Syd :)

“Like after a prairie fire. I saw one, years ago, when we were in Nebraska. It seems like the end of the world. The earth is all scorched and black and everything green is gone. But after the burning the soil is richer, and new things can grow.” She held Izzy at arm’s length, wiped her cheek with a fingertip, smoothed her hair one last time. “People are like that, too, you know. They start over. They find a way.”
― Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere

“Some people treat lost loves like stars, like guiding lights in the dark. You can spend your whole life following the past around if you really want to. My sister never did let a single thing go. It’s true, she put Orion’s body in the sky when he died. Now she sleeps under its light forever. It sounds romantic but her heart is so sore.”
― Trista Mateer, Aphrodite Made Me Do It

“I feel no shame for my body. I feel no shame for my voice. I feel no shame for what I have left behind. I feel no shame for the love that did not fit. I feel no shame for my grief. I feel no shame for what I have outgrown. I feel no shame for who I have loved. I feel no shame for what I have loved. I feel no shame for the bodies in my bed. I feel no shame for discarding my old name. I feel no shame for disagreeing. I feel no shame for being loud. I feel no shame for taking up space. I feel no shame for fighting back. I feel no shame for my anger. I feel no shame for my defense. I feel no shame for the things I have done to ensure my peace of mind, my freedom, my space, and my survival.”
― Trista Mateer, Aphrodite Made Me Do It

“When people say you cannot love others until you love yourself, they fundamentally misunderstand love. Nothing thrives in isolation.”
― Trista Mateer, Aphrodite Made Me Do It