Jennifer Smith

“for the first time in my life, I was aware of cold as a menace.”
― Michelle Paver, Dark Matter

“What, am I supposed to feel guilty?" I say.

He looks confused. "Guilty?"

"That I feel fine for once? That I'm not limping and moaning around? Dragging my leg like Briana? Lying on the floor, crying into my ears when everyone else around me rolls their eyes? I'm supposed to feel bad that I'm better now? I'm supposed to cry over a little cut. To what? To make you feel like I'm not a monster. I need to perform my little bit of pain for you so you'll know I'm human?"

"Miranda, I didn't mean—"

"But not too much pain, am I right? Not too much, never too much. If it was too much, you wouldn't know what to do with me, would you? Too much would make you uncomfortable. Bored. My crying would leave a bad taste. That would just be bad theater, wouldn't it? A bad show. You want a good show. They all do. A few pretty tears on my cheeks that you can brush away. Just a delicate little bit of ouch so you know there's someone in there. So you don't get too scared of me, am I right? So you know I'm still a vulnerable thing. That I can be brought down if need be.”
― Mona Awad, All's Well

“This is one of the tragedies in education today. We have a lot of people who don’t recognize that being a teacher is being with people.”
― bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom

“Close my eyes. Let the night become dawn. Let the snow outside fall and fall like it will bury us. Please bury us. It would be totally fine by me.”
― Mona Awad, Bunny