The Echoes Of Others

A new day, a new challenge to complete; this one asks for my favorite quote. As I've given each one of these challenges a pseudo challenger, it only seems right to do the same here. I've always been horrible with remembering things - names, lyrics, birthdays, and other important tidbits, so I think memory is best suited for this particular challenge. 

To think that I have to pick one quote out of the multitude of funny, inspirational, and/or emotional ones that I've come across just seems unfair. Tupac Shakur and his line "Things'll never be the same. That's just the way it is" had a big impact on me growing up. Denzel Washington had many good quotes, "This shit is chess, it ain't checkers" is a classic from Training Day. In one of my favorite anime, Trigun, Knives said "If you keep saving butterflies, spiders will starve to death! But... wanting to save them both is a contradiction. What would you rather do? Keep deliberating? The butterfly will be eaten in the meantime." and my perspective shifted. 

There are so many echoes to pull inspiration from, but if I had to choose one that resonated with me the most, it'd have to be James Baldwin stating "When one begins to live by habit and by quotation, one has begun to stop living." This quote reminds me that growth is necessary to live and to get lost maintaining an identity, or in the guise of others, is a means to lose out on life.