Writing/Essay/Journal
Hmong folklore believes that we choose our parents and our lives.  Yang’s father tells her that she chose
her life because it would “teach her how strong the human heart is, not how weak or how fragile.”
What is your life teaching you and why? How does Yang add her personal touch to this kind of art?
What do you like best about this form of art?

Activity
Kao Kalia Yang did not speak for many years because she thought that if the world did not need to
hear her father or mother, it did not need to hear from her.  Now she uses her art to create a voice for
the voiceless. Create a piece of art that speaks for someone who has no voice or is not listened to.