Richelle E. Goodrich, Slaying Dragons

"I always envisioned myself as traveling the ocean of life in a rowboat where my mother was one oar and my father, the other. Having two good, solid oars made rowing much easier."

"The ears and the heart are connected, it’s true,for when ears open wide, the heart opens up too."

"Such a nasty bruise,” he says, staring straight into my eyes. I am stunned he can see it. Delicate to the touch and tender on every side, the bruise is deeper than days. My hand automatically moves to my chest. Science taught me with valid assurance that my heart was fixed in my rib cage, but life has since shown me otherwise. My heart in fact dangles from a tangle of strings. The ends are grasped tight by numerous people who yank and release, having caused many painful bruises over time. I cry because they are invisible to most.“Such a nasty bruise,” he repeats, tugging on my poor heart. His kind eyes fall away from mine as I feel a squeeze on my arm. He twists it enough to show me a small, round patch of purple surrounded by a sickly yellowish corona. “Oh. My elbow.” I let the air exhale from my lungs. Another bruise forms where my heart has hit the floor. It is jerked up again. “Can I do anything for you?” I see in his eyes the mirror image of a finger—his finger—wrapped in one of the dangling strings. He tugs and I feel it.“No,” I reply to his question. But it is a lie. There is something he could do, along with all who grasp a portion of the web entangling my heart. I wish they would mercifully let go."

"As sunlight is for flowers, and sustenance for the mortal shell, music is for the human soul."

"Life is music to which you choreograph your own dance."

"My soul, I’ve found, has puppet strings to make me droop or give me wings. And music is the puppeteerthat turns my ear to hear."

"Pain defines moments in the lives of all human beings. The trial is not the endurance of pain but the choices we make regarding how to endure."

"I felt sad. I felt cold. I felt hurt. I felt forsaken and lonely. I felt doubtful and hesitant. I felt scared and deeply worried. I felt different, unknown, and unwelcome. I felt empty and woefully neglected. I felt weak and intimidated. I felt withdrawn and shy. I felt utterly hopeless. Then you held my hand, and I felt better."

"Every single voice—no matter how soft the peep—longs to be heard."

"Numerous times throughout history, a single person has made a tremendous impact on the world. I don’t know why anyone would think that can’t still happen."

"Why is the eye considered a reliable judge when it knows nothing of love or intelligence?"

"Books are carnival rides for your imagination."

"When someone tells me to 'just relax,' I wonder why they don’t hand me a book?"

"Art doesn’t bare itself to just anyone, but to believers called artists."

"Art and the artist meet in stages, slowly revealing themselves until both are satisfied with what the other has become."

"An artist is merely a tool with which art molds itself."

"Beauty is a behavior. As is ugliness."

"The only two words you should ever say to a mirror are "Hello, Beautiful."

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, I have placed you in my hall Where I wander every day. Echo beauty, and you’ll stay."

"Beauty may catch the eye, but a jolly laugh will lasso the heart."