Our lives are fashioned by our choices. First we make our choices. Then our choices make us.

I can't let them see my doubts, or the wounds they've inflicted on me.

It won't take long before I explode with pent-up rage.

In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit.

I also have a brand-new prescription for gunfire jitters: When the shooting gets loud, proceed to the nearest wooden staircase. Run up and down a few times, making sure to stumble at least once. What with the scratches and the noise of running and falling, you won't even be able to hear the shooting, much less worry about it. Yours truly has put this magic formula to use, with great success!

Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me. Not only because I’ve never written anything before, but also because it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year old school girl. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I feel like writing.

Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.