upcoming tests or working a shift at the restaurant - that all takes a second place in my mind. My attention fixates on an image or an idea that doesn’t exist just yet, and can’t exist without me.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“Go back where? Where else would Linh’s parents go? My parents? By now, half of their lives have been spent here. The country they remember us not the one that exists today. So why should they go when they so clearly belong here?”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“In my mind’s eye, far into the future, I’m seeing myself in a newsroom, a big one. In some big city. I see nights working under desk lamps. Ink staining my shirt cuffs, eyes tight and bleary from unrest. I see words flowing from my fingertips.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“What did Hansan Minhaj say one time? Older siblings ‘go to war’ for their younger siblings? Because that’s what it was like. That’s what I did. So that really means, you owe me everything.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story

“It’s generally accepted that in families like ours, the older kids have it way harder. We’re the fines pigs in a real-world lab.”
― Loan Le, A Pho Love Story