The Diary of a Young Girl

In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. Written in hiding. By a teenager.

Paper has more patience than people. The best argument for journaling, from a thirteen-year-old.

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. Start now, she says.

Anne grew from chatterbox to writer in two years of hiding. The book is her sentence structure outliving her captors.

The first kiss, in the dark annex. Even there, being fifteen was being fifteen.

Peter's arms and the silence after. The diary never lied about teenagers either.

I don't want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to people. Delivered.

The last entry cuts off mid-sentence. The silence after is the loudest page in the book.

Miep kept the notebook in a drawer until Anne's name made the radio. Publishing as an act of love.

Carried out of it: ordinary days are the luxury. She wrote that. Believe her.