Some kids look at me strange in the hallways because I don't decorate my locker.

And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.

there is this one photograph... that is just beautiful. it would be impossible to describe how beautiful it is, but i’ll try. if you listen to the song “asleep,” and you think about those pretty weather days that make you remember things, and you think about the prettiest eyes you’ve known, and you cry and the person holds you back, then i think you will see the photograph.

people who try to control situations all the time are afraid that if they don't, nothing will work out the way they want.

Have you ever done that? You feel really bad, and then it goes away, and you don’t know why.

I look at people holdings hands in the hallways, and I try to think how it all works. At the school dances, I sit in the background, and I tap my toe, and I wonder how many couples will dance to ‘their song.’ In the hallways, I see the girls wearing the guys’ jackets, and I think about the idea of property. And I wonder if anyone is really happy.

Part of the reason I wrote the book was I wanted to understand for myself why such good people let themselves get treated so badly.