#stan

To die, so young to die. No, no, not I, I love the warm sunny skies, light, song, shining eyes, I want no war, no battle cry, No, no, not I. ↗

— Hannah Senesh

#defiance #determination #hope #hope-and-despair #inspiration

I'm a lion in a strange land. ↗

— Criss Jami

#awkwardness #beast #courage #different #earth

Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better. ↗

— Harry S. Truman

#around #better #change #change things #courageous

All of the emotions that hit people at times like these, all of them, were coursing through us both like a secret we couldn’t tell. Because if we said everything we were thinking and feeling right then…if we laid it all out for one another…we might not like the way the words strung together. Or the way fear and hope and bitterness and love mashed up into one big mess in the pits of our stomachs. ↗

— Laura Anderson Kurk

#dating #glass-girl #henry-whitmire #intimacy #laura-anderson-kurk

We formed an impromptu circle just so we could look at each other and memorize faces. We hardly noticed the waiting officials. We hardly noticed anything but our little family whose ties weren’t loosening at all. In fact, this impending separation only seemed to be binding us together with a double overhand knot, hard to untie and unfailing. ↗

— Laura Anderson Kurk

#desperation #family #glass-girl #government #grief

In my mind, I saw a string stretching from Henry’s heart at Quiet Waters to my heart. It was taut and it vibrated with Henry’s worries and fears and I felt them all. Deeply. I felt them all. ↗

— Laura Anderson Kurk

#dating #glass-girl #henry-whitmire #laura-anderson-kurk #long-distance-relationships

But Quinn held the fuzzy handcuffs in his hands, looking them over closely, and he smiled. “Oh, hey, did you want to keep these for when your invisible boyfriend returns from his fake vacation? ↗

— Laura Anderson Kurk

#glass-girl #henry-whitmire #high-school #laura-anderson-kurk #long-distance-relationships

Quit worrying so much about the boards and nails of your life. Focus on the stuff that lasts.” He glanced through the window toward the glowing light of the kitchen where Meg and my mom were laughing about something. ↗

— Laura Anderson Kurk

#glass-girl #henry-whitmire #laura-anderson-kurk #long-distance-relationship #love

He was taking a leap here, negotiating with a crackhead, under the table, in a dark cantina. The courage etched on his face came from loving Aidia so much he’d close his eyes and walk through fire to see her safe. ↗

— Laura Anderson Kurk

#aidia #children #crackhead #dating #drug-abuse

I recognized Meg’s swirly handwriting and crooked my index finger into the side of the envelope to rip it open. There was no letter. Just a picture. A picture of Meg holding a picture of me. The word HOME echoed through my body like a rifle shot. ↗

— Laura Anderson Kurk

#glass-girl #henry-whitmire #high-school #laura-anderson-kurk #long-distance-relationship