I had never understood what people meant when they said they'd rather be alone if they couldn't be in the right relationship. Now I got it.

Sorrow comes with so many defense mechanisms. You have your shock, your denial, your getting wasted, your cracking jokes, and your religion. You also have the old standby catchall—the blind belief in fate, the whole "things happening for a reason" drill.

I have always been drawn to coming-of-age stories and books and movies featuring compelling young characters.

Guilt is a supreme waste of time and energy.

Despite the fact that I have no regrets about how things turned out in my life, I still can't help wanting to understand my intense relationship with Leo, as well as that turbulent time between adolescence and adulthood when everything feels raw and invigorating and scary-and why those feelings are all coming back to me now.

but i am content to live in the moment, and allow myself the daily pleasure of obsessing. nothing lasts forever, i tell myself. especially the good stuff. although typically you aren't faced with a hard deadline

I think the most well-adjusted people live in the present with an eye toward the future - I'm not among those.