Nikki Vargas > Quotes

“I’ll face it all—the vitriol and the disappointment, the confusion and the pain, the sadness and the loss—because I finally know that my life is worth fighting for, and that the woman I can become is waiting for me if only I’m strong enough to change course and reach for her.”
― Nikki Vargas, Call You When I Land

“That’s the thing about travel. Once you step on that jet bridge, the ropes that tether you seemingly slip off, leaving you feeling like an entirely different person. One look at the moon, the stars, those eyes, and I gave in to another illicit kiss.”
― Nikki Vargas, Call You When I Land

“The thing is, it was hard to imagine our parents as being anything other than, well, parents. It was as if both Yana and my dad had strolled out of the uterus with a 401(k), a mortgage, and the keys to a 1998 Volvo. They”
― Nikki Vargas, Call You When I Land

“For months I had been fighting off these very words, even going so far as to board a plane to South America to outrun them. Yet they have followed me here. Trailing me all the way to the edges of Argentina and Brazil like a Pinkerton detective hot on a case. When I first speak them aloud, I stop walking, listening only to the soundtrack of the Iguazú jungle: the chitter of those birds, the “ooh-ahhs” of those little capuchin monkeys, the pulse of those majestic waterfalls reverberating through the trees. An undeniable gauntlet has just been thrown down. I know before I fully understand it that my life will forever be changed from this moment on.”
― Nikki Vargas, Call You When I Land

“My toughened soles would act as a protective shell for my feet, allowing me to run carefree. Working at this restaurant has become like that driveway. Every shift, every shitty customer, every dropped tray, every lonely 2:00 a.m. walk after closing time seems to callus and toughen me up against New York.”
― Nikki Vargas, Call You When I Land

“Eres un pájaro libre,” she says, as though she’s finally figured out this stranger on the beach. You are a free bird.

I find myself reveling in this girl’s four words, seeing myself through her eyes: a traveler sitting on the black-gray sand alone, hailing from a city often synonymous with wayward dreamers. I relish the words, trying my best to remember them and internalize them. Not because I feel I am a free bird but because, at this moment, I know I can become one.”
― Nikki Vargas, Call You When I Land

“Since arriving in Rouen, I’ve been intrigued by the history of Joan of Arc, inspired by this headstrong teenager who seemed so sure of the world and her place in it. I once read a quote from her in which she said, “I do not fear the soldiers, for my road is made open to me.” Like a centuries-long game of telephone, the original message had become a garble of what it once was, now the more popular quote, “I am not afraid; I was born to do this.”
― Nikki Vargas, Call You When I Land

“The tradition of veils can be traced back to Rome when brides would wear them to hide from evil spirits as they walked down the aisle. It was meant to be a shield from any nefarious entities that might thwart the bride’s”
― Nikki Vargas, Call You When I Land