"Yes. It could happen any time, tornado, earthquake, Armageddon. It could happen. Or sunshine, love, salvation. It could, you know. That’s why we wake up and look out - no guarantees in this life. But some bonuses, like morning, like right now, like noon, like evening."

"The birds have vanished into the sky,
and now the last cloud drains away.

We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains."

"Any reasonably self-introspective person is going to change in their twenties. Let’s face it, Sophia. People with our background and experiences will change a lot. Can you really guarantee that the love of your life at 22 is going to change at the same pace, in the same direction, and arrive at the same place as you at 30? Or are you willing to compromise and base your changes on someone else’s life? I’m not advocating for serial monogamy. But I think it’s important to grow into your own person before melting your soul with someone else’s. It’s as much about independence as it is about finding someone who’s actually right for you. You don’t want to wonder at age 30."

"Here is what awaits you out in the world: the stands-too-close monsters behind you in line who cough into your hair and talk with that accent that sedative-overusers have. Other people’s projects of art and commerce, which can be a drag when you realize you’ve oriented your go-out life to other people’s efforts to be cool, rich, relevant. Near-daily disappointments by existing and potential friends and lovers (did you know that “lover” as a thing to say is happening? Let’s try it!). Small, watery drinks and some asshole’s version of an appealing crab-plus-avocado-plus-prickly-greens thing to eat for dinner. Plus weather, parking, spending money, constant and pulsing possibilities of embarrassing yourself. Look, this isn’t grand scheme important stuff, just a few convenient Friday night excuses.
Here is what awaits you at your house: soft jammies, music you like, everything you already paid for, a hermetically-sealed experience of self-hood and pleaz and being disgusting in whatever unrestrained way you want."