"I was counting the waves", replied Amory gravely, "I'm going in for statistics".

New York had all the iridescence of the beginning of the world.

People invariably chose inimitable people to imitate.

Family quarrels are bitter things. They don't go according to any rules. They're not like aches or wounds, they're more like splits in the skin that won't heal because there's not enough material.

Do you ever wait for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always wait for the longest day of the year and then miss it!

But he hated to be sober. It made him conscious of the people around him, of that air of struggle, of greedy ambition, of hope more sordid than despair, of incessant passage up or down.

For what it's worth, it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're proud of and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over.