The star we're looking for isn't so very friendly,' said Moomintroll. 'Quite the contrary, in fact.'What did you say?' said Sniff.Moomintroll went a bit red. 'I mean -- stars in general,' he said, 'big and small, friendly and unfriendly, and so on.'Can they be unfriendly?' asked Snufkin.'Yes -- ones with tails,' answered Moomintroll. 'Comets.'At last it dawned on Sniff. 'You're hiding something from me!' he said accusingly. 'That pattern we saw everywhere, and you said it didn't mean anything!'You're too small to be told everything,' answered Moomintroll.'Too small!' screamed Sniff. 'I must say it's a fine thing to take me on an expedition of discovery and not tell me what I'm supposed to be discovering!

— Tove Jansson

I have realized; it is during the times I am far outside my element that I experience myself the most. That I see and feel who I really am, the most! I think that's what a comet is like, you see, a comet is born in the outer realms of the universe! But it's only when it ventures too close to our sun or to other stars that it releases the blazing 'tail' behind it and shoots brazen through the heavens! And meteors become sucked into our atmosphere before they burst like firecrackers and realize that they're shooting stars! That's why I enjoy taking myself out of my own element, my own comfort zone, and hurling myself out into the unknown. Because it's during those scary moments, those unsure steps taken, that I am able to see that I'm like a comet hitting a new atmosphere: suddenly I illuminate magnificently and fire dusts begin to fall off of me! I discover a smile I didn't know I had, I uncover a feeling that I didn't know existed in me... I see myself. I'm a shooting star. A meteor shower. But I'm not going to die out. I guess I'm more like a comet then. I'm just going to keep on coming back.