Although wisdom is built on life experiences, the mere accumulation of years guarantees nothing. - Sonia Sotomayor

You can't say: This much love is worth this much misery. They're not opposites that cancel each other out; they're both true at the same time.

There is indeed something deeply wrong with a person who lacks principles, who has no moral core. There are, likewise, certainly values that brook no compromise, and I would count among them integrity, fairness, and the avoidance of cruelty. But I have never accepted the argument that principle is compromised by judging each situation on its own merits, with due appreciation of the idiosyncrasy of human motivation and fallibility.

ultimately, I know myself. At each stage of my life, I’ve had a pretty clear notion of my needs and of what I was ready for.