"Life certainly points it out to you - 'you can go this way or the other way.' You have to decide and it's a very strong decision because, would you sleep well knowing that you're living in the best place, but you're letting the place where you should live alone?"
About this Quote
The subtext is migration without the usual abstractions. "Best place" sounds like the global North fantasy: safety, stability, maybe success. "Where you should live" points to home, responsibility, roots, the country that made you and still needs you. Bernal isn't romanticizing hardship; he's interrogating the self-justifying narrative that personal happiness is morally neutral. His question implies complicity: if you opt out, you aren't just leaving, you're "letting" something happen to the place you came from.
Context matters because Bernal has spent years tied to causes around displacement and Latin American politics. In that light, the quote reads like a rebuke aimed at a certain kind of cosmopolitan ease: the talented citizen who can exit. Its intent is to turn a geopolitical dilemma into a private ethical choice, then make that choice feel visceral. Sleep becomes the verdict, not the passport stamp.
Quote Details
| Topic | Decision-Making |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Bernal, Gael Garcia. (2026, January 16). Life certainly points it out to you - 'you can go this way or the other way.' You have to decide and it's a very strong decision because, would you sleep well knowing that you're living in the best place, but you're letting the place where you should live alone? FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/life-certainly-points-it-out-to-you-you-can-go-117483/
Chicago Style
Bernal, Gael Garcia. "Life certainly points it out to you - 'you can go this way or the other way.' You have to decide and it's a very strong decision because, would you sleep well knowing that you're living in the best place, but you're letting the place where you should live alone?" FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/life-certainly-points-it-out-to-you-you-can-go-117483/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Life certainly points it out to you - 'you can go this way or the other way.' You have to decide and it's a very strong decision because, would you sleep well knowing that you're living in the best place, but you're letting the place where you should live alone?" FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/life-certainly-points-it-out-to-you-you-can-go-117483/. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.




