I seriously think I could have sat in the middle of the kitchen floor rubbing two sticks together over a pile of dynamite blocks and gasoline cans, and my parents would be oblivious, as long as I was keeping myself occupied.

I tucked him in with his stuffed-animal pet dog—cleverly named Dog-Dog, by the way.

You look like a handsome young man…although you might want to zip your fly. Mom! What? Should I have not told you and left it for everyone else to notice at the dance?

Or maybe...their biggest fear is that they will get close to you again, and you'll go and drop dead.

And if there was one thing I'd finally figured out, it was that your mind is something you always CAN change.

It was like seeing Bill Gates at age thirteen, times two. And half of him was wearing a cheerleader uniform. Yes, I know that’s a weird image.

If you promise you will get better instead of dying, I promise I will, too.