Belinda stared into the fire for some time, thinking about what she had in her life, and what she had given up; and whether it would be worse to love someone who was no longer there, or not to love someone who was.

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

Go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.

Don't start anything you're not prepared to finish.

You’re alive. That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, make anything, dream anything.

There are so many fragile things, after all. People break so easily, and so do dreams and hearts.

It's only a world, after all, and they're just sand grains in the desert, worlds.