R.J. Palacio

“Todo el mundo debería recibir una ovación del público puesto en pie al menos una vez en su vida, porque todos vencemos al mundo.”

“That's how it is in heaven. It's just love, and no one forgets who they love.”

“There's a word like overprotective to describe some parents, but no word that means the opposite. What word do you use to describe parents who don't protect enough? Underprotective? Neglectful? Self-involved? Lame? All of the above.”

“It's so strange how one day you can be on this earth, and the next day not.”

“Jack, sometimes you don't have to mean to hurt someone to hurt someone. You understand?”

“It's what you've done with your time, how you've chosen to spend your days, and whom you've touched this year. That, to me, is the greatest measure of success.”

“A veces no hace falta que uno quiera hacerle daño a alguien para dañarlo.”

“Learning who you are is what you're here to do.”

“My mom smiled at me. Her smile kind of hugged me.”

“Es curioso: a veces te preocupas un montón por algo que al final resulta no ser nada.”

“Ojalá fuera Halloween todos los días. Todos podríamos llevar máscara siempre. Podríamos pasearnos por ahí y conocernos antes de ver que aspecto tenemos debajo de las máscaras.”

“Las cosas que hacemos duran más que nuestras vidas.”

“Lo bueno de los niños pequeños es que no dicen cosas para intentar hacerte daño, aunque a veces digan cosas que te hacen daño. Pero no saben lo que dicen. Los niños mayores... ésos sí que saben lo que dicen.”

“Do people look the same when they go to heaven, mommy?""I don't know. I don't think so.""Then how do people recognize each other?""I don't know, sweetie. They just feel it. You don't need your eyes to love, right?”

“I think we're too young to be dating. I mean I don't see what the rush is." Summer says. "Yeah, I agree," said August. "Which is kind of a shame, you know what with all those babes who keep throwing themselves at me and stuff?”

“Some things you just can't explain. You don't even try. You don't know where to start. All your sentences would jumble up like a giant knot if you opened your mouth. Any words you used would come out wrong.”

“One should be kinder than needed. What I love that line, that concept, is that it reminds me that we carry with us, as human beings, not just the capacity to be kind, but the very choice of kindess.”

“Semua orang yang terlahir dari Tuhan bisa menghadapi dunia.”

“Und ich werde nie einer von diesen Erwachsenen sein, die einen Schirm benutzen, wenn es schneit - niemals.”

“I did notice as I walked that Amos had stayed right next to me. And Jack was close on the other side of me. And Miles was in front of us and Henry was in back of us. They were surrounding me as we walked through the crowds of kids. Like I had my own emperor's guard.”

“I wasn't even sure why I was getting this medal, really.No, that's not true. I knew why.It's like people you see sometimes, and you can't imagine what it would be like to be that person, whether it's somebody in a wheelchair or somebody who can't talk. Only, I know that I'm that person to other people, maybe to every single person in that whole auditorium.To me, though, I'm just me. An ordinary kid.But hey, if they want to give me a medal for being me, that's okay. I'll take it. I didn't destroy a Death Star or anything like that, but I did just get through the fifth grade. And that's not easy, even if you're not me.”

“AMOS CONTI'S PRECEPTDon't try too hard to be cool. It always shows, and that's uncool.”

“HENRY JOPLIN'S PRECEPTDon't be friends with jerks.”

“The best way to measure how much you've grown isn't by inches or the number of laps you can now run around the track, or even your grade point average-- though those things are important, to be sure. It's what you've done with your time, how you've chosen to spend your days, and whom you've touched this year. That, to me, is the greatest measure of success.”

“Her smile hugged me”

“Your deeds are your monuments.”

“no, no, it's not all random, if it really was all random, the universe would abandon us completely. and the universe doesn't. it takes care of its most fragile creations in ways we can't see. like with parents who adore you blindly. and a big sister who feels guilty for being human over you. and a little gravelly-voiced kid whose friends have left him over you. and even a pink-haired girl who carries your picture in her wallet. maybe it is a lottery, but the universe makes it all even out in the end. the universe takes care of all its birds.”

“Listen to the whispers.”

“A big sister who cries over being human over you. A gravelly voiced kid who's friends left him over you. And a pink-haired girl who keeps your picture in her wallet.”

“Here’s what I think: the only reason I’m not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way.”

“When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind. - Dr Wayne W. Dyer”

“...your deeds are like your monuments. Built with memories instead of stone.”

“If every single person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary--the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, . . . someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God. . . . or whatever politically correct spiritual representation of universal goodness you happen to believe in.”

“Here I was looking for symbolism and metaphors and um . . . sometimes a duck is just a duck!"--Mr. Tushman”

“the universe takes care of all its birds.”

“Jack, sometimes you don't have to be mean to hurt someone.”

“Greatness... lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength... He is the greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts by the attraction of his own.”

“Funny how sometimes you worry a lot about something and it turns out to be nothing.”

“Now that I look back, I don't know why I was so stressed about it all this time. Funny how sometimes you worry a lot about something and it turns out to be nothing.”

“If every person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary - the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God.”

“I actually like how doctors talk. I like the sound of science. I like how words you don't understand explain things you can't understand.”

“AUGUST PULLMAN'S PRECEPTEveryone deserves a standing ovation because we all overcometh the world. --Auggie”

“It's like people you see sometimes, and you can't imagine what it would be like to be that person, whether it's somebody in a wheelchair or somebody who can't talk. Only, I know that I'm that person to other people, maybe to every single person in that whole auditorium. To me, though, I'm just me. An ordinary kid.”

“olivia reminds me of a bird sometimes, how her feathers get all ruffled when she's mad. and when she's fragile like this, she's a little lost bird looking for its nest.”

“...we should be remembered for the things we do. The things we do are the most important things of all. They are more important than what we say or what we look like. The things we do outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people build to honour heroes after they've died. They're like the pyramids that the Egyptians built to honour the Pharaohs. Only instead of being made out of stone, they're made out of the memories people have of you. That's why your deeds are like your monuments. Built with memories instead of with stone.”

“I eat like a tortoise eats, if you've ever seen a tortoise eating. Like some prehistoric swamp thing.”

“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.”

“The things we do outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people build to honor heroes after they've died. They're like the pyramids that the Egyptians built to honor the pharaohs. Only instead of being made of stone, they're made out of the memories people have of you.”

“Kinder than is necessary. Because it's not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed.”

“I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives.”