We don't suffer from a shortage of metaphors . . . But you have to be careful which metaphor you choose, because it matters.

Don't lie to anyone, but particularly don't lie to millennials. They just know. They can smell it. Be yourself: if you're old, be old. If you don't know anything about pop culture, don't pretend to know anything about pop culture. When you credit teenagers with intelligence and emotional sophistication, they respond intelligently and with emotional sophistication.

Remember that time in the minivan, twenty minutes ago, when we didn't die?

Failing to grapple with complexity actually turns out to be a pretty bad life strategy.

Of course, sweetie," his mom said. "We'll be here all day. You just come down whenever you want and we love you and you're so so special, Colin, and you can't possibly let this girl make you think otherwise because you are the most magnificent, brilliant boy-" And right then, the most special, magnificent, brilliant boy bolted into his bathroom and puked his guts out. An explosion, sort of.

We were very different, and we disagreed about a lot of things, but he was always so interesting, you know?

I can't be you. You can't be me. You can imagine another well—but never quite perfectly, you know?