"There is no such thing," he said, "as a man, however clever he may be, who has never at some time in his youth uttered words, or even led a life, that he would not prefer to see expunged from his memory. He should not find this absolutely a matter for regret, as he cannot be sure he would ever have become as wise as he is, if indeed getting wisdom is a possibility for any of us, had he not traversed all the silly and detestable incarnations that are bound to precede that final one...The lives of men you admire, attitudes you think are noble, haven't been laid down by their fathers or tutors-- they were preceded by very different beginnings, and were influenced by what ever surrounded them, whether it was good, bad, or indifferent. Each of them is the outcome of a struggle, each of them is a victory."

-Marcel Proust, In the Shadow of Young Girls In Flower.