Alia Buckbee

“In Japan’s militaristic society, all citizens, from earliest childhood, were relentlessly indoctrinated with the lesson that to be captured in war was intolerably shameful. The 1941 Japanese Military Field Code made clear what was expected of those facing capture: “Have regard for your family first. Rather than live and bear the shame of imprisonment, the soldier must die and avoid leaving a dishonorable name.” As a result, in many hopeless battles, virtually every Japanese soldier fought to the death. For every Allied soldier killed, four were captured; for every 120 Japanese soldiers killed, one was captured. In some losing battles, Japanese soldiers committed suicide en masse to avoid capture.”
― Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

“There's something in all of us that wants a medal for what we have done. That wants to be appreciated.”
― Alice Walker, The Color Purple

“We can be beacons of light”
― Aimee Cabo Nikolov, Love is the Answer God is the Cure

“It seems to me if I were young and in love I should never deem a man of ordinary caliber worthy of my devotion.”
― Kate Chopin, The Awakening