I try to give people a different way of looking at their surroundings. That's art to me.

When I was building the Vietnam Memorial, I never once asked the veterans what it was like in the war, because from my point of view, you don't pry into other people's business.

My dad was dean of fine arts at the university. I was casting bronzes in the school foundry. I was using the university as a playground.

If we can't face death, we'll never overcome it. You have to look it straight in the eye. Then you can turn around and walk back out into the light.

When I was very little, we would get letters from China, in Chinese, and they' be censored. We were a very insular little family.

To me, the American Dream is being able to follow your own personal calling. To be able to do what you want to do is incredible freedom.

It's funny, as you live through something you're not aware of it.

How we are using up our home, how we are living and polluting the planet is frightening. It was evident when I was a child. It's more evident now.

The only thing that mattered was what you were to do in life, and it wasn't about money. It was about teaching, or learning.

You should be having more fun in high school, exploring things because you want to explore them and learning because you love learning-not worrying about competition.