"I thought cancer was just a dancer and her body was the stage. –J. H."

"At Jake’s Bar a few nights ago some random 65 yr old lady who was extremely lit decided to start chatter with me and my buddy. Little did we know that if we responded she wouldn’t leave us the fuck alone, and she didn’t. For the first time in my life I had to pretend as if I was gay, so some obnoxious filth would leave me alone. On the norm I would say, "18-80 deaf, deaf, dumb, blind or stupid, I’ll carry her – if she can’t walk –but for the first I had to go against all principles. Solid way to spend my fist week in town, ah?"

"I arrived on a redeye. I took my last E pill on the ride from the airport. At the flight gate he said "I love it when you look like a punk slut". We were on the 4th story of his house when he fell asleep mid-kiss. I slip away from his dead embrace onto the balcony. What was the point? Why keep doing any of it? I look down at my body & see a whore. Tired of being stared at, jerked off to, raped, and sick of empty love. I climb over the rail. The balcony door slides open "What are you doing?" I reply with a cold stare + a fake smile. I jump. I feel bliss as I rush toward concrete. I never splatter. I feel a rude awakening as stillness jolts me when his hand catches my arm. Thank you Matt. That was the last time I tried it. –S. P."

"The thing that impacted my life most would have to be when I lived in Rome, Italy. It was the first time I had left Pennsylvania, the first time I had been anywhere off the eastern seaboard. When I was in Rome, I studied painting in a place where Caravaggio and Bernini thrived. I rode a vespa through the cobblestone streets and took trips on weekends to Egypt and Greece.
Now I realize I don’t have to be in Europe or Africa to explore and learn. I’ve seen so much in the states to inspire my art. My heart will always be in Rome, but I’ve learned to appreciate the place where I came from. –A. M. Y."

"There have been a lot of things that have impacted my life. It’s so hard to just choose one but if I had to choose, I’d write about how my mom gave me pictures of my biological father, or as I like to call him, "sperm donor". That’s all he was. He left my mother and I with nothing, not even a fucking dime. He fucked another woman, got her pregnant and left us. My mother was devastated and I hate him for hurting her. But what I hate the most is that when I saw the pictures, I realized I looked like him and I hate how I look even more. I never liked how I look and now I think I know why. I don’t hate him for what he did to me, but I hate him for hurting my mom. She had been through so much and he hurt her and had another woman pregnant. My mom showed me a picture because she said I deserved to know. Now I do and I want to cry but I won’t. If I saw him I’d spit in his face. I have a dad. We may not be blood related but sometimes there are stronger things than blood. I wouldn’t trade my dad for anyone else. That’s my impact. I love my family and friends. S. C."

"E. R. IMPACTS ON LIFE
Kicking twin brother out of the womb.
Christmas – 9 years old – my first pony.
Ant enchanted kingdom.
Pilgrimage to Bob Marley’s birthplace in 9 Mile, Jamaica.
Liberal Democrat in Lynchburg Virginia – 2 years.
Student of "developing world" – 3 years.
Who knows? Can’t wait."

"This pen, had a major impact. The fact that someone cared what I thought. The fact that I could make a difference. Maybe it's this pen."

"When I was much younger in elementary school I had a best friend named Jenny. When we got to 7th grade, I was dumb & decided I didn't want to be friends anymore & started to make fun of her. I destroyed her emotioanlly. I moved away. Several years later another long time friend called me. Asked if I remembered her! I had to think about it, it had been so long. Yes! I remember. I was an ass to her. I should call her & apologize! I was such a bad person! I was about to ask for her # when I found out she died 2 months prior. I would say that it's a pretty big impact & a long feeling of guilt never will I betray someone."

"Last year I meet someone who I didn't know was going to have the impact on my life that he has had since. His name is Tim. We met last Summer. After a few months of knowing him we had planed a roadtrip together. It started on the coast of North Carolina in (?), a very small fishing town. The trip took us from there to New Jersey. One thing that I claim is that I am a climber! I love the sport and the focus it takes to excell at this exciting yet dangerous sport. Along the way Tim and I had many adventures, of course, but most importantly he helped me discover who I am. It is very rare in this day that you meet people that are able to have that deep of an impact on your life. He is a very strong christian and spreads the word of love and faith where ever he goes. Through the passion of climbing and discovery of friendship he was able to help me see where I wanted to be in life.
We had an amazing day down in (?) West Virginia. We had just gotten done climbing a (?) - what this means to non-climbers is we were about 500 feet above the ground, sitting on a fin of rock, hanging our feet over the side without another living person in sight. - We felt like we were on the top of the world! Through our conversations we realized that there is an amazing world out there that has been there hundreds of years before we have been there and will be there hundreds of years after we are gone This is the "world" we live in. An amazing, God giving world that we have no control over. This is the world that we are so blessed to be a part of. This is the world that I need to be grounded in, and this is the world that Tim helped remind me of. -always remember to love life and bow blessed we are - there are amazing people out there that will help remind you of this. –J."