I doubt trees are ever told to 'be the screwed-up ninth-grader.'

We swore sacred oaths to be strong and to save the planet and to be friends forever.

This is not our fight', the old man said. 'British or American, that is not the choice. You must choose your own side, find your road through the valley of darkness that will lead you to the river Jordan. . . Look hard for your river Jordan, my child. You'll find it.

I lift my arm out of the water. It's a log. Put it back under and it blows up even bigger. People see the log and call it a twig. They yell at me because I can't see what they see. Nobody can explain to me why my eyes work different than theirs. Nobody can make it stop.

I was good at digging holes. It was the rest of life I sucked at.

Revision means throwing out the boring crap and making what’s left sound natural.

If I ever form a clan, we'll be the anti-cheerleaders and walk under the bleacher forming mild acts of mayhem.