The reason I know what we are to each other is because we fight freely and almost constantly, about even the smallest thing. In fact, once we didn't speak for an entire week because he didn't like the way I loaded his dishwasher...I can't decide if we're exact opposites, or somehow exactly the same except for minor cosmetic differences. I do know that all of his friends hate me and all of my friends hate him. We drive each other crazy in ways that nobody else can even touch. We never bore each other. And we both realize what a rare thing this is.
Augusten BurroughsYou are allowed to be alive. You are allowed to be somebody different. You are allowed to not say goodbye to anybody or explain a single thing to anyone, ever.
Augusten BurroughsI understood at once, I am not living, but actively dying. I am smoking, living unhealthily. Iโm shutting down. I need to go the other way, inside. And it was so clear to me what I was doing. It was suddenly perfectly clear. I understood, I need to write. Live here, in my words, and my head. I need to go inside, thatโs all. No big, complicated, difficult thing. I just need to go in reverse. And not worry about what to write about, but just write. Or, if Iโm going to worry about what to write, then do this worrying on paper, so at least Iโm writing and will have a record of the anxiety.
Augusten BurroughsMaybe you feel pressure to be positive because so many people rely on your good, fake-positive energy? If that's the case, screw everybody else. You're not a bottle of Valium.
Augusten Burroughs