A Dear Diary Pick

A very long day at work in Singasandra - we started singing to the client's tunes only by 1pm, though we were ready there from 10am! Long long day and an even longer commute back home.
Am bookless - didn't pick up anything at Eloor yesterday remembering I had to read one book which I had bought not long back, Tokyo Cancelled - and couldn't find the book later at home.
Had to read something, ended up pulling out one of the old diaries and here goes...

I construct elaborate protective devices against the world, but from time to time someone comes along who walks right through these differences utterly unaware of them. When this happens, I have a sense of being on the edge of life itself, where amazing things can occur - and usually do. I realize that the door is open for hurt and rejection, but also for sharing and growing.
Is there any miracle on earth to compare with that of discovering a new friend, or having that friend discover you? So much is at stake, but I will gladly risk everything to give a promising relationship a chance.
-Alex Noble, Moments of Stillness, in Reader's Digest June 1990

The child is constantly confronted with the nagging questions : "What are you going to be?" Courageous would be the youngster who could look the adult squarely in the face and say, "I'm not going to be anything; I already am".
We adults would be shocked by such an instant remark, for we have forgotten, if indeed, we ever knew, that a child is an active, participating and contributing member of society from birth.
Childhood isn't a time when he is moulded into a human who will live life; he is a human who is living life. No child will miss the zest and joy of living unless these are denied him by adults who have convinced themselves that childhood is a period of preparation.
- Child psychologist David Elkind, The Hurried Child in Reader's Digest June 1990