我们并不是沿着绝对、线性的时间轨迹成长的。我们的成长常常是不均衡的——有的维度在前进，有的却停滞不前。我们只是在局部地成长，是相对的存在：在某些方面已然成熟，在另一些方面却依然幼稚。过去、现在与未来彼此交织，时而将我们拉回，时而把我们推向前，或让我们停驻在当下。我们由层层叠叠的结构构成，如同细胞般细密，也如同星座般彼此关联。

We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.

- Anaïs Nin