Rita

“Our teacher made us write a story about what we want to be when we're big," Noah tells him.
"What did you write?"
"I wrote that I wanted to concentrate on being little first."
"That's a very good answer."
"Isn't it? I would rather be old than a grown-up. All grown-ups are angry, it's just children and old people who laugh."
"Did you write that?"
"Yes."
"What did your teacher say?"
"She said I hadn't understood the task."
"And what did you say?"
"I said she hadn't understood my answer.”
― Fredrik Backman, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer

“Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.”
― Rainbow Rowell, Eleanor & Park

“Existem várias maneiras de destruir um assunto, de deteriorar a realidade até não sobrar coisa nenhuma. Passa-se com as palavras o mesmo que com as coisas: quantas mais vezes as proferimos menos substância têm, as palavras e as coisas, porque as palavras podem tirar ou roubar às coisas o seu sentido. [...] Imagina agora o que acontece quando as palavras se reportam somente a si próprias. As palavras Deus ou Amor, por exemplo. Imagina o género de esvaziamento que acontece quando as usamos de maneira desenfreada e as pronunciamos milhares ou milhões de vezes todos os dias. 'Amo-te'. 'Amo-te'. 'Amo-te'. 'Meu Deus'. 'Meu Deus'. 'Meu Deus'. Palavras que não têm qualquer referente no mundo que lhes devolva o sentido. Palavras que são somente isso: a junção aleatória de vogais e consoantes; e, contudo, palavras que movem montanhas.”
― João Tordo, Anatomia dos Mártires

“It is 'where we are' that should make all the difference, whether we believe we belong there or not.”
― Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea