“And if you were always spending your time getting over your past, how were you supposed to get on with your future?”

“All those men who end up disappointing you. After a while, you don't even want to have feelings anymore. You just want to get on with your life.”

“I’ve had boyfriends before, and frankly, each one was a disappointment.There was nothing horribly wrong with these boys. It was my fault. I’m kind of a snob when it comes to guys.So far, the biggest problem with the boys I’ve dated is that they weren’t too smart. And eventually I ended up hating myself for being with them. It scared me, trying to pretend I was something I wasn’t. I could see how easily it could be done, and it made me realize that was what most of the other girls were doing as well—pretending. If you were a girl, you could start pretending in high school and go on pretending your whole life, until, I suppose, you imploded and had a nervous breakdown, which is something that’s happened to a few of the mothers around here. All of a sudden, one day something snaps and they don’t get out of bed for three years.”

“I know I have to do the right thing. And the sooner you do the right thing, the better. You get it over with, and you don't have to worry about it anymore. But who does that in real life? Instead, you procrastinate and think about it and put it off and think about it some more until that one little pebble grows into a giant block inside your head.”

“Maybe the past is like an anchor holdong us back. Maybe you have to let go of who you were to become who you will be.”

“I've always thought there are two ways of getting what you wanted in life.Forcing people to give it to you,or making them want to give it to you.”

“If a woman could take care of herself, would she still need a man? Would she even want one? And if she didn't want a man, what kind of woman would she be? Would she even be a woman? Because it seemed if you were a woman, the only thing you were really supposed to want was a man.”