My Name Is Anton

by Catherine Ryan Hyde

A human life is a very different place when you can tell people what you need.

“There is one thing in this life you can never hide, and that’s love. When you’re in love, you can’t disguise that. No one I’ve known can conceal it, so far as I could tell. It’s like that old saying about trying to hide your light under a bushel basket, except in this case all that happens is you get this very shiny basket that glows with a light people can see from miles away.”

Love is when you can make the following statement, and mean it: ‘What’s best for her, even if it doesn’t include me.’ Otherwise you just love the way you feel when she’s around, and you want to be selfish with that—hang on to it at all costs, even if it harms her.

But sometimes the hard parts of our lives come with something valuable attached.”

looking directly at a painful truth hurts less than being stalked by it. At least, in the long run.