Shell S.

“Unlike being nice, kindness is not about what you're portraying, but what you're doing...applying actual love to make the world a better place. Sure, you may smile nicely at the old woman on the bus, but kindness is what makes you give up your seat for her.... Niceness is a mask many folks can wear because that is simply a part of being in a society. ... The pretend politeness of niceness can get in the way of tactful honesty and constructive critique that can be essential to advancing people and projects to a higher plane. As I've gotten older, I've learned that being 'nice' about something can save you conflict, but often, being real about it can save you time. You just gotta learn when, where, and how to apply your realness. Nonetheless kindness always has a place in the game, even if it's just being kind to yourself. ... All you can do is try your best to be yourself and make a practice of being kind.”
― Amanda Seales, Small Doses: Potent Truths for Everyday Use

“You know, the bigger the things a man believes in, the more fiercely he despises those who don't. And yet the greatest of all beliefs would be to believe in people.”
― Karel Capek, The Absolute at Large

“Thanks for letting me be weird...Sorry I'm so messed up about this.'
'You don't have to be sorry; you can be weird for as long as you want...I do it all the time.'
'Yeah, but you're, like, fun-weird. I'm being...sad-weird.'
'It's not always a fun-weird world.”
― Jessica Conwell, Ghost Flower

“Transportation is such an easy progress to measure...We have a bias toward the easy number, but it doesn't always mean what we want it to mean. And if we're going to think about it clearly---and write the kind of science fiction that shows real progress on all fronts, not just one---we need to think of different ways to measure it...If we can measure not just miles but good miles---not just good miles but the people who travel them with us, the places we have preserved along each of those miles---then we'll be another step closer to understanding what progress can look like in the futures we imagine.”
― Marissa Lingen, Uncanny Magazine, Issue 23, July/August 2018