Sometimes I get so caught up in my own problems that I forget how amazing the world is.

He tells us that life isn't about what happens to you, it's about what you do about what happens to you.

But in my heart I knew that just like the new grass, I wasn't strong enough yet to be walked on

There’s no winning arguments with your parents, so why get all pumped up over them? It is way better to dive down and get out of the way than it is to get clobbered by some parental tidal wave.

I’ve flown kites before and I know – sometimes they’re gone forever, and sometimes they’re just waiting in the middle of the road for you to rescue them. Kites can be lucky or they can be ornery. I’ve had both kinds, and a lucky kite is definitely worth chasing for.

I am a runner. That's what I do. That's who I am. Running is all I know, or want, or care about.

It was beyond embarrassing or humiliating or even mortifying. It was ego-slaying!