If you try anything, if you try to lose weight, or to improve yourself, or to love, or to make the world a better place, you have already achieved something wonderful, before you even begin. Forget failure. If things don't work out the way you want, hold your head up high and be proud. And try again. And again. And again!
Sarah Dessen
Related It doesn't matter if you try and try and try again, and fail. It does matter if you try and fail... CHARLES KETTERING And failure, if you want to know, Dakota, is just another opportunity to try again. KATE JACOBS You have no reason to give up if you haven't tried all steps in the world yet! Try again if at first... ISRAELMORE AYIVOR It followed that every act, whether the finding of a new proof for a complex mathematical problem or... JON COURTENAY GRIMWOOD To make real friends you have to put yourself out there. Sometimes people will let you down, but you... KRISTIN HANNAH 'Tis a lesson you should heed,
Try, try, try again.
If at first you don't succeed,
Try, ... WILLIAM EDWARD HICKSON Of course if you like your kids, if you love them from the moment they begin, you yourself begin all... WILLIAM SAROYAN Try, try, and try again. Never stop trying. LAILAH GIFTY AKITA To be or not to be is not a question of compromise. Either you be or you don't be. GOLDA MEIR Never be afraid to try. The only angle through which you can approach success is by the “try-angle... ISRAELMORE AYIVOR If at first you don't succeed try, try again. If you fail even after these attempts, perhaps your ju... DEVIN J. MONROE If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again. WILLIAM E. HICKSON It is your own barrier, you set it, and only you can remove it. Remember that. So, do you want to tr... NABIL N. JAMAL Treat failure as a lesson on how not to approach achieving a goal, and then use that learning to imp... RICHARD BRANSON If at first you don't succeed, before you try again, stop to figure out what you did wrong. LEO ROSTEN That's why I love spiders. 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again. DIANA WYNNE JONES When failure imprisons you for not doing what you should have done, you have no option than to bail ... ISRAELMORE AYIVOR Failing does not mean you have lost every thing. Failure is,giving up & not to try again does.Never ... DR ANIL KUMAR SINHA Try..try again...try again..then try once more...if u still don't succeed in what you try and do the... UZAIR SHAFIQUE If you try to be anyone but yourself, you will fail; if you are not true to your own heart, you will... BOB DYLAN If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it. LAO TZU Yes! Very funny this terrible thing is. A man that is born falls into a dream like a man who falls i... JOSEPH CONRAD If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try, try again. MICHAEL CHANG To be, or not to be, that is the question. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE You never know if you are going to come down this way again. You have to try to win it now and not w... DALTON PEPPER If you get burned, you will take time before you try again. ELIE COHEN If you criticise something then you have to have an alternative, but we do have to try and improve t... LINFORD CHRISTIE Your mind has a way of not letting you forget things you wish you could. Especially with people. Lik... JOHN COREY WHALEY What about the rat race in the first place? Is it worthwhile? Or are you just buying into someone el... SHERYL SANDBERG If you don't like the way you were born, try being born again. UNKNOWN You can't always control if you win. You can control if you try again. DAN WALDSCHMIDT You can't always control if you win. You can control if you try again. DAN WALDSCHMIDT Grief is shameless; it refuses to be ignored. If you let it have its way, it becomes fatal. If you t... ZEINA KASSEM Everything begins with failing. If you stop to fail, then your failing to stop, to try and try again... ANTHONY LICCIONE In the name of love she will try to invade your freedom.If she fails, she will hate you and if she s... SHKELQIM ZILBEARI If you want success, you have to accept that results won’t be instantaneous. Everything good takes... AVINA CELESTE Try to avoid walking alone. If you want to exercise, have a friend or your spouse walk with you. BARRY TATE Cortax: “Sometimes, life doesn't work out the way you wanted or expected, but that's fine. Keep yo... MICHAEL ROGERS If you have had a bad day, remember that tomorrow is a wonderful gift and a new chance to try again. BRYANT MCGILL If there is noise against you, then you try to make it seem it is for you. You just have to try to f... LAURA