“Don't be like the kite that is guided by the air, instead be the air that guides the kite”

“Crystalline swirls of sugar and flour still lingered in the air like kite tails.”

“History is not our guide, it is not our friend. It is a passing stranger, one which shadows legend, sprinkling it with the seeds of truth.”

“Violent ideologies speak their own language; core concepts are translated to maintain the system while appearing to support the people. Under carnism, for instance, democracy has become defined as having the freedom to choose among products that sicken our bodies and pollute our planet, rather than the freedom to eat our food and breathe our air without the risk of being poisoned. But violent ideologies are inherently undemocratic, as they rely on deception, secrecy, concentrated power, and coercion--all practices that are incompatible with a free society. While the larger system, or nation, may appear democratic, the violent system within it is not. This is one reason we don't recognize violent ideologies that exist within seemingly democratic systems; we simply aren't thinking to look for them.”

“Never would I allow my size to define me. Instead I would define it.”

“My head grew muddled with it all; the silly ways adults acted with one another, never saying what they meant, trusting in sighs and glances and distance to speak for them instead. How dangerous that was! How easy it must be to misinterpret a sigh or a look.”

“I don't wanna go throught the motionsI don't wanna go one more dayWithout your all-consumingPassion inside of meI don't wanna spend my whole life askingWhat if I had given everything?Instead of going through the motions.”