There's nothing wrong with self-improvement, as long as you recognize that at some point you're going to have to accept yourself in all your imperfect glory. What's wrong with liking yourself the way you are?
Jessica ZafraYou can not make someone love you. You can not be thin enough or white enough or famous enough. The choice is entirely the other person's. Then again, you might try hypnosis.
Jessica ZafraWe have no control over fate and history, but we can control how we conduct ourselves in this life.
Jessica ZafraWhy should I bring happiness to those I loathe by obliterating myself, when I can make them miserable just by existing?
Jessica ZafraThat's the thing about a great book. Every time you read it, it's different, because you're different. You've changed since the last time you picked it up, things have happened to you.
Jessica ZafraOne of the advantages of having an imaginary boyfriend is that he exists only for you, therefore he can not be stolen. The disadvantage is that you can not introduce him to your friends.
Jessica ZafraI hear what many of you are saying: We donโt have the time, we are busy. Well Nobody Has Time, Everyone Is Busy. In the time it took you to read this post, your life just got a minute shorter. That is precisely why we read (and why some of us write): because life is short and finite, we want more, and literature is the distillation of all those lives we will not lead.
Jessica ZafraThat's really what the mall is all about: money. At the mall the rule is: Credito, ergo sum - I shop, therefore I am.
Jessica ZafraYes, it's true that you can't learn everything from books. But you do learn something about everything.
Jessica ZafraWhat exactly did we learn in kindergarten? Nothing we wouldn't have learned if we;d stayed home. Okay, we learned that sometimes, by the time you get to the bathroom, it's too late.
Jessica ZafraWe like to look for patterns and find connections in unrelated events. This way we can explain them to ourselves. Life seems neater, or at least less messy. We need to feel we are in control: it is integral to our self-esteem. We also know, though we deny it, that we are not in control. So we settle for the illusions of control. What if we stopped fooling ourselves?
Jessica ZafraOnce youโve read too many trashy best-sellers, you begin to look for something with substance, something that attempts to define the universe.
Jessica ZafraWe often reward mediocrity because it is comforting. If they can do it, anyone can do it.
Jessica ZafraAs you go through life, you learn many lessons. Unfortunately these lessons only apply to the specific instances in which you learned them. Therefore you can expect to make horrible mistakes no matter how long you live.
Jessica ZafraGreasy food might not be good for your body, but it does wonders for the soul. A healthy diet may prolong your life, but what would you have to live for? What is the point of living to a hundred if you have to subsist on bland food? One may as well die of boredom.
Jessica ZafraSometimes I wonder if, instead of falling madly in love, we should aspire to fall sanely in love. But then, what would be the point?
Jessica ZafraWe don't really have a movie industry; we have a trailer industry. The movie guys make five minutes worth of stuff to get people in the theatre, and eighty-five minutes of filler.
Jessica ZafraEveryone declares that love is irrational, and yet everytime this statement is proven correct, they profess amazement. They seem to assume that love will make an exception in their case. It never does.
Jessica ZafraSomeday you will look back on all the awful stuff that's happening to you, and fondly smile. Doesn't say much about the future, does it?
Jessica ZafraPeople who read books in public places are regarded with suspicion because they appear self-sufficient. When you seem self-sufficient, other people think that you think you're better than them, and they get resentful.
Jessica ZafraThe reason producers make stupid movies is because there are stupid people who will pay to see them.
Jessica Zafra