Quotes by Sarah Dessen

Believe in yourself up here and it will make you stronger than you could ever imagine.

What defines you isnt how many times you crash but the number of times you get back.

The important thing to remember, ... is that you are a human being and worthy of respect.

Id been through so much, falling short again and again, and only recently had found a place where who I was, right now, was enough.

There was something so heavy about the burden of history, of the past.

What was it like to be so confident even in your failings that you werent the least bit bothered when other people pointed them out? I was almost envious.

Life is full of screwups. Youre supposed to fail sometimes. Its a required part of the human existance.

Life is full of screwups, he said, chucking another paper at the split-level before taking the corner. Youre supposed to fail sometimes. Its a required part of the human existence.

Norman picked up a sketch, glanced at it, then put it back down on the table. I saw Bea Williamson this morning, he said in a low voice. Lurking about looking for cut glass. Oh, of course, Mira said with a sigh. Did she have it with her? Norman nodded solemnly. Yep. I swear, I think its almost gotten ... bigger. Mira shook her head. Not possible. Im serious, Norman said. Its way big. I kept waiting for someone to expand on this, but since neither of them seemed about to, I asked, What are you talking about? They looked at each other. Then, Mira took a breath. Bea Williamsons baby, she said quietly, as if someone could hear us, has the biggest head you have ever seen. Norman nodded, seconding this. A baby? I said. A big-headed baby, Mira corrected me. You should see the cranium on this kid. Its mind-boggling.

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 didn’t come easy for, someone like me.

You always think you want to be noticed. Until you are.

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.

Isnt that the way everything begins? A night, a love, a once and for all.

Everything in life had its phases, and if you were smart, you learned to appreciate them all. What really mattered, though, were the people in those moments with you. Memories are what we have and what we keep, and I held mine close. The ones I knew well, like a night on the beach with a boy who would always live in my heart, and the ones yet to come with another.

For you, I wish for second chances

Because it is so hard, in any life, to believe in what you cant fully understand.

I knew from experience that no matter how much you turn things in your head, trying to make sense of them, some people just defy all logic.

So many times it seemed like there were chances to stop things before they started. Or even stop them in midstream. But it was even worse when you knew in that very moment that there was still time to save yourself, and yet you couldnt even budge.

Like I, of all people, didnt know better than to lead a total stranger to the point where they could hurt me most, knowing how easily theyd be able to find their way back to it.

Someone who normally moved so slowly, this time, for once, was long gone.