"I still remember being young and every time I felt as if I were in love, it felt like as if I were simply part of a juxtaposition of two lost souls side by side in orbit around a chaotic world." —Thomas Slatin

"Time is as much an equalizer as it is a corrosive, for time does its magic slow and bittersweet." —Thomas Slatin

"The soldier puts on armor before heading into battle, while the wise man puts his words upon the rocks. My struggles are all internal, and I know I'm not ready." —Thomas Slatin

"It's the little things I see that most people don't. Like the way birds fly backwards, forwards, and fall. How butterflies dance around in the air as if they're weightless, and how flowers sway organically in the wind. Perhaps I care too much, and dive too deep." —Thomas Slatin

"It is society that teaches us to focus upon the end result, the finished product, the pinacle of completion. Yet we are complacent in our ignorance of our failures, our struggles, our tears, and all the things that lead up to the realization of our end goals." —Thomas Slatin

"Nothing worthwhile has ever been accomplished using large guns and small ambitions." —Thomas Slatin

"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

"Every person is a gift, and as such are so much more than their jobs, their possessions, or bloated bank accounts. It seems the more we take, the less we become; the fortune of one can only equate with less for some. Love, the greatest thing in life, and are the feelings of the heart." —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

"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