This year, I am trying The Daily Post’s 365 Days of Writing Prompts to ensure I write at least a little bit every day. I will be posting some of the results here. This is the one from today (4th January).

Do you have a favorite quote that you return to again and again? What is it, and why does it move you?

I’m an indecisive person. Whether it’s a choice of ice cream flavour, or an essay question of many, or even an example to demonstrate that I’m indecisive, I generally have a hard time choosing. So, of course I have had difficulties choosing a favourite quote, since I have a few more than one. After spending some time thinking about it, I managed to bring it down to two. Of course, I couldn’t choose between them, because they are both quotes that I find myself thinking of if someone asks for my favourite.

1. “Being fearless isn’t being 100% not fearful. It’s being terrified but you jump anyway.” – Taylor Swift

Although it may seem typical or cliché for a teenage girl to quote Taylor Swift, this quote has genuinely stuck with me since I read it. It has reminded me that being fearless isn’t always about being completely brave or totally free of any fears. Just because someone is scared doesn’t mean they can’t be fearless, if they dare to push themselves despite those fears. I think this is a more human description of being fearless and reminds me that taking a jump, even one that may seem small to everyone else but is terrifying to me, is still an achievement because I managed to push aside my fears to take a chance.

2. “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”  – Albus Dumbledore / J.K. Rowling

When things go wrong, it is sometimes easy to become lost in the darkness. I sometimes find myself overwhelmed by the amount of assignments, exams and other tasks I have ahead of me, and when the stress level gets too high, I feel like an enormous wave is engulfing me, while the tide whisks me away further from the shore and sharks are circling me, asking me what electrophoresis is. Even though the workload of a twelfth grader may not seem like much to others, it constitutes the majority of my life right now, and it becomes easy for me to get lost in all the work. When things start to go downhill, this quote reminds me that all is not lost. It helps me to gain a more positive outlook, and to remember that happiness is just harder to see in the darkness, and can be found within arm’s reach by just turning on the light.