“Yes, life is hard, but it's not a bad way to pass the time. When all is said and done, I recommend it.”

“This was how I was dealing with everyone and everything lately, taking the good when it came, and the bad the same way, knowing each would pass in its own time.”

“Life's hard and when you know there are ways to drown it out, it's hard to stay on the right path. It's a constant struggle. For a long time, I did it by myself.”

“And so we became who we are: gentle and bookish and ever so slightly confused. It is not a bad way to be, when all is said and done.”

“If the sun is shining, stand in it- yes, yes, yes. Happy times are great, but happy times pass- they have to- because time passes. The pursuit of happiness is more elusive; it is life-long, and it is not goal-centred. What you are pursuing is meaning- a meaningful life... There are times when it will go so wrong that you will be barely alive, and times when you realise that being barely alive, on your own terms, is better than living a bloated half-life on someone else's terms.”

“I think I might understand the way time works: how its passing is impossible to see but when it's gone, you feel it.”