ROBSON It's as though you had lost an arm or leg but still instinctively reach out to feel your missing lim... ZEINA KASSEM I think you have to set your goals high. If I go out there and say I just want to make the cut, that... BRIAN HARMAN If you ever cry alone again...or even if the day comes where you just find living to be painful...th... ICHIGO TAKANO If you try to use your head to think about things, people don't want to have anything to do with you HARUKI MURAKAMI It's as though you had lost an arm or leg but still instinctively reach out to feel your missing lim... ZEINA KASSEM Don't give up hope, and try to make things straighten. Keep your head held high! Forgive those who t... LILY CHATTERJEE If you want to make enemies, try to change something. WOODROW T. WILSON It'll destroy you if you try to make it mean anything to anyone but yourself. HENRY ROLLINS If you want to make enemies, try to change something. WOODROW WILSON If I try at first and I fail I try again, if I have tried a thousand times and still fail, I will tr... SIZWE GOODMAN MAVUSO If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use the pile driver. Hit t... SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL If you're at high risk or are trying to reverse heart disease or prevent the recurrence of cance... DEAN ORNISH If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the... WINSTON S. CHURCHILL If at first you don't succeed, try, try, and try again. Then give up. There's no use being a damned ... I don't want to hurt you or anybody so please forget about me. Just try. Find yourself a better frie... NINA LACOUR If you wake up everyday with hatred for others, then it is time you changed your sleeping position a... APURVA GAGLANI You have to try things you're really afraid of, even if you pee yourself a little bit. ABIGAIL WASHBURN With engineering, I view this year's failure as next year's opportunity to try it again. Failures ar... GORDON MOORE You come for the money, you don't come to Barefoot College. You come for the work and the challe... BUNKER ROY If a friend you trust betrays you once,try to believe in him again,for he may never betray you again... DAVID ATTA (A.K.A DAVIED ATTLARS & MR DAIN) Go ahead, work hard and never be afraid to try something. Even if you don't make it, at least yo... GUY LAFLEUR As kids we're not taught how to deal with success; we're taught how to deal with failure. If... CHARLIE SHEEN You wrestle one night, get up the next morning and fly out to the next city. You try to work out, yo... BILL GOLDBERG Try again; you have millions of alternatives. Fill yourself with the bullets of hope and you will ki... ISRAELMORE AYIVOR If you want to use a cliche you must take full responsibility for it yourself and not try to fob it ... LEWIS THOMAS I like to open for a band as it brings on sort of a challenge and it makes things more interesting. ... KELLY JONES As I said there is nothing wrong with failing. Pick yourself up and try it again. You never are goin... HENRY KRAVIS If you have nothing to lose, you can try everything YIDDISH PROVERB If you try to find success in fame or in things, you will fail. If you find happiness is the process... DEBASISH MRIDHA When you try to talk about yourself, you dont know who you are, or what your like, or what your like... CAROL CHANNING I want to be out there on the firing line, helping, directing or doing something to try to make this... JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN You don't think the game's going to go as long as it did. You go out there and try to get your innin... RUSS SPRINGER Imagine for a moment as if you had never existed:
Would the ones who are closest to you be happier o... AVIS JOHN Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don't bother just to be better than your con... WILLIAM FAULKNER I've been in tough situations. I've lost games before; we all have. We just have to keep our head hi... GERRY MCNAMARA If you give your soul up to anything earthly, whether it be the wealth, or the honours, or the pleas... CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON When the Lord disconnects you from your past, don't try to hook up with it again. ANITA R. SNEED-CARTER If something's important enough, you should try. Even if you - the probable outcome is failure. ELON MUSK I want to hear you say those words again. If you do, I won't hold my feelings back anymore. I might ... SOLITA You can plan to be brave - it's even better if you just try to be brave. CLIVE BARKER Dont GiVe UP iF U StIll WaNna TrY* DonT WIpE YOUR TeARS IF YOU StiLL WANT TO Cry DON'T SET... TRENT REZNOR