The fabric of democracy is always fragile everywhere because it depends on the will of citizens to protect it, and when they become scared, when it becomes dangerous for them to defend it, it can go very quickly.

It's very hard for students not to be in debt unless they've got big scholarships or rich parents. And it's called investing in your future, but like any investment it's risky because your future is an unknown quantity. However, if you don't invest in your future, you may be flipping hamburgers for the rest of your life. So it's a real dilemma.

More and more I feel like a letter—deposited here, collected there. But a letter addressed to no one.

If he wants to be an asshole, it's a free country. Millions before him have made the same life choice.

There are some virtues to not saying what you think all the time.

The young habitually mistake lust for love, they're infested with idealism of all kinds.

Writing is alone, but I don't think it's lonely. Ask any writer if they feel lonely when they're writing their book, and I think they'll say no.