Lisa

“My father used to say that stories are part of the most precious heritage of mankind.”
― Tahir Shah, In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams

“your journey will scare some people. the steps that you take will intimidate others, and the paths that you take will confuse some. people are afraid of things they can’t control, and when they realize that they have no power over you, it scares them. it brings out their biggest fears, it unmasks their deepest insecurities, it reveals their true colors. when you live in your truth and it goes against what other people believe in, you’re always going to rub some people the
wrong way. they’ll have opinions, they’ll have ideas, they’ll have assumptions, but what they think of you is none of your business.”
― Billy Chapata, Flowers on the Moon

“There are three questions every woman should be able to answer yes to before they commit to a man. If you answer no to any of the three questions, run like hell."
[...]
"Does he treat you with respect at all times? That's the first question. The second question is, if he is the exact same person twenty years from now that he is today, would you still want to marry him? And finally, does he inspire to be a better person? You find someone you can answer yes to all three, then you've found a good man.”
― Colleen Hoover, Slammed

“Have you ever been in love? Horrible, isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses. You build up this whole armor, for years, so nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life… You give them a piece of you. They don't ask for it. They do something dumb one day like kiss you, or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so a simple phrase like "maybe we should just be friends" or "how very perceptive" turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a body-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. Nothing should be able to do that. Especially not love. I hate love.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones