Why do you think you are missing something you never had?

You can get sucked into the idea that, 'Gosh, this is impressive. Maybe I should do this. It will look good.' Or 'I'll write like this because it will impress that critic.'

Those who don't heed the warnings don't live to admit they were stupid not to do so.

If you can't change your fate, change your attitude.

I saw what I had been fighting for: It was for me, a scared child, who had run away a long time ago to what I had imagined was a safer place. And hiding in this place, behind my invisible barriers, I knew what lay on the other side: Her side attacks. Her secret weapons. Her uncanny ability to find my weakest spots. But in the brief instant that I had peered over the barriers I could finally see what was finally there: an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in.

You must think for yourself, what you must do. If someone tells you, then you are not trying. -An-mei

I felt foolish and tired, as if I had been running to escape someone chasing me, only to look behind to discover there was no one there.