But let us not forget that cities are like human beings. They are born, they go through childhood and adolescence, they grow old, and eventually they die
Elif SafakRead
Every true love and friendship is a story of unexpected transformation. If we are the same person before and after we loved, that means we haven't loved enough.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True love and friendship are transformative experiences that change us.
Elif Safak's quote emphasizes that genuine love and friendships fundamentally alter our identities. If we remain unchanged by our deep connections with others, it suggests that we are not fully experiencing the depth of love or friendship that has the power to foster personal growth and transformation.
Themes
LoveTransformationFriendshipIdentityGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
During a wedding speech, one might reflect on how love transforms individuals.
More from Elif Safak
All quotes →I like to question cultural biases wherever I go, and I question Islamophobia as much as I question anti-western sentiment because I think all extremist ideologies are very similar.
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Stories cannot demolish frontiers, but they can punch holes in our mental walls, and through those holes we can get a glimpse of the other and sometimes even like what we see.
Elif SafakRead
What i’m saying is, my friends, one ought to be able to let go. If a path does not please us, instead of insisting on going that specific way, of making our selfishness the guide, we ought to forsake. The books we cannot write, the films we cannot shoot, the projects we cannot develop, the jobs we cannot pursue and the people who no longer love us. Being able to let go, at times, is the most beautiful of all!
Elif SafakRead
For me, writing stories is one way of feeling connected to the universe and God.
Elif SafakRead
I write as if I were drunk. It is a process of intuition rather than placing myself above my story like a puppeteer pulling strings. For me, it's a scary, chaotic process over which I have little control. Words demand other words, characters resist me.
Elif SafakRead
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