Victoria Pike

“Knowing what we now know about the human brain and how it grows, that we entered this world not hating ourselves, thirsty to learn, we must believe this: Learning how to hate ourselves was merely one of countless things we could have learned. In those same hours we have devoted to self-loathing, we could have learned how to play the flute or repair clocks instead. The same brainpower we have poured into self-cutting, say, or anorexia could have been spent attending sailing school or inventing fluorescent toothpaste. But it was not. Of all the potential lessons in the world, self-loathing was just one. It was by random, tragic, potentially fatal accident that we found ourselves enrolled in Self-Loathing 101. In it, we learned: Have fear. Lose heart.”
― Anneli Rufus, Unworthy: How to Stop Hating Yourself

“Our true selves are the selves we were before we twisted, bent, and beat ourselves into the shapes we had to take in order to please others: the shapes that we hate. Our true selves are the selves we would have been had no one tried to break or shame or change us. Our true selves are what those who actually love us see in us. Our true selves are who we have always been, even if they have been in hiding all this time. Our true selves are who we will, in that sheer blue zone above self-loathing, always be.”
― Anneli Rufus, Unworthy: How to Stop Hating Yourself

“The proverb warns that, 'You should not bite the hand that feeds you.' But maybe you should, if it prevents you from feeding yourself.”
― Thomas Stephen Szasz

“After you're dead and buried and floating around whatever place we go to, what's going to be your best memory of earth? What one moment for you defines what it's like to be alive on this planet. What's your takeaway? Fake yuppie experiences that you had to spend money on, like white water rafting or elephant rides in Thailand don't count. I want to hear some small moment from your life that proves you're really alive.”
― Douglas Coupland, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture