I have an impulse to write all over the orange walls- I need an alphabet of endings ripped out of books, of hands pulled off of clocks, of cold stones, of shoes filled with nothing but wind.
Jandy NelsonRead
Or maybe a person is just made up of a lot of peopleMaybe we’re accumulating these new selves all the time. Hauling them in as we make choices, good and bad, as we screw up, step up, lose our minds, find our minds, fall apart, fall in love, as we grieve, grow, retreat from the world, dive into the world, as we make things, as we break things.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that a person is a collection of experiences and identities shaped by life choices.
Jandy Nelson's quote reflects on the complexity of human identity, proposing that individuals are not fixed but rather an amalgamation of various selves formed through diverse life experiences. Each choice, emotion, or event adds a layer to our identity, hinting at the fluidity of who we are as we navigate through life’s challenges and transformations.
Themes
IdentityChoicesExperiencesTransformationSelf
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about personal growth, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of embracing change.
More from Jandy Nelson
All quotes →Grief is forever. It doesn't go away; it becomes part of you, step for step, breath for breath.
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... if you're someone who knows the worst thing can happen at any time, aren't you also someone who knows the best thing can happen at any time too?
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All her knowledge is gone now. Everything she ever learned, or heard, or saw. Her particular way of looking at Hamlet or daisies or thinking about love, all her private intricate thoughts, her inconsequential secret musings – they’re gone too. I heard this expression once: Each time someone dies, a library burns. I’m watching it burn right to the ground.
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It's such a colossal effort not to be haunted by what's lost, but to be enchanted by what was.
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My sister will die over and over again for the rest of my life. Grief is forever. It doesn't go away; it becomes a part of you, step for step, breath for breath. I will never stop grieving Bailey because I will never stop loving her. That's just how it is. Grief and love are conjoined, you don't get one without the other. All I can do is love her, and love the world, emulate her by living with daring and spirit and joy.
Jandy NelsonRead
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