Tara Stiles Quotes

I'm a woman who carries around all these layers of fear and vulnerability.

I have lived so long among people who do not understand me, been so long accustomed to refrain and disguise myself for fear of being laughed at, that I have grown as difficult to come at as a snail in a shell; and what is worse, I cannot come out of my shell when I wish it.

Fear has been my biggest friend. Fear of the unknown. Whenever I've been afraid, I've been very self-protective.

I spent much of my life hiding.

As a kid, I would push my shoulders forward in order to hide my heart from being hurt.

I seem to be failing in my intention to be as boring as I possibly can be for self-protection.

People choose to shut themselves off and build a load of defense mechanisms and not let anybody in because it's easier that way. You don't get hurt, and there's less risk involved if you build this hard shell.

Fear narrows the little entrance of our heart. It shrinks up our capacity to love. It freezes up our power to give ourselves.

By keeping her heart protected, she'll never ever feel rejected.

Normally, we push away the things we're scared of.

You aren't going to leave me alone are you?

If someone really wants to hurt you, they'll find a way whatever. I don't want to live my life worrying about it.

I feel extremely vulnerable.

They look at me and I kind of back up in case they go for my throat.

The personal threat is something that's always been a part of our lives.

I always feel like I'm missing out on something, that someone is having more fun than I am, so I take measures to make sure that is impossible.

I'm scared of everything. I think it's only sensible to be that way.

I don't hide out. If you build a wall around yourself, it draws people to invade it. Fear is the enemy.

My great fear has always been complete and utter failure. Hence, you see, all the dispossessed people in my fiction, and why I try to earn as much money as I can. It's a defense. I don't enjoy it or do anything with it.

A cold heart is my protection mechanism. I don't really feel anything for anyone.

You stand still, somebody might get close to you. I don't stand still much anymore.

I have a very ostrich mentality. I feel like I have my head in the sand so no one can see me.

I felt vulnerable and very much between friends. I remember walking down the hallway and thinking I had no way of knowing what was coming, literally. This wasn't because I had some horrific bullying story, but because of a steady drip of negativity.

I had no friends. I worried a lot.

Fear is a huge thing for older people.