Lady Katie

“People want to imagine that time is consistent, steady, stable. They define the day, create tools to measure it chop it up into hours, minutes, seconds. They pretend each one is equal to the others--when in fact some are clearly prime cuts, and others are full of gristle. (p. 295)
We want to imagine that people are consistent, steady, stable. We define who they are, create descriptions to lock them on a page, divide them up by their likes, talents, beliefs. Then we pretend some--perhaps most--are better than we are, because the stick to their definitions, while we never quite fit ours.
Truth is, people are as fluid as time is. We adapt to our situation like water in a strangely shaped jug, though it might take us a little while to ooze into all the little nooks. Because we adapt, we sometimes don't recognize how twisted, uncomfortable, or downright wrong the container is that we've been told to inhabit.
We can keep going that way for a while. We *can* pretend we fit that jug, awkward nooks and all. But the longer we do, the worse it gets. The more it wears on us. The more exhausted we become. Even if we're doing nothing at all, because simply holding the shape can take all the effort in the world. More, if we want to make it look natural. (pp.297-298) (Chapter 54)”
― Brandon Sanderson, Tress of the Emerald Sea