Words to live by

Why learn a piece of music unless it’s to be performed? Why knit a sweater unless it’s to be given to a loved one? We think everything we do has to be up to snuff and we forget that the pure, uncensored joy of living in our skin comes when we are not attached, 24-7, to either our fans or our critics. We can paint just for ourselves. We can belt out torch songs in an empty office.

—Veronica Chambers, author and journalist