These are my learned lessons, my most critical thoughts, and my truths. They come in the form of personal quotes, and there’s a lot of cognitive time invested here. The order of the quotes means nothing. They don’t seek universal truth—they’re simply who I am.

Quotes

• Some lives are truly complicated, yet superheroines navigate them effortlessly.
• I consider resilience a superhero’s superpower.
• I consider patience a superhero’s superpower.
• I consider listening a superhero’s superpower.
• I was born believing I was Rambo, and I’ll probably die believing I’m Thor… At home, we were always fighters. Right now, this is what keeps me alive. I’m lucky.
• The world has sensational people and absolute sons-of-darkness, but no one is to blame—it’s all contexts and moments. Very Game of Thrones. And it makes me deeply uncomfortable.
• If we’re playing, I’m always on the team. Always. That’s what happens when you thrive in sharing.
• I’ve always believed personalities are forged from fragments of other people’s personalities, who in turn were shaped by fragments of others, who in turn…
• Everything is about how you experience it.
• Some wonderful movies soothe the mind but deceive. Being aware that it’s just a movie is crucial—because reality is always something else.
• I adore Eastern philosophy. Viewing life as a learning journey rather than a chain of aspirations and triumphs (like our Western model) generates zero frustration and zero harm.
• I only believe in people—but not all of them. Some are downright predatory.
• What I feel for certain people (regardless of gender) is rarely reciprocated. And that’s okay.
• I remind myself a thousand times a day: Dude, be careful—don’t judge! And everything gets better.
• I think happiness is a combo that looks a lot like: the calm of good health, the support of a circle you connect with, and sharing. I still haven’t cracked the full formula.
• I’ve fallen in love three times but have loved many more. And I’ve felt lucky.
• I constantly think of all the people who chose to share their time with me. It doesn’t matter how much or how little—it was their time, and they chose to give it to me. Mental flashes of gold.
• Physical pain hijacks my mind but not my soul.
• I’m fully aware of what women fight, endure, and battle daily—but I spiral into frustration when I’m lumped into that unconscious patriarchy used as a generalized weapon. We’re not all like that.
• To me, people are their values. Famous or not. But beware: lying is also a value—and it speaks volumes about someone.
• Seeing someone famous tells me nothing about them.
• I always thought I’d change the world in a big way. I failed spectacularly here.
• I can still enjoy life day by day, but without health, I find no peace.
• I asked life for extra time, and here I am—but I always thought I’d die young.
• I’m grateful for everything. And I make sure to show it.
• I think any relationship lasting beyond five years is pure success. Anything less is another lesson.
• I hope someone gets to enjoy, exclusively, what I carry inside.
• A “normal” life doesn’t exist. For anyone.
• There’s no “good” or “bad,” no “well done” or “poorly done.” That dogma is from the ’70s. There’s only different from.
• We’re all marching straight toward almost nothing is as it seems—and that makes everything harder. I have to remember this.
• If I didn’t learn the easy way, I learned the hard way. The good news? Everyone learns eventually.
• In tough times, some people appear, and some vanish—but the real fight is yours alone. I have no other pillars.
• I genuinely perceive that, at their core, no one wants to complicate their already messy lives with a sick person nearby. I don’t blame them. It just happens.
• When I have the chance, I only want to see the people who flash through my mind.
• I’m still amazed when intelligent people keep smoking.
• The word “family” doesn’t mean the same to everyone.
• When I hear sweeping generalizations (Everyone is, You all are, People always…), I spot the perception error from miles away—and I’m already running.
• For me, wanting but not being able exists. So it’s worth analyzing what we do want.
• Pure love is magnificent. With emotional dependency mixed in, you’ll suffer. No matter which side you’re on.
• Sex is incredible. It’s an intimate, personal, unique game between two different brains in an unrepeatable moment of connection, fueled by brain chemistry. Pure flow.
• Life is an opportunity, and it’s awesome. To me, it’s something to care for and enjoy. But watch out for impulses and excesses—there’s always a price.
• Everything has a price. Choose how much and when you pay. If you don’t, something will decide for you when you least expect it. At least I only need to know this.
• I always try to remember: my cognitive burdens have a cost. Being aware of it—or not—is up to each person or moment.
• There’s no merit in surrendering to the reptilian brain. Anyone can throw a punch. The hard part? Communicating, reasoning, agreeing, understanding. Not losing your cool is what’s tough. Basically, being human is what I value.
• I hate society’s shift toward individualism, yet I function more independently than anyone.
• Almost every discipline and practice teaches new values. I’m fully aware I’m not specifying which ones.
• The people I idolize (or have idolized) have never been on TV.
• To change is to evolve. Or inversely, to evolve is to adapt to change. But change is the only constant.
• A generational shift isn’t about age gaps—it’s rooted in the education of that era.
• Humor is contagious. So is toxicity.
• Your mind needs a body to exist. There’s nothing beyond. Every day, dice with countless sides are rolled. Poor health is just one face. Each time you neglect your body, you remove faces from the dice. You might hit rock bottom with many faces left or few—but stacking the odds gives me peace.
• The butterfly effect is real. Society is global. Many impacts come from afar. Beware of the individualistic structures we’ve built. We all live in the same world.
• Mentally, I find illness harder to manage than any athletic challenge. No matter how grueling the sport. Many of my role models are in hospitals, not stadiums.
• Science changes the world. Science builds the world. Science evolves the world. But science needs the soul of humanity. Books, art, and philosophy nurture that soul. These are the true pillars upholding science.
• The phrase “You’re useless” sets off alarms about the speaker. Everyone is good at something—but no one is good at everything.
• Sometimes, sports feel deeply egocentric. You do it for yourself, not your neighbor. That’s when sports stop being exemplary to me.
• Some soccer chants are primal. They sound just like the grunts we made when painting handprints on cave walls.
• Men’s professional soccer is still wildly overrated.
• Pure marketing: nail the first impression. Changing it costs extra time.
• As a team player, pushing together gives you everything.
• Very personal: Is there a more beautiful body than a woman’s? Add scars, and it’s even more so.
• Language creates realities. A double-edged sword. I stay alert.
• I’ve seen many adopt their parents’ values. That’s fine. I did the opposite—fleeing theirs. It helped me define what I didn’t want. Also fine.
• Seeing lives as an infinite encyclopedia makes you realize: Book A of life is valid, Book H is valid, Book Z is valid. Imposing one over another makes no sense.
• If I haven’t learned from a mess, it means I haven’t processed it yet.
• Dry, forgotten shit doesn’t stink. Poke it with a stick, and the smell lingers. Some things are better left buried. Time.
• Having expectations is overrated.
• Pointless actions: showing off.
• I don’t believe in not learning. Everyone learns—the how and speed just vary.
• Indifference breeds indifference. Another double-edged weapon.

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