Malaika

“In ancient times, people weren't just male or female, but one of three types: male/male, male/female, female/female. In other words, each person was made out of the components of two people. Everyone was happy with this arrangement and never really gave it much a thought. But then God took a knife and cut everybody in half, right down the middle. So after that the world was divided just into male and female, the upshot being that people spend their time running around trying to locate their missing other half.”
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

“My father used to say to me, 'Whenever you get into a jam, whenever you get into a crisis or an emergency…become the calmest person in the room and you'll be able to figure your way out of it.”
― Rudolph Giuliani

“I believe one has to escape oneself to discover oneself.”
― Rabih Alameddine, I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“To live, to TRULY live, we must be willing to RISK. To be nothing in order to find everything. To leap before we look.”
― Mandy Hale, The Single Woman–Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass: Embracing Singleness with Confidence