Caught in your youniverse again? Try reaching out to the one besides you! STEFAN EMUNDS Life isn’t fair." I said. "It’s taken me a while to get that. It’s always going to disappoint ... ALEXANDRA BRACKEN If you want to be somebody be yourself. If you want to be happy be. If you want to go somewhere or d... BRANDON HOFER If you lose to a guy a couple of days ago, the best thing is to get back on the court again and try ... ARVIND PARMAR Start with familiar fairy tales or Bible stories or old folk tales or ancient myths and legends. You... PRISCILLA HOWE To be mad is worse than not to be if this is what it is. JOHNNY RICH Dont try to go too fast. Learn your job. Dont ever talk until you know what youre talking about. If ... SAM RAYBURN Do I have the courage of being a ruthless man to myself with the complete knowledge on my manner or ... FEREIDOON YAZDI If your head tells you one thing, and your heart tells you another, before you do anything, you shou... MARILYN VOS SAVANT To draw something is to try to capture it FOREVER, if you really love something, you never try to ke... CASSANDRA CLARE If you want to feel rich, try to sell the thing which you love more than yourself. VIKRANT PARSAI The Rule of Sibs: If your sibling gets something you want, you (1) try to take it; (2) break it; or ... PATRICIA FLEMING If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it. W.C. FIELDS You have to give them unconditional love. They need to know that even if they screw up, you love the... ALFIE KOHN If ever you should have an epiphany – and I think you know what I’m talking about – latch onto... JAMES BERNARD FROST Mes poumons sont remplis de l'air pur
mon esprit est ouvert et libéré, la sérénité remplit tous... JACOB MAHURIEN If it does, then great. If not, you know, we'll try again. That was a great way to start off the Big... EMILY BROWN Never be afraid of failure because you can never win at anything if you never try. BECCA GINZ If you really love something, you never try to keep it the way it is forever. You have to let it be ... CASSANDRA CLARE
More Sarah Dessen
Life shouldn't be about the either/or. We're capable of more than that, you know? SARAH DESSEN Macy: “In Truth,” I said, “there are no rules other than you have to tell the truth.” W... SARAH DESSEN I'm always hopeful. I feel like I'm at the prom sitting against the wall waiting for someone... SARAH DESSEN Music is the great uniter. An incredible force. Something that people who differ on everything and a... SARAH DESSEN Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, w... SARAH DESSEN You should never be surprised when someone treats you with respect, you should expect it. SARAH DESSEN I don't know," I said. "What else did you do for your first eighteen years?" "Like I said," he ... SARAH DESSEN Okay,' he said. He took a breath. 'What would you do, if you could do anything?' I took a step ... SARAH DESSEN But if something was really important, fate made sure it somehow came back to you and gave you anoth... SARAH DESSEN But if everything was always smooth and perfect, you'd get too used to that, you know? You have to h... SARAH DESSEN Life can be long or short, it all depends on how you choose to live it. it's like forever, always ch... SARAH DESSEN What you need, what you deserve, is a guy who adores you for what you are. Who doesn't see you as a ... SARAH DESSEN It's all in the view. That's what I mean about forever, too. For any one of us our forever could end... SARAH DESSEN That was the thing. You never got used to it, the idea of someone being gone. Just when you think it... SARAH DESSEN Don't think or judge, just listen. SARAH DESSEN So you're always honest," I said. "Aren't you?" "No," I told him. "I'm not." "Well, t... SARAH DESSEN for once, you believed in yourself. you believed you were beautiful and so did the rest of the world... SARAH DESSEN Well, it's true that I have been hurt in my life. Quite a bit. But it's also true that I have loved,... SARAH DESSEN Despite my dad's assurances I was strangely nervous my stomach tight ever since we'd hung up. Maybe ... SARAH DESSEN You're not supposed to have it all figured out in high school. If you knew it all, and it was th... SARAH DESSEN Love is so unpredictable. That's what makes it so great. SARAH DESSEN Maybe the truth was, it shouldn't be so easy to be amazing. Then everything would be. It's the thing... SARAH DESSEN What the hell," I said, pushing off the wall, ready to take off the head of whatever stupid salesper... SARAH DESSEN I just thought to my self, all of a sudden, that we had something in common. A natural chemistry, if... SARAH DESSEN With love like that, you can't get pick about how it finds you or the details. All that matters is t... SARAH DESSEN Suddenly, I was just sure he was going to kiss me. He was there, I could feel his breath, the ground... SARAH DESSEN You want me to give her a key?" the guy asked. "I want you to give her a possibility," she told... SARAH DESSEN He glanced over at me. 