depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying.

The act of leaning in to kiss someone, or asking them, is fraught with the possibility of rejection, so the person least likely to get rejected should do the leaning in or the asking.

She fell apart because that's what happens.

The abbreviated exam week meant that Wednesday was the last day of school for us. And all day long, it was hard not to walk around, thinking about the lastness of it all.

Leaving feels too good, once you leave.

I think when you're 16, if you have good parents, they generally just fade in the background. I had great parents, and because they were great, I thought very little about them in high school.

Abligurition: an actual, if very obscure, English word, which means the spending of too much money on food.