Then find out what your sword is - find your own advantage - and wear it proudly.

Bring a sword to school. Trust me-those girls will leave you alone.

But after being on the run I've learned a life spent creating enemies isn't worth leading. Having allies is the best advantage in the world.

You're just so confident and self-sufficient. So many girls - especially in my world - are so insecure and jealous. We rely so much on one another, but we're so mean to each other at the same time. We could use more women like you to look up to.

The piano—that, too, was an adventure. A little girl tried to learn to play it. Her mother insisted, forced her to sit there and practice. Nothing came of it; stubbornness won out in the end, the stubbornness that protects us from the will of others, that defends our right to live our life the way we want. Even if it means life will turn out worse than anyone planned, will turn into a poor life—but it'll be one's own, however it is, even without music, even without talent.

the association of children and fairy-stories is an accident of our domestic history. Fairy-stories have in the modern lettered world been relegated to the “nursery,” as shabby or old-fashioned furniture is relegated to the play-room, primarily because the adults do not want it, and do not mind if it is misused.