Last weekend was the first-ever Life is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas: two packed days of music, art, and food. I decided I’d ask a few attendees an obvious question – but one that still seemed to surprise everybody: why is life beautiful? Here’s what they said.

Manny, the omelet guy at Main Street Station: “You live only once in your life.”

Johnsie of Las Vegas Events: “Because of friends and family.”

Fran of DePaul University: “Just being able to work together – communities that can come together and create so many possibilities.”

Frank of Tech Cocktail: “It’s always filled with opportunity to do better and learn. There’s just so much you can do. It’s always changing. That whole progression of working hard to get somewhere – that’s pretty cool.”

Me: “It’s beautiful because life is what you make of it, and you can make it beautiful.”