Kim Quindlen

Whenever he’s about to fart, he makes this face when he’s trying to get it out. But it’s also his way of warning me to either move away from him, or to put the window down if we’re in the car. In a strange way, I guess it’s his way of being a considerate boyfriend.

It’s important to be logical and practical. But it’s also important to trust your instincts. When something doesn’t feel right to you, there’s a reason behind that.

Don’t refer to your friends that you met overseas as your “abroad friends.” Because even if you met them abroad, they’re probably still American.

It might be easier to go through life being closed off to love. It might be safer and it might be painless. It might be less complicated. But it will certainly be more boring. More colorless. More lifeless. And a whole lot more empty.

The days of Abercrombie and American Eagle are (thankfully) over. But the pressure to blend in never fully goes away.

The world eventually becomes bright and beautiful again, but you touch everyone around you in a different way.

Because she didn’t disown you when you got home from your freshman year of college and bragged about how much of a bad-ass drinker you were.

*air conditioning comes on* OH MY GOD WE’RE GOING DOWN.

Don’t be distraught. Don’t be discouraged. It’s called living. If you had no baggage, or you never had any troubling experiences – if you never had to experience discomfort – you’d be the least interesting person in the world.

Their handwriting. When they remember things about you that you only mentioned once. Their unique scent.

You’re smiling, aren’t you? You’re pretending everything’s okay, aren’t you? So are they.

The worst part is that they’re invisible. They blend together and you just see them as dozens or hundreds of faceless people, while you sit there fretting over what they think of you and how you appear to them.

When you’re at the beach, hot showers are out of the question. Regardless of how much effort you put into protecting your skin, you will still get burnt somewhere, and you won’t realize it until you’re in a scalding hot shower.

In today’s world, you’re not allowed to have self-confidence unless you have a reason.

Do not fret about who loves who more. Love is not a game or a competition. If you think of it that way, you probably won’t be in love for very long.

Finding your purpose is up to you, and that’s why it’s terrifying.

Go sit in a cafe and wait for an attractive person to come by and start talking to you. That’s how it happens on TV, so it’ll probably be the same way in real life.

Is that actually supposed to be a dress? I feel like she meant it to be a dress. But it just looks like a confused t-shirt.