"Nothing in life just 'happens'. Opportunity and goals can only be realized through hard work, determination, love, and blessings of patience." —Thomas Slatin, Belong

"Life was so much easier when I was young. I never thought I would ever see the day when I would be forced to trade my childhood heroes for ghosts. I sometimes dream from time to time, of days long ago, straight line from the days when I was still very young." —Thomas Slatin, Belong

"Asking a child what they want to be when they grow up is very limiting, as it narrows down the possibilities to career opportunities. The better question is to ask a child who they want to be and what they dream of doing with their life." —Thomas Slatin, Belong

"Minutes of daylight, as the minutes turn into hours, is the parlance of our time. Everytime I look in the mirror, I see myself staring right back at me; a fleeting glimpse of myself going round and round on a carousel cusp of why." —Thomas Slatin, Belong

"It came upon me like a ghost in the night, scary at first then comforting, much like the feeling of a thousand hugs when suddenly I realized, I belong. I thought of a scream, but instead slowly whispered to myself, I belong, followed by a single tear of joy which slowly ran down my cheek, a feeling of calm. Calm. Belong." —Thomas Slatin, Belong

“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons..." —Thomas Stearns Elliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

"If it wasn't for my friends who wanted nothing but the best for me, my childhood heroes, and a series of seemingly impassable challenges, I never would have been successful." —Thomas Slatin

"In order to grow, one must first learn how to let go of the past, and only hold onto those memories which served as the foundation of the people we are today, for as time goes by, one gets better equipped at telling the difference between the two." —Thomas Slatin

"One who lives their whole life without an interesting story to tell has undoubtedly wasted their life." —Thomas Slatin

"One might not remember the places they have been, one might not often think about where they are going, but one will never forget where they started." —Thomas Slatin

"The greatest advice my father ever gave to me was to never allow anyone to do my thinking for me, and never let anyone try to and convince me that my dreams are frivolous." —Thomas Slatin

"Whenever one gets to the heart of matters, it's the heart that always matters most." —Thomas Slatin

"Most people only learn life lessons from romantic relationships. To be successful in life, one must learn from every interpersonal relationship." —Thomas Slatin

"Success can be measured in innumerable lifetime achievements, yet modern western parlance is conditioned to exclusively measure success scholastically, vocationally, or economically." —Thomas Slatin

"It doesn't matter whom someone supports politically because all politicians will create conflict simply to provide solutions to their self-created prophecies. Progress and success is better attained through community involvement and cohesion, rather than conflict resolution." —Thomas Slatin