Remember: whatever is burrowed deep in one hungry soul is bound to be tethered to the hearts of many, many more.

Even though love covers all things, fear is what keeps us silent and keeps words unsaid. Fear keeps us standing in one place. Eventually, when it wins, it means we never got the courage to say what we needed to say.

And that’s the truth I needed to swallow: people don’t step out and love for you; that’s on you. You have to be the one to get down deep enough and whisper the words people can’t always say for you - whether you believe in them full or not - “I choose you. I choose you.

All those dotted lines were just the parts of the story where she would get on the ground and get her hands dirty with the mess of it all. The mess and the glory of other people’s hearts and heart songs. She would learn it would take grit, and guts, and courage to make a difference. But the world will always need people who care enough to make a difference, so she needed to not miss her casting call.

I'm just the product of my grandmother telling me for years she would see my name on the spines of books.

That’s why I wanted to be a writer - because someone I loved told me I could be one.