“Pretendin'. I'm still pretendin'.For the rest of my life, I'll be pretendin'.How ya doing? they ask,and I say,Okay, man,even though I'm not.I'm not okayand I'm never gonna be okay again.I just don't get it, how they don't see myinsides hangin' out, when it's all I can doto put these feelings into wordsbecause words don't meana thing.—Joe”

“I'm not all you need, and I don't even want to be. I just want to love you, for the rest of my life, and as long as you let me do that, we'll be okay.”

“I never tell my boyfriend that I'm busy when I'm not. No matter how effective they are, cheap techniques like that just don't agree with me. So it's always okay, it's always all right. In my opinion the surest way to hook a man is to be as open with him as possible.”

“I'm starting to remember that it's okay when things don't turn out right the first time. I can always try again and get it right.”

“See this ring? I'll ask her to be mine forever after the surgery, though I'm 99% sure she'll say yes, will you please make it 100%. God, I know it's too much to ask, but please don't take Ann yet, I need her. I need her so bad. And I feel that my heart will just burst into pieces when she's gone. It's not entirely her that I'll miss but every waking moment spent with her, that it feels like I miss her even if she's with me. I don't want to spend the rest of my life without her; she's the only reason why I'm here. So please, it's the only thing that I'll ask. Please don't take her yet.”

“You asked if I was okay. I'll say I'm okay but really, inside it takes everything that I can do, to not scream and cry.”