'Scared? Of Reggie? What, she thinks he might force her to give up caffeine f... SARAH DESSEN So many times it seemed like there were chances to stop things before they started. Or even stop the... SARAH DESSEN As far as I was concerned, we'd come to a draw: I hadn't wanted to come, and she didn't want me to l... SARAH DESSEN The language of solace, and comets, and the girls we all become, in the end. SARAH DESSEN This world is an awful/ugly place not to have a best friend. SARAH DESSEN I knew I had to keep him to myself, as I'd slowly begun to keep everything. We had secrets now, trut... SARAH DESSEN When I pictured myself, it was always like just an outline in a coloring book, with the inside not y... SARAH DESSEN I wondered again why the right thing always seemed to be met with so much resistance, when you'd thi... SARAH DESSEN I watched my mother do what she did best, and realized there would never be a way to cut myself from... SARAH DESSEN You can't just turn your heart off like a faucet; you have to go to the source and dry it out, drop ... SARAH DESSEN Two a.m.' He swallowed, then said, "You know. The person you can call at two a.m. and, no matter wha... SARAH DESSEN Because this is what happens when you try to run from the past. It just doesn’t catch up, it overt... SARAH DESSEN Nothing like being scolded by a hippie. SARAH DESSEN That's what this has been all about for you, correct? Make it clear. That you and me--it was nothing... SARAH DESSEN And for one second, it was like I could feel the timing clicking together, finally pieces falling in... SARAH DESSEN It was so risky and so scary, and yet at the same time, so beautiful. Maybe the truth was, it should... SARAH DESSEN What was it like to be so confident even in your failings that you weren't the least bit bothered wh... SARAH DESSEN Look,” he said, “the point is there’s no way to be a hundred percent sure about anyone or anyt... SARAH DESSEN So much had happened that morning. Yet it was this image, this moment, that i kept going back to hou... SARAH DESSEN I paused, only just now realizing that the subject was hitting a little close to home. "You know, ge... SARAH DESSEN What is family? They were the people who claimed you. In good, in bad, in parts or in whole, they we... SARAH DESSEN Looking back, it seemed like it should have been harder to lose someone, or have them lose you, espe... SARAH DESSEN Leaving was easy. It was everything else that was so damned hard. SARAH DESSEN Look, the point is there's no way to be a hundred percent sure about anyone or anything. So you're l... SARAH DESSEN I would miss Colby, but it wasn't going anywhere. All the more reason why I should. SARAH DESSEN You want to take me to a movie?" I asked. "Well, not really," he said. "What I really want is ... SARAH DESSEN Story of my life. SARAH DESSEN Because the truth sometimes hurts," I said. Yeah," he said. "So do lies, though. SARAH DESSEN So while it seemed like you were seeing everything, you really weren't. Just bits and pieces that lo... SARAH DESSEN I was beginning to see, though, that the unknown wasn't always the greatest thing to fear. The peopl... SARAH DESSEN No matter how much time has passed, these things still affect us and the world we live in. If you do... SARAH DESSEN If this was my forever, I didn't want to spend another second of it here. SARAH DESSEN Nah," I said. "But if it does, just tell him I said to get back on the bike." "What?" "He'... SARAH DESSEN In the end, though, maybe it's not how you reach a place that matters. Just that you get there at al... SARAH DESSEN So," he said as we turned onto the main road, the muffler rattling, "I've been thinking." "Yeah... SARAH DESSEN It was terrible and awful when someone left you. You could move on, do the best you could, but like ... SARAH DESSEN Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer. SARAH DESSEN Teenagers are a great audience and they are fearless about asking what they want to know. SARAH DESSEN But it's strange, when you've always been told something is true, like the moon will come back. You ... SARAH DESSEN Apologies come in all shapes and sizes. You can give diamonds, candy, flowers, or just your deepest ... SARAH DESSEN Everything always gets crazy at the end. You just