"Due to the patriarchal understanding of man as norm and woman as other, the wider world often struggles to comprehend anyone drawing on femininities who is not regarded as a woman. Such expression is often heavily policed. Whereas anyone drawing on masculinities is understandable: of course people would want to be masculine. Because masculinity is regarded as superior to femininity, anything associated with femininity on a man is highly visible, whereas masculinity on women is often unremarked." — Meg-John Barker Gender: A Graphic Guide
"I know how seductive holding on to suffering can be because I’ve done it. In many ways it feels safe. I know how powerful the identity of brokenness can be and I have many versions of this story." — Cory Richards The Color of Everything: A Journey to Quiet the Chaos Within
"If we stay in the story too long, it becomes a cage." — Cory Richards The Color of Everything: A Journey to Quiet the Chaos Within
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." — Dumbledore Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
"What’s the point of being grown up if you can’t be childish sometimes?" — 4th Doctor Doctor Who, "Robot"
"I know that I could, under ordinary circumstances, accumulate wealth and obtain a fair position in society, and I am arrived at an age that requires that I should choose some definite course for life. … I brooded on the bread problem, so troublesome to wanderers, trying to believe that I might learn to live like the wild animals, gleaning nourishment here and there, sauntering and climbing in joyful independence of money or baggage. But I am losing precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news. It feels important to keep close to Nature’s heart and break clear away, once in awhile, and spend a week in the wild to Wash your spirit clean." — John Muir via Samuel Hall Young Alaska Days with John Muir
"You see, the thing is, I had every reason to stay. To trudge on at my “grown up” job, remain in the comfort of my home, enjoy the consolation that my friends are just a text away, and basking in the glory of exploring the Northwest wonderland. Then it began. It started out as a faint whisper—a fleeting thought. As time passed, the murmur grew to a soft voice. I could make out what it was saying, “dream, run, live, and never look back.” I tossed it a bit of attention, but decided to reduce the “thought” to an unrealistic, fanciful whim. One afternoon, my entire being was flooded by something similar to a thunderous roar. As it settled into a calm, I recognized it as the call I had ignored so many times before. “Come,” it said. I was overwhelmed with a sensation, a resolve— it’s the kind that everyone feels, but only a few dare to answer. It’s what makes us the “wild ones”. It’s the call of the wild and untamed—an invitation to live. … Some people are calling it a “mid-life crisis”. Others are referring to it as a “life-altering” experience, questioning “are you ready for something like this?” Fortunately, a lot of people are wonderfully supportive. Me? I’m just going through the motions. This whole escapade might seem outlandish, but it is anything but impossible. Call it what you want, but to me, this is the idea… the feeling… the calling… the ultimate adventure. We are the “wild ones”, and we say “yes, and amen” to every crazy invitation that life throws at us." — Lisa Dougherty Stay Wild Magazine, Spring 2015, "The Conscious Kind Project"
"I’m not a brand, I’m a human." — Amanda Sandlin She Explores, Episode 5, "Creatives on the Road"
"And perhaps the body is our final frontier. It’s the one place we can’t leave. We’re there till it goes. Most women and some men spend their lives trying to alter it, hide it, prettify it, make it what it isn’t, or conceal it for what it is. But what if we didn’t do that?" — Cheryl Strayed Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar
"Trusting yourself means living out what you already know to be true." — Cheryl Strayed Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar
"You can tell how smart people are by what they laugh at." — Tina Fey
"Internal reflection was more important than external appearance; personal growth took precedence over material acquisition." — Dick Dorworth Climbing Fitz Roy, 1968, "Viva los Funhogs"
"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." — Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Just be your natural, horrid self." — 4th Doctor Doctor Who, "The Masque of Mandragora"
"Comparison is the biggest thief of joy." — Unknown
"I think he was quiet because his thoughts were loud." — Jedidiah Jenkins To Shake the Sleeping Self: A Journey from Oregon to Patagonia, and a Quest for a Life with No Regret
"Popular kids never grow up to be interesting and…interesting kids are never popular." — Lena Dunham Not That Kind of Girl
"Normality is a paved road: it’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it." — Vincent Van Gogh
"We all change, when you think about it. We’re all different people all through our lives. And that’s okay, that’s good, you’ve got to keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be." — 11th Doctor Doctor Who, "The Time of the Doctor"
"When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other." — Eric Hoffer
