I have never been carried around by a large boy, or laughed until my stomach hurt at the dinner table, or listened to the clamor of a hundred people all talking at once. Peace is restrained; this is free.
Veronica RothYesterday he told me he thought I would have to pretend to be weak, but he was wrong. I am weak already. I brace myself against the wall and press my forehead to my hands. Itโs difficult to take deep breaths, so I take short, shallow ones. I canโt let this happen. They attacked me to make me feel weak. I can pretend they succeeded to protect myself, but I canโt let it become true.
Veronica RothThatโs one way of looking at it. I prefer to look at it another wayโwhich is that if they are persistent enough, even tiny drops of water, over time, can change the rock forever. And it will never change back.
Veronica RothI read somewhere, one, that crying defies scientific explanation. Tears are only meant to lubricate the eyes. There is no real reason for tear glands to overproduce tears at the behest of emotion. I think we cry to release the animal parts of us without losing our humanity. Because inside of me is a beast that snarls, and growls, and strains toward freedom, toward Tobias, and, above all, towards life. And as hard as I try, I cannot kill it.
Veronica Roth