have to keep going, regardless of how awful it get... SARAH DESSEN I'd been through so much, falling short again and again, and only recently had found a place where w... SARAH DESSEN The way I see it," she continued, "is that some things are just meant to be the way they are. SARAH DESSEN It's not forever', she'd said, but to my mother, it might as well have been. She had make her choice... SARAH DESSEN When he first put his arms around me, it was tentative, like maybe he expected I'd pull away. W... SARAH DESSEN And like my dad always said, the first step is always the hardest. SARAH DESSEN I felt something catch in my throat, a sudden surge of sadness that caught me unaware, almost taking... SARAH DESSEN You have to have a little bit of disorganization now and then. Otherwise, you'll never really enjoy ... SARAH DESSEN Forever was so many different things. It was always changing, it was what everything was really abou... SARAH DESSEN Events conspired to bring you back to where you'd been. It was what you did then that made all the d... SARAH DESSEN Yes,' he said, 'a list. That way, I figure, we'll have a written record of what we've agreed upon as... SARAH DESSEN But as I stood watching her, I realized how truly hard it was,really, to see someone you love change... SARAH DESSEN Your actions is like a raindrop; it falls into the pond making ripples and then its over... SARAH DESSEN Grieving doesn't make you imperfect. It makes you human. SARAH DESSEN How weird was it that so many bits and pieces, all diverse, could make something whole. Something wi... SARAH DESSEN When my dad died, it was like everything felt really shaky, you know? And trying to be the best I co... SARAH DESSEN But there was only one truth about forever that really mattered, and that was this: it was happening... SARAH DESSEN This was always the problem with my mother and me, I suddenly realized. There were so many things we... SARAH DESSEN So I narrowed my world, cutting put everyone who'd known me or tried to befriend me. It was the only... SARAH DESSEN You can't be together, which is exactly why you want to be. SARAH DESSEN Just because someone's pretty, doesn't mean she's decent. SARAH DESSEN For a second none of us said anything, and I wondered if, in the end, this is how all disputes ... SARAH DESSEN The silence wasn't like the ones I'd known lately, though: it wasn't empty as much as chos... SARAH DESSEN I would have thought this would make me feel better, for once getting to be the one to leave and not... SARAH DESSEN It's not that I believe everything happens for a reason, it's just that...I just think that some thi... SARAH DESSEN ...feeling and action are always linked SARAH DESSEN What would you do, if you could do anything? SARAH DESSEN Isn't it weird the way you remember things, when someone's gone? SARAH DESSEN But maybe that isn't so bad. You can't love anyone that way more than once in a lifetime. It's too h... SARAH DESSEN It's hard to do," I said. Wes looked at me. "What is?" I swallowed, not sure why I'd said this out l... SARAH DESSEN To me, summer has always been about potential. This was especially true when I was in high school. T... SARAH DESSEN Mais dans la vie, tout n'est pas parfait. Parfois, il faut se fabriquer sa propre histoire. Donner u... SARAH DESSEN It was so risky and so scary, and yet at the same time, so beautiful. Maybe the truth was, it should... SARAH DESSEN It was so weird, because usually I was totally nervous talking to guys. But Eli was different. He ma... SARAH DESSEN So maybe it wasn't the fairy tale. But those stories weren't real anyway. Mine were. SARAH DESSEN What do you do when you finally hear everything you've always thought said aloud? SARAH DESSEN He always did the leaving. But not this time. She kept walking, and did not look back. SARAH DESSEN Odd how it was so easy for a stranger to assume such familiarity. Especially when those who were sup... SARAH DESSEN It was like when you ripped a piece of paper into two: no matter how you tried, the seams never fit ... SARAH DESSEN It wasn't about being happy or unhappy. I just didn't want to be me anymore. SARAH DESSEN You asked me to go out with you. I know you probably changed your mind. But you should know, the ans... SARAH DESSEN Plus there’s the fact,” he went on, making it clear he didn’t need me to reply anyway, “that... SARAH DESSEN I wondered if he ever thought of me, and hated the pang I felt when I told myself he didn't. SARAH DESSEN Sorry!' Dave's friend yelled when he saw me. 