i am not the sort to hide from pain. but i do think that life is defined by pain only insofar as we learn from it and are changed by it. i do not think that it would be wise for me to be hurt again and again by an experience that i never even wanted.

hear hear. i'm one of the kids who has not only always known, but also always felt that love is culturally constructed, and not at all universal. it is one of the ways in which this time and place has never fit me.