Mehayla

“Jo chuckled "Once upon a time, that kind of talk would've made me throw up too. I thought friendship friendship was a trap. Life was every women for herself. But when I joined the Hunters, Lady Britomartis told me something. You know how she first became a goddess?" I thought for a moment. "She was a young maiden, running to escape the king of Crete. To hide, she jumped in a fishing net in the harbor, didn't she? Instead of drowning, she was transformed." "Right" Jo intertwined her fingers like a cat's cradle. "Nets can be traps, But they can also be safety nets. You just have to know when to jump in.”
― Rick Riordan, The Dark Prophecy

“Eat what you love,' they say, and I have. But that's facile. It's not merely that I loved Giovanni, Andrew, Gil, and Marco; it's also that I lost them. And it's not merely that I loved and lost them; it's also that I hated them. As much as they were my lovers, they were my enemies, which is more or less all you can hope for from a person with whom you do not share DNA.”
― Chelsea G. Summers, A Certain Hunger

“Andy Scamp's simple list of the ways people feel valuable.
1. Just believing it.
Sometimes this is religious, sometimes it is not. God cares for everyone, but society is supposed to as well. We strive to live in a world that places tremendous even infinite value on a single human life. We do not live in that society, but I think part of the reason we strive for it is because we need to signal that our existence in intrinsically meaningful. This is the only source of meaning that does not rely on other people, it is also that hardest to hold onto.
2. Story
We understand ourselves in complex ways, but often times that can be distilled down into some core identities and we imagine these identities as part of a story and that that story is some intrinsically positive thing. It might being part of a tradition or breaking free of one. It might be your race or height or hair color. Your status as a child or a parent. Being a job creator or a Star Wars fan or a snowboarder. We create positive narrative around these things and when we fit in them we feel like we matter.
3. Being appreciated
It might be hearing someone laugh at your joke or being paid a living wage or getting likes on Instagram. It might be only external or come from within. Appreciation is almost synonymous with value and I think this is where most meaning comes from.
4. Helping People
This might sound the same as appreciation, but it is not. Indeed I think your average waste water treatment engineer will tell you that you can help a lot of people and not get a ton of thanks for it, but we are empathy machines and one of the most lasting and true ways of finding meaning is to actually be of service.
5. Comparison
You know, keeping up with the Jones. Also, every sport, but it is more than just comparing ourselves to other people. We also compare our current selves to our past selves which is why getting better at something makes us feel valuable. Even if we are the only ones who really understand how much we are improving.
6. Impacting the World
This one is simple, but so dangerous. If the world is different because you were in it then you must matter. You must be important if things changed because you exist, but if that is what you believe then the bigger the impact the more you matter and that can lead to some bad places.”
― Hank Green, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor

“After sixty-odd years together with the hunters, we discovered something. It's not how long you live that matters. It's what you live for." I frowned. That was a very ungodly way of thinking - as if you could have immortality or meaning, but not both.”
― Rick Riordan, The Dark Prophecy