#port

Our lives are mere flashes of light in an infinitely empty universe. In 12 years of education the most important lesson I have learned is that what we see as “normal” living is truly a travesty of our potential. In a society so governed by superficiality, appearances, and petty economics, dreams are more real than anything anything in the “real world”. Refuse normalcy. Beauty is everywhere, love is endless, and joy bleeds from our everyday existence. Embrace it. I love all of you, all my friends, family, and community. I am ceaselessly grateful from the bottom of my heart for everyone. The only thing I can ask of you is to stay free of materialism. Remember that every day contains a universe of potential; exhaust it. Live and love so immensely that when death comes there is nothing left for him to take. Wealth is love, music, sports, learning, family and freedom. Above all, stay gold. ↗

— Dominic Owen Mallary

#appearances #beauty #death #education #existence

Alexander Hamilton Junior High School -- SEMESTER REPORT -- STUDENT: Joseph Margolis TEACHER: Janet Hicks ENGLISH: A, ARITHMETIC: A, SOCIAL STUDIES: A, SCIENCE: A, NEATNESS: A, PUNCTUALITY: A, PARTICIPATION: A, OBEDIENCE: D Teacher's Comments: Joseph remains a challenging student. While I appreciate his creativity, I am sure you will agree that a classroom is an inappropriate forum for a reckless imagination. There is not a shred of evidence to support his claim that Dolley Madison was a Lesbian, and even fewer grounds to explain why he even knows what the word means. Similarly, an analysis of the Constitutional Convention does not generate sufficient cause to initiate a two-hour classroom debate on what types of automobiles the Founding Fathers would have driven were they alive today. When asked on a subsequent examination, "What did Benjamin Franklin use to discover electricity?" eleven children responded "A Packard convertible". I trust you see my problem. [...] Janet Hicks Parent's Comments: As usual I am very proud of Joey's grades. I too was unaware that Dolley Madison was a Lesbian. I assumed they were all Protestants. Thank you for writing. Ida Margolis ↗

— Steve Kluger

#parent #semester-report #teacher #humor

Good writing is always about things that are important to you, things that are scary to you, things that eat you up. ↗

— John Edgar Wideman

#importance-of-words #insightful #writing-craft #writing-craft

Every day, you get the opportunity to change your life. Change what you do not want. Change what makes you unhappy. ↗

— Rodolfo Costa

#attitude #awareness #happiness #opportunity #optimism

Clothes should be as interesting on the inside as on the outside. Even if you enjoy it totally alone, it's important. ↗

— Geoffrey Beene

#clothes #enjoy #even #important #inside

In South Africa, we could not have achieved our freedom and just peace without the help of people around the world, who through the use of non-violent means, such as boycotts and divestment, encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the Apartheid regime. ↗

— Desmond Tutu

#africa #apartheid #around #corporate #could

I take things like honor and loyalty seriously. It's more important to me than any materialistic thing or any fame I could have. ↗

— Lloyd Banks

#could #fame #honor #i #important

Whereas fanatic is usually a pejorative word, a Fan is someone who has roots somewhere. ↗

— Simon Kuper

#soccer #sports #iraq

It's for all the women who embrace my aesthetic, but can't afford a Vera Wang dress. If women can get anything out of it - a little bit of me or a lot of me, that's what's important. ↗

— Vera Wang

#afford #anything #bit #dress #embrace

You can't model for the rest of your life, so it is important to diversify your career. ↗

— Tyra Banks

#diversify #important #life #model #rest