What good is safety if you're dead inside?

I was immediately swept up in Ariane's story. Equal parts thrill-ride and love story, The Rules is intense and emotional. This book stays with you long after you finish.

See you soon (but not soon enough).

I respond, thoughts dropping away, like pebbles plopping one by one in water, sinking down, down into dark oblivion.

Never forget that we are more than the genetic code. We can be more than labels applied to us. We can be more than what others whisper behind our backs. Free will exists. We need to choose to be the best we can be and we need to help others do the same. Believe in yourself.

The heart that truly loves never forgets.

My imprint is there for the world to see. I don't try to hide it with my hair or a high collar. When I got ready for school this morning, I kept thinking of Sean. How proud he appears. Unapologetic. And I want to be like that. I don't want to look cowed or ashamed. I may not want to be this, but I don't want to be that girl, either. I don't want to be afraid.