'That was my-' But i wasn't listening as,instead,i took... SARAH DESSEN Can she be divorced?" I asked. "And famous for her commercials and ideas?" She can be anyt... SARAH DESSEN Behind the camera, I was invisible. When I lifted it up to my eye it was like I crawled into the len... SARAH DESSEN Hey, and for what it's worth? Friends don't leave you alone in the woods. Friends are the ones who c... SARAH DESSEN It shouldn't be easy to be amazing. Then everything would be. It's the things you fight for and stru... SARAH DESSEN When I pictured myself, it was always like just an outline in a colouring book, with the inside not ... SARAH DESSEN If you expect the worst, you'll never be disappointed. SARAH DESSEN But that was the problem with having the answers. It was only after you gave them that you realized ... SARAH DESSEN Grief can be a burden, but also an anchor. You get used to the weight, how it holds you in place. SARAH DESSEN Shoulda, coulda, woulda. It's so easy in the past tense. SARAH DESSEN Some people, they can't just move on, you know, mourn and cry and be done with it. Or at least seem ... SARAH DESSEN It's just that...I just think that some things are meant to be broken. Imperfect. Chaotic. It's the ... SARAH DESSEN I knew, in the silence that followed, that anything could happen here. It might be too late: again, ... SARAH DESSEN This is the problem with dealing with someone who is actually a good listener. They don’t jump in ... SARAH DESSEN That was the hard thing about grief, and the grieving. They spoke another language, and the words we... SARAH DESSEN She knew I could tell with one glance, one look, one simple instant. It was her eyes. Despite the th... SARAH DESSEN It's okay to accept things from people. It doesn't make you weak or helpless. SARAH DESSEN Oh, God," I said. "No, it's Dexter," he replied, offering me his hand, which I ignored. He... SARAH DESSEN Are those the only options? Nothing or forever? SARAH DESSEN Relationships dont always make sense. Especially from the outside SARAH DESSEN Outside, the ocean was crashing, waves hitting sand, then pulling back to sea. I thought of everythi... SARAH DESSEN I am still the center sister. But I see it differently now. There has to be a middle. Without it, no... SARAH DESSEN I'd still thought that everything I thought about that night-the shame, the fear-would fade in time.... SARAH DESSEN [Adam picks up the camera] "I have to get a shot of this." The reaction in the room was swift, ... SARAH DESSEN If only you could really use a fail-proof system to know who was worth keeping and who needed to be ... SARAH DESSEN After the group vet appointment--during which Lyle scratched the vet, the vet tech, and some poor wo... SARAH DESSEN That's not a real answer.' Says who?' Says me. I mean real fear, like of failure, of death... SARAH DESSEN Your mother won a special reward," she told me, "because everyone had a head in her pictures. We all... SARAH DESSEN There were so many places in my time with Rogerson that I wished I could go back to, hitting the sto... SARAH DESSEN I want the white one SARAH DESSEN Why should I even bother? What's the point, really?" He thought for a moment. "Who says there h... SARAH DESSEN It didn't make you noble to step away from something that wasn't working, even if you thought you we... SARAH DESSEN You can't make any one person your world. The trick is to take what each can give you and build a wo... SARAH DESSEN It was amazing how you could get so far from where you'd planned, and yet find it was exactly were y... SARAH DESSEN I have a tendency to embellish: I think it's a weakness of fiction writers. Once you know how to mak... SARAH DESSEN That was the thing about being alone, in theory or in principle. Whatever happened-good, bad, or any... SARAH DESSEN The worst thing you can do if you miss or need someone is let them know it. SARAH DESSEN Family isn’t something that’s supposed to be static, or set. People marry in, divorce out. They... SARAH DESSEN Everyone has their weak spot. The one thing that, despite your best efforts, will always bring you t... SARAH DESSEN You know the minute you stop thinking about it, it'll happen. SARAH DESSEN instead, we just sat there, together but really apart, watching a show about a stranger and all her ... SARAH DESSEN I've never envied the person who had to put my books together in one script. SARAH DESSEN There was something so heavy about the burden of history, of the past. I wasn't sure I had it in me ... SARAH DESSEN I didn't want to leave things the way we had, unresolved, ... and tried to tell myself he cared abou... SARAH DESSEN You can't just plan a moment when things get back on track, just as you can't plan the moment you lo... SARAH DESSEN And that was it; it was so easy for her. My own memories did not even belong to me. But I knew she w... SARAH DESSEN Macon: “It’s true. And if that doesn’t work, use the Jedi Mind Trick. But only if you really h... SARAH DESSEN Don't be a fool. Don't give up something important to hold onto someone who can't even say they love... SARAH DESSEN Nope.' He sat back. 