静心倾听纯净心灵，读无声告白

"He only wanted to carefully read the long-awaited acceptance letter, which promised him freedom, a new world as white and clean as chalk waiting for him to arrive."

"Her old life, comfortable and warm but oppressive, was trying to pull her back into its embrace."

"The pain spread from her wrist, up through her shoulder, and down her spine. It wasnt from the surgery, but from disappointment. Like everyone else, when she heard the word doctor, she still thought of- would always think of- men."

"Marylin chose the Asian James firmly because of love and her unique preference. Under the pressure of societys expectation for women to return home, she left school, got married, and had children. She didnt realize the vortex behind these mundane choices until it was too late. By the time she became aware, her husband, children, and societys obstacles had warmly enveloped her like quicksand. And the few opportunities she had were fleeting. Once in this situation, only the brave can escape the mud. Faced with her beloved husband and children, and elusive dreams and distant ideals that even society denies, I want to ask for her using her husbands question about his own fate: What went wrong? Why was it so completely mistaken?"

"In Lydia, I see my childhood. In Marylin, I see my present. Reading this book is like having a plastic film covering my mouth and nose, unable to breathe. To me, this book is a warning, a painful confession. While reading, I kept thinking about the book covers quote, Our entire lives, were supposed to get rid of other peoples expectations and find our true selves. Perhaps deeply loving ourselves and selfishly loving ourselves, treasuring our ideals and questioning our emotions, and loving ourselves like a flame before anyone else- raising ourselves like daughters - is the power to overcome our unfortunate fate."

"The family discusses race, gender, family, friendship, expectations, liberation, and forgiveness. The more I read, the more I realize that these deadlocks seem impossible to untangle. Putting any one of us in the situations in the book, can we find more opportunities? The solutions I can think of seem no different from the vulgar choices that young people scorn: dont immigrate to a discriminatory country, dont marry into a discriminated ethnic group, dont go against societal viewpoints. But at the end of the book, a seemingly representative character chose to pursue same-sex relationships against societal viewpoints and says to the desperate Lydia, At least I know what I want. A lifetime of wanting to assimilate James, the female struggling between uniqueness and conformity in school, the child who was discriminated against, pretended to assimilate into the group to maintain their parents happiness, and the neighbor with unique personality and charm who doesnt care what others think, all draw a complex and intertwined picture with ideals and happiness as an unattainable endpoint. Life is unpredictable and random, and we all live in chance. Happiness that we receive needs no further inquiry or questioning. Just hold on to time and enjoy it. When chance takes it back, theres no need to explain."