“When you're going in the right direction, life always looks larger than what you're accustomed to.”

“But if you're going to think about your past, rather than dwell on the reasons you shouldn't have done something, remember the reasons you did. I mean, everything we do in life has some element of right and wrong to it.”

“Life is filled with pain and beauty. It's a journey, a learning experience. You've always been a girl who has had to learn by doing, not by watching and listening--don't change that. Don't change that now--you're too young.”

“...My grandpa has always told us that you know you're in love when your heart goes "boom." The way he explained this "boom" is that it's not the giddy feeling you get when you first meet someone; it's deeper than that. It's more of a low, bellowing boom that resonates in your body the moment you realize you need someone, you love someone. It's more a boooom than a boom! I have yet to feel it.”

“If you're going to remember anything from your past, then do so fondly because you can't change a thing about it.”

“Do you ever think you're being an idealist? Do you ever wonder if you're holding out for something that doesn't exist? I'm not being pessimistic, and although I'd like to believe that a boom or we or us exists, I'm not sure I do anymore. Maybe I've been holding out for something that's unrealistic.”

“Wearing my scarlet dress and high heels, I walk down the street a proud woman. A woman flawed, but still, a woman who takes chances, a woman who has loved and been loved. To go out on a limb (or twenty -or forty or sixty, for that matter) is what life is about. It's about trying until you get it right. I'm okay with where I'm at right now. I still don't have a job, a loft, a husband, or kids - but I have me. My grandpa is right. I can maybe maybe myself to death or make peace with the past, with any mistakes I might have made, remember the good times and move forward.”