It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.
—E.E. Cummings
I would argue that there are at least two distinct definitions of ‘hot.’ There is the, like, normal human definition which is, ‘That individual seems suitable for mating.’ And then there’s the weird culturally constructed definition of ‘hot’ which means, ‘That individual is malnourished and has probably had plastic bags inserted into her breasts.’ Now boys may find that hot now, but I don’t think there’s anything inherently hot about it. Like, I think if you went back to the 18th century and you asked a 15 year old boy, ‘Would you like to marry a woman who has had plastic bags needlessly inserted into her breasts?’ that 15 year old boy would probably be like, ‘What’s plastic?’
—John Green
Take me to the riverbed—in the woods,” she said.
“I so want to see all the feathers and wings,
The beaks on the birds, and to watch how they sing
To the leaves on the trees as they’re blooming in spring.
And the bark, and the grass, dandelions en masse
The otters, the gophers, the ducks—how they splash!
I want to be quiet and lie on that path—
With daisies, and lilacs, and trillium whites
The creeping of days and the halting of nights
Yes, the sweet scent of cedar and pinecones in flight.
When the chipmunks twitch tails and race squirrels for meals
The streams will show diamonds why they have appeal
I want to be lying alone in that field
When the sun forms a ring and proposes to spring
When the flowers bloom brightly and mourning doves sing
I need to see firsthand what life God will bring
Out of old wintered forests and all the dead things.
—“Dead Things” - Shawna Howson (June ‘11)
(Source: nanalew)
One of the most satisfying experiences I know - is just fully to appreciate an individual in the same way I appreciate a sunset. When I look at a sunset… I don’t find myself saying, “Soften the orange a little on the right hand corner, and put a bit more purple in the cloud color”. I don’t try to control a sunset. I watch it with awe as it unfolds. It is this receptive, open attitude which is necessary to truly perceive something as it is.
—Carl Rogers
All these things I made,
were made for you. The time we
spent, was everything.
Haikus are the best
for telling you exactly
how I am feeling.
So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we’ll never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.
—Stephen Chbosky
Real gangster-ass nerdfighters don’t run from nothin’ because real gangster-ass nerdfighters don’t run fast.
—John Green
HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
‘Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump
truck.’
—Ricky, age 10
Until I was 30, I dated only boys. I’ll tell you why: Men scared the sh*t out of me. Men know what they want. Men own alarm clocks. Men sleep on a mattress that isn’t on the floor. Men buy new shampoo instead of adding water to a nearly empty bottle of shampoo. Men make reservations. Men go in for a kiss without giving you some long preamble about how they’re thinking of kissing you. Men wear clothes that have never been worn by anyone else before […] At this point you might want to smack me and say: “Are you seriously just another grown woman talking about how she wants a man who isn’t afraid of commitment?” Let me explain! I’m not talking about commitment to romantic relationships. I’m talking about commitment to things—houses, jobs, neighborhoods. Paying a mortgage. When men hear women want a commitment, they think it means commitment to a romantic relationship, but that’s not it. It’s a commitment to not floating around anymore. I want a guy who is entrenched in his own life. Entrenched is awesome.
—Mindy Kaling
