Thewindupbird B-)

“Observing the world, rather than engaging with it, meant I didn't have to invest emotionally. If I never got close to anyone, they couldn't leave me. Or it wouldn't hurt if they did. Better to be alone by choice - that was one thing I always had control over.

But now I realized I wasn't fooling anyone. The truth was, I wasn't trying my best - I was only living a shell of the life I knew was possible.

And I regretted it.”
― Mikki Brammer, The Collected Regrets of Clover

“The secret to a beautiful death is to live a beautiful life. Putting your heart out there. Letting it get broken. Taking chances. Making mistakes.... Promise me, kid,...that you'll let yourself live.”
― Mikki Brammer, The Collected Regrets of Clover

“extended solitude was always a fickle thing. At first it soothed, swaddling me from the chaos and expectations of being human. Then, in an instant, it shifted from rejuvenation to numbing isolation.”
― Mikki Brammer, The Collected Regrets of Clover

“You know that voice in your head—the one that tells you to apologize for existing? That says you’re not enough?” I nod. “It’s lying.” He leans in closer to me, his breath warm on my face. “You are enough. Right now. Just the way you are.”
― Erin Stewart, The Words We Keep