“They say you can take someone who was born in Africa out of the bush but you can't take the bush out of someone born there....”

“I reckon if you care for someone and you can't have their love, you can either be a spiteful bastard about it or you can try your damnedest to make sure they're going to find some happiness in the world.”

“It's odd how a mere coincidence can change someone's life. Getting paired in a class or meeting someone by pure chance can turn a world upside down and inside out. Emily did that to me. Because of my dad, I didn't think a relationship was possible, but Emily changed all of that. She showed me that some things are worth fighting for even if you aren't sure why yet. That's something that we need to remember.We are worth fighting for no matter what.”

“Motivation can't take you very far if you don't have the legs.”

“I just... I understand you might want to start dating more seriously, and that means dating someone from town. But if you're going to do that..." This time he took a long drink of coffee, and the mug was still at his lips when he said, "I like Daniel. He takes care of you."I blinked. "Oh my God. Did you really just say that? He takes care of me?"Dad flushed. "I didn't mean it like-""Takes care of me? Did I go to sleep and wake up in the nineteenth century?" I looked down at my jeans and T-shirt. "Ack! I can't go to school like this. Where's my corset? My bonnet?”

“And sometimes it's the very otherness of a stranger, someone who doesn't belong to our ethnic or ideological or religious group, an otherness that can repel us initially, but which can jerk us out of our habitual selfishness, and give us intonations of that sacred otherness, which is God.”

“Love is putting another person before yourself. Love means doing what's best for the other person, no matter what it means for you. Love is always there. Time can only strengthen love. You can only love someone else if they allow you to and it applies to yourself. To be loved, you must place trust in another person.”