“That's what it means to die, to not be able to stop looking at whatever's in front of you. Some darn thing placed directly there, with nothing you can do about it...”

“Meaning and purpose come not from accomplishing great things in the world, but simply from loving those who are right in front of you, doing all you can with what you have, in the time you have, in the place where you are.”

“You must stop worrying about why things happen and wonder what they mean when they do.”

“There are only two things to worry about, either you arehealthy or you are sick. If you are healthy, then there is nothingto worry about. But if you are sick there are only two things toworry about, either you will get well or you will die. If you getwell, then there is nothing to worry about. But if you die thereare only two things to worry about, either you will go toheaven or to hell. If you go to heaven, then there is nothing toworry about. And if you to go hell, you'll be so darn busyshaking hands with your friends you won't have time to worry.”

“What this means in practice is that if you are not a born worrier you have nothing to worry about (though of course you wouldn't be worrying anyway), whereas if you are a worrier by nature there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, so you may as well stop worrying, except of course you can't.”

“[the truth in regards to studying abroad] "you know what else is nice about being a foreigner? Whatever you do takes place in a capsule that need not be discovered and opened by someone back home. Nothing really counts--it was the life that falls in the forest. That's how I looked at it. I felt free to...oh, I don't know.”