the arithmetic

most of life does not return what you put in.
this is not cynicism, it’s the arithmetic.

you can love someone for years and not be chosen.
you can study for months and be asked the wrong question.
you can be good and be passed over.
you can be right and be alone about it.

so you have to find the few places
where effort and result are actually connected
and you have to guard them with your life,

because they are the only proof you will ever get
that you are not imagining yourself.