--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Happy is a poor word for someone who's…" description: "\"“Happy is a poor word for someone who's trying to live a rainbow-colored life in a black-and-white world.”\" — Kate Bornstein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/kate-bornstein-11426_happy_happy-is-a-poor-word-for-someone-who-s-t_2313156.jpg" --- # Happy is a poor word for someone who's trying to live a… ![“Happy is a poor word for someone who's trying to live a rainbow-colored life in a black-and-white world.” quote by Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/kate-bornstein-11426_happy_happy-is-a-poor-word-for-someone-who-s-t_2313156.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/kate-bornstein-11426_happy_happy-is-a-poor-word-for-someone-who-s-t_2313156.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/kate-bornstein-11426_happy_happy-is-a-poor-word-for-someone-who-s-t_2313156.jpg) > ““Happy is a poor word for someone who's trying to live a rainbow-colored life in a black-and-white world.”” [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts a vibrant, colorful personal vision with a dull, monochrome reality, highlighting the difficulty of living authentically. **In simple terms:** Living a colorful life feels impossible in a bland world. Key Takeaway Embrace your colors despite the gray. Themes identity creativity authenticity Mood reflective determined Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - art - personal identity - mental health Key Concepts self-expression social conformity Questions to Reflect On - How can you bring color into daily life? - What does a “rainbow-colored” life look like for you? A Different Perspective Societal pressure can mute individuality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Colored Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colored-life-5501361/) [Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy/) [Happy Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-poor-2836069/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Rainbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rainbow/) [Rainbow Colored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rainbow-colored-4506500/) ## Related quotes > [I had a very rainbow-colored childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-wolff/i-had-a-very-rainbow-colored-childhood/) [Alex Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-wolff/) > [“Because we're all rainbow-colored inside, each of us a different arrangement, of course. The kiss just makes all the colors more concentrated, so intense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-callahan/because-we-re-all-rainbow-colored-inside-each-of-us-a-different/) [Tess Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-callahan/) > [The lily in splendor, the vine in her grace, The fox in the forest, all had their desire, As then I had mine, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-pitter/the-lily-in-splendor-the-vine-in-her-grace-the-fox-in-the-forest-all/) [Ruth Pitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-pitter/) > [Can you be happy with the movies, and the ads, and the clothes in the stores, and the doctors, and the eyes as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/can-you-be-happy-with-the-movies-and-the-ads-and-the-clothes-in-the/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [I AM HAPPY, EVEN WHEN I AM POOR!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikel-musial/i-am-happy-even-when-i-am-poor/) [Mikel Musial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikel-musial/) > [Man must be happy, as happy as a poor child cheerfully playing with his poor toy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/man-must-be-happy-as-happy-as-a-poor-child-cheerfully-playing-with/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I've been poor, so I know I can be happy and poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chappell-roan/i-ve-been-poor-so-i-know-i-can-be-happy-and-poor/) [Chappell Roan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chappell-roan/) > […gender is not sane. It's not sane to call a rainbow black and white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/gender-is-not-sane-it-s-not-sane-to-call-a-rainbow-black-and-white/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [Mostly we just add to the piles of rainbow glass that's been blown off the exteriors of the cany-colored buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/mostly-we-just-add-to-the-piles-of-rainbow-glass-that-s-been-blown/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“All I know is he's letting me see it, and him, and he is exactly what he preaches. Raw and honest, and intense and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-renee-jones/all-i-know-is-he-s-letting-me-see-it-and-him-and-he-is-exactly-what/) [Lisa Renee Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-renee-jones/) > [and Venus among the fishes skips and is a she-dolphin she is the gay, delighted porpoise sporting with love and the sea she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/and-venus-among-the-fishes-skips-and-is-a-she-dolphin-she-is-the-gay/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [We will continue to chase rainbows unless we recognize that they are rainbows and there is no pot of gold at the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ravitch/we-will-continue-to-chase-rainbows-unless-we-recognize-that-they-are/) [Diane Ravitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ravitch/) > [“I swear you must have a rainbow shooting out of your ass, you're so bright and shiny and wonderful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-rockland/i-swear-you-must-have-a-rainbow-shooting-out-of-your-ass-you-re-so/) [Kate Rockland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-rockland/) > [Since 'coming out,' I've marched in gay pride parades all around the world, I've filled my home full of rainbow tat and I've become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-carr/since-coming-out-i-ve-marched-in-gay-pride-parades-all-around-the/) [Liz Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-carr/) > [“Anytime I see a rainbow, what comes into my mind is how skillful and talented someone was to create an ark that didn't leak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/anytime-i-see-a-rainbow-what-comes-into-my-mind-is-how-skillful-and/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) ## More by Kate Bornstein > [My own take on the word "transgender" is that it's an umbrella term for anyone who breaks any rules, laws, guidelines or protocol of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/my-own-take-on-the-word-transgender-is-that-it-s-an-umbrella-term-for/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [Is it a boy or a girl ?”