“I am not made like any of those I have seen. I venture to believe that I am not made like any of those who are in existence. If I am not better, at least I am different.”
― Jean Jacques Rousseau
How do you see yourself as different than those around you?
We put tags on our pets so that if they should ever get lost, they could be recognized and brought home. Just a name, a phone number, maybe an address is enough.
What few words help you remember yourself and bring yourself back to a place of home?
“It is easier to live through someone else than to complete yourself. The freedom to lead and plan your own life is frightening if you have never faced it before. It is frightening when a woman finally realizes that there is no answer to the question ‘who am I’ except the voice inside herself.”
― Betty Friedan
What have you learned about yourself by paying attention to the voice inside you?
There’s much to be said for “going with the flow” or “not pushing the river.” But history is generally made by people who have a goal—a destination they are headed towards—and a vast determination not to stop.
What is your most urgent long-term goal?
“All the books we own, both read and unread, are the fullest expression of self we have at our disposal. … But with each passing year, and with each whimsical purchase, our libraries become more and more able to articulate who we are, whether we read the books or not.”
― Nick Hornby
What would someone know about you from looking at your books?