'Just been there, done that. Done that getting hauled to the police station thin... SARAH DESSEN I told you, everyone understands a quest. SARAH DESSEN Shit," Delia said. "I mean, shoot. No, actually, I mean shit. I really do. SARAH DESSEN Fine," he repeated, and I wondered why it was I kept coming back to this, again and again, a word th... SARAH DESSEN Hollis " I said "you're messing with me right now aren't you You're in Paris or somewhere and just-"... SARAH DESSEN Because you have to just go with the flow. Your life is not your own, with people coming in and out ... SARAH DESSEN It's true. It's like the hidden secret that no one tells you. we can all be beautiful girls, Colie. ... SARAH DESSEN The future was one thing that could never be broken, because it had not yet had the chance to be any... SARAH DESSEN I've changed in my sympathies since I've become a mother myself. In high school I went throu... SARAH DESSEN You only really fall apart in front of the people you know can piece you back together. SARAH DESSEN It wasn't until Kiffney-Brown, when I met Jason Talbot, that I really thought I might actually have ... SARAH DESSEN So finally, I decided that the best response — the safest — was none at all. SARAH DESSEN So this had been all I wanted, a boy who understood about I felt. SARAH DESSEN A second later, when he looked up at me, we were face to face, and again, even under these circumsta... SARAH DESSEN You're a rule person," he said. "My sister was a cheater. It sort of became necessary." "S... SARAH DESSEN Please. She sighed. 'Can't a girl have high standards? I don't want an ordinary boy. SARAH DESSEN All I'd wanted for so long was for someone to explain everything that had happened to me i... SARAH DESSEN Who knew three dots could make such a difference? Like everything else, a love or a wish or whatever... SARAH DESSEN I know you guys have some sort of weird thing going on, with that game you play and everything—" SARAH DESSEN What were you two talking about?" she whispered as Wes pulls the door shut. Nothing," I said. "... SARAH DESSEN That sucks, though," Wes said finally, his voice low. "You're just setting yourself up to fail, beca... SARAH DESSEN Donneven," I said, in my best Monica imitation, and he laughed. "We're not talking about me." "... SARAH DESSEN I listened for the voice I knew so well, the one I always heard at the beginning. Good girl, Ma... SARAH DESSEN and I wondered if, in the end, this is how all disputes are settled, with a shared silence as things... SARAH DESSEN And I think she works so much becasue she can be in control of it, you know?' I said. She nodded. 'I... SARAH DESSEN You can't always get the perfect moment. Sometimes, you just have to do the best you can under the c... SARAH DESSEN The truth about forever is that it is happening right now. SARAH DESSEN Everyone had a forever, but given a choice, this would be mine. SARAH DESSEN I was distracted, thinking about what she'd said, until she got to this last part. "Sherman?" I said... SARAH DESSEN But when you had to do something, you had to do it. And eventually, if you were lucky, you did it we... SARAH DESSEN I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen her actually relax and sit still in a way that made it ob... SARAH DESSEN Like maybe it's forever, maybe it's not SARAH DESSEN It's both, it all depends on how you choose to live it. Forever is always changing.' [Abo... SARAH DESSEN When you only had words, you had to make up for things, say what you might not need to otherwise. SARAH DESSEN Everyone else could get through to my mother: all they had to do was dial a number and wait for her ... SARAH DESSEN You should have seen your face," she said, her breath hot in my ear. "Sa-woooon. SARAH DESSEN During the long stretches of quiet two-lane highway, with the sun setting in the distance, it w... SARAH DESSEN Quiet and incredible. I really envy that. SARAH DESSEN That was the thing. You just never knew. Forever was so many different things. It was always changin... SARAH DESSEN Donneven, Bettaquit and Mmmhmmmm SARAH DESSEN It took a lot of work to be perfect. If you didn’t want to break a sweat, there was no point in ev... SARAH DESSEN Why does she have wings?' So she can fly. SARAH DESSEN