. There is a great answer to that one going around : “We don’t know ; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/is-it-a-boy-or-a-girl-there-is-a-great-answer-to-that-one-going/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [“It doesn't really matter what a person decides to do, or how radically a person plays with gender. What matters, I think, is how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/it-doesn-t-really-matter-what-a-person-decides-to-do-or-how-radically/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [We grew up creating this whole world view for ourselves because it's not there in the culture. What am I? And I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/we-grew-up-creating-this-whole-world-view-for-ourselves-because-it-s/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [Sex is f-king, everything else is gender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/sex-is-f-king-everything-else-is-gender/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [The transgender movement even divides itself up by gender, as many folks stick with their same trans-genders (female-to-male or male-to-female). Additionally, the movement gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/the-transgender-movement-even-divides-itself-up-by-gender-as-many/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [“When we talk about my gender as though it were a performance, we let the audience - with all their expectations, prejudices, and presumptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/when-we-talk-about-my-gender-as-though-it-were-a-performance-we-let/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [“You can have great autonomy in the things you choose to learn and pursue on your own time. When you're learning things that interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/you-can-have-great-autonomy-in-the-things-you-choose-to-learn-and/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [Gender is used as a control mechanism that's just wrong. Gender is never anything to struggle with; gender is something to play with. Once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/gender-is-used-as-a-control-mechanism-that-s-just-wrong-gender-is/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [“We are entitled to our anger in response to this oppression: our anger is a message to ourselves that we need to get active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/we-are-entitled-to-our-anger-in-response-to-this-oppression-our-anger/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [I know and know of more than a few MTF's (male-to-female trannies) who've developed strange cancers. Myself, I've got a nice little case of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/i-know-and-know-of-more-than-a-few-mtf-s-male-to-female-trannies-who/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [“There are more and more visibly weird and freaky people in the world these days, and it’s high time we stop carrying forward the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/there-are-more-and-more-visibly-weird-and-freaky-people-in-the-world/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [The current transgender movement is composed of a great number of factions, divided by those old favorites of class, race, age, language, region, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/the-current-transgender-movement-is-composed-of-a-great-number-of/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > […gender is not sane. It's not sane to call a rainbow black and white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/gender-is-not-sane-it-s-not-sane-to-call-a-rainbow-black-and-white/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [When you're a Scientologist it's like the movie Goodfellas, where the gangsters hang out with only other gangsters. We only hung out with each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/when-you-re-a-scientologist-it-s-like-the-movie-goodfellas-where-the/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) [Explore all 60 Kate Bornstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) ## More Happy quotes > [I love going to Columbia, Missouri. That is a really underrated campus. It shocked me when I went there because I really didn't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-herbstreit/i-love-going-to-columbia-missouri-that-is-a-really-underrated-campus/) [Kirk Herbstreit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-herbstreit/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) [Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/) > [Yes, I am happy that my work is recognised, and it is wonderful to be acknowledged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parvathy/yes-i-am-happy-that-my-work-is-recognised-and-it-is-wonderful-to-be/) [Parvathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parvathy/) > [I want to make my music and be a happy woman, a good wife, a good mom and one day hopefully have a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leann-rimes/i-want-to-make-my-music-and-be-a-happy-woman-a-good-wife-a-good-mom/) [LeAnn Rimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leann-rimes/) > [Im really happy that I met you I hope you know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/im-really-happy-that-i-met-you-i-hope-you-know-that/) [Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. I'm never playing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/i-want-to-make-myself-and-the-crowd-happy-by-way-of-something/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [“So if we’re both so happy, why are we sad?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-raeder/so-if-we-re-both-so-happy-why-are-we-sad/) [Leah Raeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-raeder/) > [I know George Burns was a very happy man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/i-know-george-burns-was-a-very-happy-man/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [I'm happy. I'm always with a smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gael-monfils/i-m-happy-i-m-always-with-a-smile/) [Gael Monfils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gael-monfils/) > [“Second Splendid Truth One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/second-splendid-truth-one-of-the-best-ways-to-make-yourself-happy-is/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [It's something he used to say when he was happy. It could be a very, very simple day. We might be sitting out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-grant/it-s-something-he-used-to-say-when-he-was-happy-it-could-be-a-very/) [Jennifer Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-grant/) > [Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-is-an-attitude-we-either-make-ourselves-miserable-or-happy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm happy to be considered desirable. I love it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-m-happy-to-be-considered-desirable-i-love-it/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) [Browse all 12,897 Happy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Happy is a poor word for someone who's trying to live a rainbow-colored life in a black-and-white world.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kate Bornstein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/happy-is-a-poor-word-for-someone-who-s-trying-to-live-a-rainbow/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/happy-is-a-poor-word-for-someone-who-s-trying-to-live-a-rainbow/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/kate-bornstein-11426_happy_happy-is-a-poor-word-for-someone-who-s-t_2313156.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/kate-bornstein-11426_happy_happy-is-a-poor-word-for-someone-who-s-t_2313156.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/kate-bornstein-11426_happy_happy-is-a-poor-word-for-someone-who-s-t_2313156.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Happy is a poor word for someone who's trying to live a rainbow-colored life in a black-and-white world.” — Kate Bornstein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kate Bornstein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Happy is a poor word for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/happy-is-a-poor-word-for-someone-who-s-trying-to-live-a-rainbow/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/happy-is-a-poor-word-for-someone-who-s-trying-to-live-a-rainbow/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```