“They say funerals are not for the dead but for the living. Those rites are what permit you to move on, so if you don’t deal with the remains, you can never deal with the memories. That might be true; we may have walked in their dust down on Venice Minor, but it’s not the same as a proper good-bye.”

“So may you come into the true Kingdom of Culture ... and may you be armed against the worst blows that fate can deal you in this world.”

“I don’t think they can deal with someone being complex and contradictory; it’s not acceptable, you have to be a cartoon, a stereotype.”

“Life, he says, doesn’t have to be so bad all the time. We don’t have to be anxious about everything. We can just be. We can get up, anticipate that the day will probably have a few good moments and a few bad ones, and then just deal with it. Take it all in and deal as best we can.”

“we all face choices in life. Some are small,insignificant choices like what to wear to the prom or what to say to your crush when you see him walking down the hall. Those choices may or may not have long-term effects on our lives. You never know. Then there are choices that are so huge, so important,you know you are altering the path of your life as you make them.”

“Hey, don’t apologize. We all have shit to deal with. I have the same reaction sometimes, too. (Syn)I find that hard to believe. (Shahara)It’s true. You ever want to see me really wig out? Hand me a candy bar. (Syn)”