--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everything is symbolic. If they'd picked…" description: "\"Everything is symbolic. If they'd picked some middle-aged white guy, well, that would have been a symbol, but it wouldn't have been shocking because th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/richard-blanco-37135_accomplished_everything-is-symbolic-if-they-d-picked_1968154.jpg" --- # Everything is symbolic. If they'd picked some middle-aged… ![“Everything is symbolic. If they'd picked some middle-aged white guy, well, that would have been a symbol, but it wouldn't have been shocking because that's the expected norm, right? I felt I was a good match: here's an accomplished poet, and he's also gay and Latino.” quote by Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/richard-blanco-37135_accomplished_everything-is-symbolic-if-they-d-picked_1968154.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/richard-blanco-37135_accomplished_everything-is-symbolic-if-they-d-picked_1968154.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/richard-blanco-37135_accomplished_everything-is-symbolic-if-they-d-picked_1968154.jpg) > “Everything is symbolic. If they'd picked some middle-aged white guy, well, that would have been a symbol, but it wouldn't have been shocking because that's the expected norm, right? I felt I was a good match: here's an accomplished poet, and he's also gay and Latino.” [Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) ## 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 argues that representation matters; choosing a non‑normative identity creates shock and visibility, whereas a typical identity would be unremarkable. **In simple terms:** Choosing unexpected identities creates impact. Key Takeaway Embrace diverse representation. Themes representation identity visibility culture expectations Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical insightful When to use this quote - media casting - political campaigns - advertising - educational curricula Key Concepts symbolism social impact normativity Questions to Reflect On - How does unexpected representation change audience perception? - What risks arise from relying on shock value? A Different Perspective Impact may be limited if audiences dismiss symbolism as tokenism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accomplished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplished/) [Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay/) [Gay Latino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay-latino-3289060/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Homosexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexuality/) [Latino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latino/) [Norm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/norm/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poet Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet-gay-3289062/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Symbol Wouldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbol-wouldn-3289061/) [Symbolic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbolic/) [Symbolic Picked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbolic-picked-3289063/) ## Related quotes > [If what I read doesn't reflect my life - whether I'm gay or Latino or on welfare - doesn't that really mean that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/if-what-i-read-doesn-t-reflect-my-life-whether-i-m-gay-or-latino-or/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [Clothes are incredibly symbolic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-givhan/clothes-are-incredibly-symbolic/) [Robin Givhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-givhan/) > [In early childhood, children develop a set of symbols that 'stand for' things they see in the world around them... Children are happy with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/in-early-childhood-children-develop-a-set-of-symbols-that-stand-for/) [Betty Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/) > [No one really understood music unless he was a scientist, her father had declared, and not just a scientist, either, oh, no, only the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/no-one-really-understood-music-unless-he-was-a-scientist-her-father/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Becoming adept at the process of self inquiry and symbolic insight is a vital spiritual task that leads to the growth of faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/becoming-adept-at-the-process-of-self-inquiry-and-symbolic-insight-is/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [Magic, then, is not a method, but a language; it is part and parcel of that greater phenomenon, ritual, which is the language of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-katherina-langer/magic-then-is-not-a-method-but-a-language-it-is-part-and-parcel-of/) [Susanne Katherina Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-katherina-langer/) > [Don't forget that costumes, like dreams, are symbolic communication. Dreams teach us that a language for everything exists - for every object, every color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/don-t-forget-that-costumes-like-dreams-are-symbolic-communication/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [It's going to be a symbolic thing. But for me, they did enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-ruiz/it-s-going-to-be-a-symbolic-thing-but-for-me-they-did-enough/) [Rosie Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-ruiz/) > [Symbolic violence is violence wielded with tacit complicity between its victims and its agents, insofar as both remain unconscious of submitting to or wielding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bourdieu/symbolic-violence-is-violence-wielded-with-tacit-complicity-between/) [Pierre Bourdieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bourdieu/) > [Fiction is an illusion wrought with many small, conventionally symbolic marks, triggering visions in the minds of others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/fiction-is-an-illusion-wrought-with-many-small-conventionally/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [I find it profoundly symbolic that I am appearing before a committee of fifteen men who will report to a legislative body of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/i-find-it-profoundly-symbolic-that-i-am-appearing-before-a-committee/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [Today there is no symbolic compensation for old age, no recognition of a specific value: wisdom, perceptiveness, experience, vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/today-there-is-no-symbolic-compensation-for-old-age-no-recognition-of/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [ No one suffers so much as he \[the genius\] with the people, and, therefore, for the people, with whom he lives. For, in a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/no-one-suffers-so-much-as-he-the-genius-with-the-people-and-therefore/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [The personal, if it is deep enough, becomes universal, mythical, symbolic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-personal-if-it-is-deep-enough-becomes-universal-mythical-symbolic/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [People without an internalized