It is so easy to exist instead of live.

I believe that in a contest between the living and the almost living, the latter must, if necessary, give way to the will of the former.

For most of my life the only ceremonies I've been to at which women were the stars were weddings. So I like weddings.

These are my words; this is their world, a world in which we can wear our gender on our sleeves, unabashedly, as we go about the business of thinking out loud.

Real friends offer both hard truths and soft landings and realize that it's sometimes more important to be nice than to be honest.

I had that feeling you have when you're watching a sad movie, sobbing at the heartbreak you are feeling at the same time that you know the heartbreak isn't exactly real, that it will be gone by the time you get home and make a cup of tea. I found a lot of life like that when I was younger, as though I was practicing for what came later.

So carry your courage in an easily accessible place, the way you do your cellphone or your wallet. You may still falter or fail, but you always know that you pushed hard and aimed high. Take a leap of faith. Fear not. Courage is the ultimate career move.