Maya Soetoro-Ng

“I think we could benefit from world history that is specifically taught in a multi-faceted fashion that allows for an understanding that perspectives on truth can be very different.”

“Government should exist in order to help fortify the country and make those who are in need better able to meet their own.”

“I like that there are young people being given opportunities to explore and learn and grow and become themselves with a path that is associated with my mother. She would have liked that very much.”

“This is not a family of privilege by any stretch of the imagination. Our family is very low key.”

“I don't think the White House has always reflected the textures and flavors of this country.”

“My mother would have enjoyed the idea that her name was being used to build bridges. She cared a great deal and was very thoughtful and passionate about education and young women.”

“Government is supposed to lead by example in many cases. Government that's not particularly caring and is hands-off is not particularly inspiring.”

“My father saw Islam as a way to connect with the community. He never went to prayer services except for big communal events. I am absolutely certain that my father did not go to services every Friday. He was not religious.”

“My hope is that I can continue writing and, in the future, I can just be Maya Soetoro-Ng.”

“Being told that I looked like I belonged everywhere and to everyone helped me feel my fledgling pride in my own multiracialism.”

“I think a lot about our globalized world, our global interconnectedness, and it really saddens me when I see people 'othering,' when I see people who are willing to live narrowly.”

“I'm half white, half Asian. I think of myself as hybrid. People usually think I'm Latina when they meet me. That's what made me learn Spanish.”

“I've always kept a journal and brought storytelling into my teaching.”

“Slow down and think about the lessons of the elders.”

“We all have a limited amount of good judgment.”

“I think you can have varied and seemingly contradictory depictions of a single person because we all have many facets and, in a way, many selves.”

“I ended up very American and very Indonesian and a little bit of a lot of things.”

“Each of us has a right to name ourselves as we will.”

“My mother was a courageous woman, and she had such tremendous love for life. She loved the natural world. She would wake us up in the middle of the night to go look at the moon. When I was a teenager, this was a source of great frustration because I wanted to sleep.”

“We need to teach our children empathy and care and love and communication and social responsibility in preparation for adulthood.”