I just do the best I can under the circumstances.

I wasn't very happy in high school: it was a confusing and sort of sad time for me.

We can all be beautiful girls.

Life's too short to worry about the little things. Enjoy what you have today, not what you might get tomorrow

She smiled, pulling the photo a little closer, and I wondered if I should ask her, too, the question for my project, get her definition. But as she ran a finger slowly across the faces, identifying each one, it occurred to me that maybe this was her answer. All those names, strung together like beads on a chain. Coming together, splitting apart, but still and always, a family. (page 289) ~Ruby

The first boy was always the hardest.

Welcome to adulthood," she said. "It sucks as much as high school.