and they shared her joy. Luke 1:58

No one knows the weight of another's burden. GEORGE HERBERT

I have often discovered how profitable it is to give sorrow an ethical expression, not to erase the aesthetic factor in sorrow but to master it ethically. As long as sorrow is quiet and humble, I do not fear it; if it becomes vehement and passionate, sophistical so that it deludes me into despondency, I arise, I brook no rebellion, I will have nothing in the world cheat me of what I have from God's hand as a gift of grace. I do not chase sorrow away, do not try to forget it, I repent.

Tears shed for self are tears of weakness, but tears shed for others are a sign of strength.

God doesn't intend for you to handle all the pain and stress in your life by yourself. We were wired for each other. We need each other.

Surround yourself with those who won't compete but will revel in your success and see your ascent as a reflection of their own possibilities.

Friends don't get jealous of each other or begrudge the other for finding success. They celebrate every victory together.

I know who you are in your heart,' Andres said. 'That's all that matters.' And that was it. That was the moment. Now I knew how I would feel if I ever lost him. That was how you knew love. My mother had told me that. All you had to do was imagine your life without the other person, and if the thought alone made you shiver, then you knew.

Are people drawn to each other because of the stories they carry inside? At the library I couldn't help but notice which patrons checked out the same books. They appeared to have nothing in common, but who could tell what a person was truly made of? The unknown, the riddle, the deepest truth. I noticed them all: the ones who'd lost their way, the ones who'd lived their lives in ashes, the ones who had to prove themselves, the ones who, like me, had lost the ability to feel.

Then I understood that when someone begins to tell you her story, you are entwined together. Perhaps even more so if the ending hasn't been divulged. It was exactly like dreaming the same dream, then waking too soon and never finding out what had happened.

Such was the case with most unhappy students; they avoided even one another, so intent on their own unhappiness they failed to notice the other lost souls around them.

I had been blind to the pain of others until I had my own burden to carry.