In small letters, someone has written NEVER FORGET on one of the slats. I know it's supposed to be a pledge, but it feels like a curse. Don't we have to forget some of it? Don't we have to forget this feeling? If we don't, how will we live?

aloof, adj. It has always been my habit, ever since junior high school, to ask that question: “What are you thinking?” It is always an act of desperation, and I keep on asking, even though I know it will never work the way I want it to.

You can't know what it is like for us now--you will always be one step behind. Be thankful for that. You can't know what it was like for us then--you will always be one step ahead. Be thankful for that, too.

These words are now mine, but soon they’ll be ours.

Feeling someone else's anger is bad; being left alone is worse.

detachment, n. Even when I detach, I care. You can be separate from a thing and still care about it.

Do not just seek happiness for yourself. Seek happiness for all. Through kindness. Through mercy.