the whole idea of boys being people you would actually choose to spend time with was pretty much totally incomprehensible to me. i could never think of anything to say to them, and they seemed equally dumbstruck by my presence.

nobody is like anybody else. that's why nobody gets along with anybody else.

well, it sounds strange, but when i think of God, i think of a soft whirring noise - like a spinning ball of energy - something i can tap into when i need it.

when there's an elephant in the room, you can't pretend it isn't there and just discuss the ants.

It's a lie, you know, to pretend that nothing is important to you. It's hiding. Believe me, I know because I hid for a long time. But now I won't do it anymore. The truth is bioluminescent. I don't lie, and I don't waste time on people who do.

i want to look at all my tears, she said. which made me shiver

...and she said we all had to find God inside ourselves, in the things we loved most.