“... sooner or later she had to give up the hope for a better past.”

“I feel half faded away like some figure in the background of an old picture.”

“If now we attend to ourselves on occasion of any transgression of duty, we shall find that we in fact do not will that our maxim should be universal law, for that is impossible for us; on the contrary, we will that the opposite should remain a universal law, only we assume the liberty of making an exception in our own favor or (just for this time only) in favor of our inclination. Consequently, if we considered all cases from one and the same point of view, namely, that of reason, we should find a contradiction in our own will, namely, that a certain principle should be objectively necessary as a universal law, and yet subjectively should not be universal, but admit of exceptions. As, however, we at one moment regard our action from the point of view of a will wholly conformed to reason, and then again look at the same action from the point of view of a will affected by inclination, there is not really any contradiction, but an antagonism of inclination to the precept of reason, whereby the universality of the principle is changed into mere generality, so that the practical principle of reason shall meet the maxim half way. Now, although this cannot be justified in our own impartial judgement, yet it proves that we do really recognize the validity of the categorical imperative and (with all respect for it) only allow ourselves a few exceptions which we think unimportant and forced from us.”

“Despite comporting ourselves for decades, despite never resorting to beastly deeds, we hadn’t succeeded in persuading our tormentors that we were people who deserve of the privilege of living our lives as we wished.”

“Life is a long journey meant for leaping beyond loneliness to find unchanging freedom and truth.”

“We can’t move forward as a human race until we all act as a humane race, and treat our world with humanity with a touch of humility. By

“I feel like I’m the only one who feels the things I feel, or thinks the way I think.  I’m worried that I’m taking everything too seriously, or not seriously enough.  Sometimes I want you to see me, and sometimes I want to disappear.  I don’t know if I’ve ever truly felt like the ground beneath me was firm.  Things always feel like they’re moving and I never get the chance to catch up to them and when I do, it feels like it all goes too quickly.  I am nice to people I don’t like because I don’t know what else to do.  I feel like I’m waiting for something but I don’t know what it is.  I often walk past people in the street, and I wonder if anyone else is waiting too.  I don’t know if I’m ever, really, “Here.” So I'm fine.* *I'm not fine.”

“This is what life does for you in the end; it arranges a fight you can't win.”