“But artists didn't need to achieve "firsts", and Hughes wanted to be an artist.”

“If suffering like hers had any use, she reasoned, it was not to the sufferer. The only way that an individual's pain gained meaning was through its communication to others.”

“Because IQ tests favor memory skills and logic, overlooking artistic creativity, insight, resiliency, emotional reserves, sensory gifts, and life experience, they can't really predict success, let alone satisfaction.”

“Emmeline didn't call me anything. She didn't need, for I was always there. You only need names for the absent.”

“I didn't feel strong. I felt like a big ball of wuss that wanted to curl up in my bed and never get out.”

“A perfectionist's greatest fault resides in her inability to achieve the impossible.”

“That's what you need to be writing about. Not the increased crime rate, but the increased tolerance for criminals to do whatever they want and not be held accountable.”