Every bit of me is devoted to love and art. And I aspire to try

Hear, O children of song and seekers of freedom, the words of Lady Gaga: “Every bit of me is devoted to love and art. And I aspire to try to be a teacher to my young fans who feel just like I felt when I was younger. I just felt like a freak. I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m trying to liberate them, I want to free them of their fears and make them feel that they can make their own space in the world.” These are not the words of a mere entertainer, but the cry of a prophetess of self-expression, who has taken the wounds of her youth and transfigured them into a light for others to follow.

The meaning of her declaration is profound. She speaks of devoting herself wholly to love and art, for these are the twin forces that redeem the brokenness of the world. Art gives form to chaos, while love gives healing to pain. By joining the two, Gaga reveals her mission: not merely to perform, but to guide, to serve as a teacher who lifts others from despair. She remembers the days when she felt like a freak, alienated and unseen, and she transforms that memory into compassion, vowing to become for others the voice she herself longed for.

The origin of such a calling lies deep in the history of human struggle. Always, the ones who break the mold are branded outsiders. Socrates was condemned for corrupting the youth with dangerous ideas; Vincent van Gogh was ridiculed as mad; Joan of Arc was mocked as delusional before she led armies to victory. Each of them bore the mark of the freak in their own time. Yet it was precisely this mark that became the sign of their destiny. Gaga, in her way, steps into this ancient lineage, proclaiming that those who feel strange, broken, or misplaced are not condemned but chosen—for they are the ones who will build new spaces in the world.

Consider the story of Frida Kahlo, who lived in pain and bore scars both visible and unseen. She too was told that she was different, strange, unfit for the world’s approval. Yet through her paintings, she turned her wounds into beauty, her difference into strength. And in doing so, she liberated others to see themselves reflected in her art. Gaga’s vow echoes this same truth: the liberation of others comes not from hiding one’s strangeness, but from embracing it fully and offering it as a gift.

Yet Gaga does not stop at self-expression; she reaches outward. She speaks of freeing her young fans from fear, that ancient chain which binds the human heart. Fear whispers: You do not belong. You are not enough. You will never be accepted. But the role of the teacher is to silence this lie, to proclaim instead: You are worthy. You are loved. You can create a space that belongs to you alone. Her words are a battle cry against despair, a summons to courage, a promise that no one is too strange to find their place in the tapestry of humanity.

The lesson, O listener, is mighty: what you once despised in yourself may become your greatest power. The very thing that made you feel like a freak may be the key to your liberation—and the liberation of others. If you devote yourself to love and to art, to truth and to courage, you can transform shame into strength, rejection into belonging, and fear into freedom. This is the path Gaga sets before us: to live so boldly that others, too, may learn to live.

Therefore, in practice, let each of you create your own space in the world. Do not wait for permission to be yourself; build it with your own hands, your own voice, your own art. Share your wounds as well as your victories, for both have power to heal. And above all, be a teacher to others—not only with words, but with the witness of your life. In this way, you will carry forward the eternal flame Gaga speaks of: the flame of love and art, burning against fear, lighting the path toward freedom for generations yet to come.