“Kids didn't have huge backpacks when I was their age. We didn't have backpacks at all. Now it seemed all the kids had them. You saw little second-graders bent over like sherpas, dragging themselves through the school doors under the weight of their packs. Some of the kids had their packs on rollers, hauling them like luggage at the airport. I didn't understand any of this. The world was becoming digital; everything was smaller and lighter. But kids at school lugged more weight than ever.”

“Parked in the school lot, I grab their two backpacks, which I swear weigh more than they do, get out, and open the back door like a chauffeur. Who am I kidding? Not like a chauffeur. I am a chauffeur. No one moves.”

“Here's to the kids.The kids who would rather spend their night with a bottle of coke & Patrick or Sonny playing on their headphones than go to some vomit-stained high school party.Here's to the kids whose 11:11 wish was wasted on one person who will never be there for them.Here's to the kids whose idea of a good night is sitting on the hood of a car, watching the stars.Here's to the kids who never were too good at life, but still were wicked cool.Here's to the kids who listened to Fall Out boy and Hawthorne Heights before they were on MTV...and blame MTV for ruining their life.Here's to the kids who care more about the music than the haircuts. Here's to the kids who have crushes on a stupid lush.Here's to the kids who hum "A Little Less 16 Candles, A Little More Touch Me" when they're stuck home, dateless, on a Saturday night.Here's to the kids who have ever had a broken heart from someone who didn't even know they existed.Here's to the kids who have read The Perks of Being a Wallflower & didn't feel so alone after doing so.Here's to the kids who spend their days in photobooths with their best friend(s). Here's to the kids who are straight up smartasses & just don't care.Here's to the kids who speak their mind.Here's to the kids who consider screamo their lullaby for going to sleep.Here's to the kids who second guess themselves on everything they do.Here's to the kids who will never have 100 percent confidence in anything they do, and to the kids who are okay with that.Here's to the kids.This one's not for the kids,who always get what they want,But for the ones who never had it at all. It's not for the ones who never got caught, But for the ones who always try and fall. This one's for the kids who didnt make it, We were the kids who never made it. The Overcast girls and the Underdog Boys.Not for the kids who had all their joys. This one's for the kids who never faked it. We're the kids who didn't make it. They say "Breaking hearts is what we do best,"And, "We'll make your heart be ripped of your chest" The only heart that I broke was mine, When I got My Hopes up too too high.We were the kids who didnt make it. We are the kids who never made it.”

“I mean, you can't be a revolutionary after the revolution, can you? Didn't we all struggle so that kids like Lil wouldn't have to?”

“When I was a little kid I thought like a little kid, but now I'm five I know everything”

“That was the rule that you never mixed up troubles at home with life at school. When parents were poor or ignorant or mean, or even just didn't believe in having a TV set, it was up to their kids to protect them.”