How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Narrator.Paragraph)
Quote #1
[Sansa] remembered the splendor of it: the field of pavilions along the river with a knight's shield hung before each door, the long rows of silken pennants waving in the wind, the gleam of sunlight on bright steel and gilded spurs. The days had rung to the sounds of trumpets and pounding hooves, and the nights had been full of feasts and song. Those had been the most magical days of her life, but they seemed a memory from another age now. (3.Sansa.11)
When we last saw Sansa, she was a young lady with a love of story and song, and she thought her life would play out like a princess's should. But that life is for the princesses in other castles. While she fondly remembers the days when life looked like a fairy tale, reality has well and truly crept into her life.
Quote #2
They are not strong, [Dany] told herself, so I must be their strength. I must be their strength. I must show no fear, no weakness, no doubt. However frightened my heart, when they look upon my face they must see only Drogo's queen. She felt older than her fourteen years. If ever she had truly been a girl, that time was done. (13.Daenerys.12)
In A Game of Thrones, Dany was a queen, well a khaleesi, but she had her husband Khal Drogo for support. With Khal Drogo dead, she must lead her people by herself, no small task for a fourteen-year-old girl. When we were fourteen, we had to learn geometry and that was enough for us, thank you.
Quote #3
[Sam] managed a wan smile. "I may be craven, but I'm not stupid. I'm sore and my back aches from riding and from sleeping on the ground, but I'm hardly scared at all. Look." He held out a hand for Jon to see how steady it was. (14.Jon.43)
Even characters with little bearing on the story, like Sam, are part of the coming of age trend in Westeros. All he had to do was travel to lands unknown and confront the likelihood of a frozen afterlife as an ice zombie. No bigs.