Ghosts of War Quotes

“If I don't do something who will?”
― Ryan Smithson, Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-Old GI

“For me, the future was a complete paradox. One one hand [..] teachers were pushing that 'know what you want to do for the rest of your life' attitude. Yet, on the other hand I wanted to stay a kid. Parents and teachers were so intimidating when they talked about the 'real world' and taxes and mortgages and bills and insurance. With freedom comes responsibility and I wasn't sure if I was ready for all that.”
― Ryan Smithson, Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-Old GI

“High school was so typical and predictable. Everyone here was so occupied with discovering the definition of cool.

To some, cool was Abercrombie and popped collars. Some thought cool was playing sports. Some thought cool was drinking before the homecoming dance. And others swore that cool was not trying to be cool: nonconformists with black nail polish, leather boots, and oversized safety pins in their ears.

Our free expression was in so many ways just a restriction of our identities. All of us trying to be something we weren't. Even the nonconformists were conforming.

High school, I guessed, was just a chapter, something standing in the way of real freedom. High school didn't even seem real. It seemed so fake.”
― Ryan Smithson, Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-Old GI

“High school defines literature with terminology: metaphors, similes, imagery. But experience defines literature as more than words on paper. Not just escape, but more important, words that have the power to heal.  ”
― Ryan Smithson, Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-Old GI