There's a quote by French writer and columnist Jean D’Ormesson that I have kept close to me since I was about 12 years old and it goes like this: “Do not let yourself be fooled or abused. Remember to beware. And even of the obvious: as she (the obvious) spends her time changing. Do not place people or things too high. Do not place them too low. No, do not place them too low. Rise. Renounce hatred: it harms those who feel it rather than those who are the object of it. Do not try to be wise at all costs. Madness too is wisdom. And wisdom, madness. Escape the precepts and the givers of lessons. Throw out this book. Do what you want. And what you can. Cry when you need to. Laugh. I laughed a lot. I laughed at the world and at others and at myself. Nothing is very important. Everything is tragic. All that we love will die. And I will die too. Life is Beautiful.” I wrote Beautiful Tragic, on one of those afternoons where one can feel kind of defeated and deflated about things, the world, life, and so on. It's a reminder of the small ways in which I have found and continue to find joy, through dancing, self-expression, and fighting for things I want and believe in while remembering that nothing is promised, nothing is guaranteed, and everything will end eventually, and thats okay. Everything is beautiful, everything is tragic.