It was like discovering that some part of you wasn’t yours at all. And it made me wonder what else I couldn’t claim.

funny how a beautiful song could tell such a sad story

It didn’t make you noble to step away from something that wasn’t working, even if you thought you were the reason for the malfunction. Especially then. It just made you a quitter. Because if you...

Yes,’ he said, ‘a list. That way, I figure, we’ll have a written record of what we’ve agreed upon as our goals for our relationship. So if problems arise, we’ll be able to consult the...

You said the other day life was long,’ I shot back. ‘Which is it?’ ‘It’s both,’ she said, shrugging. ‘It all depends on how you choose to live it. It’s like forever, always changing.’Kristy and...

He grinned again. We’d only been seeing each other for a few weeks now, but this easy give-and-take still surprised me. From that very first day in my room, I felt like we’d somehow skipped...

Family,” she announced. “They’re the people in your life you don’t get to pick. The ones that are given to you,as opposed to those you get to choose.””You’re bound to them by blood,” she continued,...

I wasn’t ready to think about the other yet: that it wasn’t that I wasn’t right for Macon, but that maybe he wasn’t right for me. There was a difference. Even for someone who things...

After the group vet appointment–during which Lyle scratched the vet, the vet tech, and some poor woman minding her own business in the waiting room–we went back to Sabrina’s and re-released the cats to their...

It’s hard to be nice when the rest of the world is so mean.

To me, summer has always been about potential. This was especially true when I was in high school. Those 3 or so months between 1 school year and the next always meant change. People got...

You can’t just plan a moment when things get back on track, just as you can’t plan the moment you lose your way in the first place.

Failing sucks. But it’s better than the alternative.””Which is?””Not even trying.” Now he did look at me, straight on. “Life’s short, you know?

I knew, in the silence that followed, that anything could happen here. It might be too late: again, I might have missed my chance. But I would at least know I tried, that I took...

Sometimes, you have to manufacture your own history. Give fate a push, so to speak.

…But that’s just the thing, right? Family isn’t something that’s supposed to be static or set. People marry in, divorce out. They’re born, they die. It’s always evolving, turning into something else.

You did listen.” He sat back, nodding his head. “Okay, then. Now tell me what you really thought.””I told you. It was interesting.””Interesting,” he said, “is not a word.””Since when?””It’s a placeholder. Something you use...

Silence is so freaking load

I knew this feeling, the 2 a.m. loneliness that I’d practically invented.

I like flaws. I think they make things interesting.

But all I could think of was how when nothing made sense and hadn’t for ages, you just have to grab onto anything you feel sure of.

But as long as something is never even started, you never have to worry about it ending. It has endless potential.

Life is an awful, ugly place to not have a best friend.

She knew I could tell with one glance, one look, one simple instant. It was her eyes. Despite the thick makeup, they were still dark-rimmed., haunted, and sad. Most of all though, they were familiar....

Best Friends. And I thought of what she had done all the millions of times I cried to her, collapsing at even the slightest wounding of my heart or pride. So I reached over and...

You could just tell when a person belonged somewhere. That is something you can’t fake, no matter how hard you try

It was so quiet, I could hear my own breathing, loud in my ears. Outside, the ocean was crashing, waves hitting sand, then pulling back to sea. I thought of everything being washed away, again...

But i was sure of something, too: it’s a lot easier to be lost than found. It’s the reason we’re always searching, and rarely discovered–so many locks, not enough keys.

You asked me to go out with you. I know you probably changed your mind. But you should know, the answer was yes. It’s always been yes when it comes to you.

We make such messes in this life, both accidently and on purpose. But wiping the surface clean doesn’t really make anything any neater. It just masks what is below. It’s only when you really dig...

You get what you give, but also what you’re willing to take.

Sometimes, we just have to be happy with what people can offer us. Even if it’s not what we want, at least it’s something.

The point,’ Ms. Conyers continued, “is that no word had one specific definition. Maybe in the dictionary, but not in real life.

You get used to people being a certain way; you depend on it. And when they surprise you, for better or worse, it can shake you to your core.

Not everything’s perfect, especially in the beginning. And its all right to have a little bit of regret every once in a while. It’s when you feel it all the time and can’t do anything...

You think it’s all obvious and straightforward, this world. But really, it’s all in who is doing the looking.

If June was the beginning of a hopeful summer, and July the juice middle, August was suddenly feeling like the bitter end.

I don’t get it,’ Caroline said, bemused. ‘She’s the only one with wings. Why is that?’There were so many questions in life. You couldn’t ever have all the answers. But I knew this one.It’s so...

It’s funny how one summer can change everything. It must be something about the heat and the smell of chlorine, fresh-cut grass and honeysuckle, asphalt sizzling after late-day thunderstorms, the steam rising while everything drips...

It all counts,’ Adam said again. ‘And the bottom line is, what defines you isn’t how many times you crash, but the number of times you get back on the bike. As long as it’s...

Music is the great uniter. An incredible force. Something that people who differ on everything and anything else can have in common.

Outside, the ocean was crashing, waves hitting sand, then pulling back to sea. I thought of everything being washed away, again and again. We make such messes in this life, both accidentally and on purpose....

… Everything he feels, he feels strongly. Too strongly, sometimes. I think he freaks people out.

I have to admit, an unrequited love is so much better than a real one. I mean, it’s perfect… As long as something is never even started, you never have to worry about it ending....

The girl in the tight black dress was passing by us now, eyeing Wes and walking entirely too slowly. “Hi,” she said, and he nodded at her but didn’t reply. Knew it, I thought.Honestly,” I...

The fate of your heart is your choice and no one else gets a vote

As for me, I was just trying to get it right, whatever that means. But now I finally felt I was on my way. Everyone had a forever, but given a choice, this would be...

That first love. And the first one who breaks your heart. For me, they just happen to be the same person.

Two a.m.’ He swallowed, then said, “You know. The person you can call at two a.m. and, no matter what, you can count on them. Even if they’re asleep or it’s cold or you need...

I reached up with my finger and traced the scar over my eyebrow, remembering when that was the greatest hurt I’d ever known.