symbolic system can all too easily become captives of the media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/people-without-an-internalized-symbolic-system-can-all-too-easily/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) ## More by Richard Blanco > [Entering into writing a poem is an emotional endeavor for me as well as a spiritual and creative one. Having to write those poems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blanco/entering-into-writing-a-poem-is-an-emotional-endeavor-for-me-as-well/) [Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) > [I had been thinking about the question, "What do I love about America?" I kept coming back to this idea of community and home,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blanco/i-had-been-thinking-about-the-question-what-do-i-love-about-america-i/) [Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) > [Artists are the emotional historians of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blanco/artists-are-the-emotional-historians-of-the-world/) [Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) > [Your life is a work of art that you will work on the rest of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blanco/your-life-is-a-work-of-art-that-you-will-work-on-the-rest-of-your-life/) [Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) > [We have always been searching for home. It's in our art... our religion... everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blanco/we-have-always-been-searching-for-home-it-s-in-our-art-our-religion/) [Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) > [What was transformative was being at the inauguration, reading my poem, and realizing that the quest for home and identity had always been part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blanco/what-was-transformative-was-being-at-the-inauguration-reading-my-poem/) [Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) > [I was at a stage in my life where I felt sort of comfortable being a dislocated person emotionally, feeling in some ways like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blanco/i-was-at-a-stage-in-my-life-where-i-felt-sort-of-comfortable-being-a/) [Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) > [Good art and a good life answers questions. Great art and a great life asks questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blanco/good-art-and-a-good-life-answers-questions-great-art-and-a-great-life/) [Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) > [As an immigrant, there's a little part of you that always says, "Well, I'm not a hundred percent American." America is some other little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blanco/as-an-immigrant-there-s-a-little-part-of-you-that-always-says-well-i/) [Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) > [“to know a country takes all we know of love: some days better than others, but never easy to keep our promise every morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blanco/to-know-a-country-takes-all-we-know-of-love-some-days-better-than/) [Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) > [I like the labels because I think they tell my story in a very concise way: gay, Latino. I think the responsibility that comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blanco/i-like-the-labels-because-i-think-they-tell-my-story-in-a-very/) [Richard Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) [Explore all 12 Richard Blanco quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blanco/) ## More Accomplished quotes > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/this-is-for-an-accomplished-latino-an-accomplished-african-american/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [... even the most sublimely accomplished non-stop talker can't consistently please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/even-the-most-sublimely-accomplished-non-stop-talker-can-t/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [ \[U\]nless oppressed groups stick together, and on alliances of self interest rather than do-goodism; nothing can be accomplished in the long run to dismantle… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/u-nless-oppressed-groups-stick-together-and-on-alliances-of-self/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) > [Alas, you don't need monsters for monstrous deeds to be accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/alas-you-don-t-need-monsters-for-monstrous-deeds-to-be-accomplished/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Like all writers, he measured the achievements of others by what they had accomplished, asking of them that they measure him by what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/like-all-writers-he-measured-the-achievements-of-others-by-what-they/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I'm proud of what I've accomplished and that is empowering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/violet-chachki/i-m-proud-of-what-i-ve-accomplished-and-that-is-empowering/) [Violet Chachki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/violet-chachki/) > [We do not know today whether we are busy or idle. In times when we thought ourselves indolent, we have afterwards discovered that much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-do-not-know-today-whether-we-are-busy-or-idle-in-times-when-we/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I don't know Beyoncé, but I have the impression that she's sincere, that she really is a feminist and wanted to put the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-know-beyonc-but-i-have-the-impression-that-she-s-sincere-that/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labour is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-gain-in-self-confidence-of-having-accomplished-a-tiresome-labour/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [With Epcot Center, the Disney corporation has accomplished something I didn't think possible in today's world. They have created a land of make-believe that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-epcot-center-the-disney-corporation-has-accomplished-something-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Listing the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act could harm bear conservation efforts by eliminating revenues from the carefully-regulated sport hunting of polar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-ridenour/listing-the-polar-bear-under-the-endangered-species-act-could-harm/) [Amy Ridenour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-ridenour/) > [“Great things can be accomplished, when it doesnt matter who gets the credit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/great-things-can-be-accomplished-when-it-doesnt-matter-who-gets-the/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [If I could inspire you for even a moment to be yourself and love yourself, and not let what anyone has to say hinder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-neal-hartry/if-i-could-inspire-you-for-even-a-moment-to-be-yourself-and-love/) [Joshua Neal Hartry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-neal-hartry/) [Browse all 1,379 Accomplished quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplished/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everything is symbolic. 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