“Time can play all sorts of tricks on you. In the blink of an eye, babies appear in carriages, coffins disappear into the ground, wars are won and lost, and children transform, like butterflies, into adults.”
- Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret

"The truth is I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves. They didn't bother to find out who and what I was. Instead they would invent a character for me. I wouldn't argue with them. They were obviously loving somebody I wasn't. When they found this out, they would blame me for disillusioning them and fooling them."
- Marilyn Monroe

"It was like we were speaking a language we'd once been fluent in, but we now had to struggle with verbs and tenses."
- Sarah Dessen, What Happened to Goodbye

"Sadness is my luxury..."
- Wilco, "Born Alone"

"It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of someone else's life with perfection."
- The Bhadavad Gita

“I'm not offended by dumb blonde jokes because I know that I'm not dumb. I also know I'm not blonde.”
- Dolly Parton

"It's very important to my parents that you know they actually drive a Subaru Outback and not this big SUV in real life."
- Abe

"A happy family is but an early heaven."
- George Bernard Shaw

"This place reminds me of Santa's workshop. Except it smells like mushrooms and everyone looks like they want to hurt me."
- Buddy, Elf

"I was never less alone than when by myself."
- Edward Gibbon

"It is never too late to give up your prejudices."
- Henry David Thoreau

"If you're hurting, you need to help somebody else ease their hurt. If you're in pain, help somebody else's pain."
- Oprah Winfrey

"Speaking of cookies….they have become the newest food group in my life.  A real staple.  No Sweet November has been made up for with Delicious Delights December."
- Lauren (via)

"People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle."
- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Justice is what love looks like in public."
- Cornel West

"Karen and Sharon had been a couple at some unspecified time in the past but were now just friends with asymmetrical haircuts."
- Tina Fey, Bossypants

"I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult."
- Rita Rudner

"Hope is the thing with feathers,
that perches in the soul,
and sings the tune without words,
and never stops at all."
- Emily Dickenson

"Determine to live life with flair and laughter."
- Maya Angelou

"The body is shaped, disciplined, honored, and in time, trusted."
- Martha Graham

"I decided it is better to scream. Silence is the real crime against humanity."
- Nadezhda Mandelstam

"Hell is full of musical amateurs."
- George Bernard Shaw

"Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us."
- Martin Luther

"It’s a job that’s never started that takes the longest to finish."
- J.R.R. Tolkein

"Citizenship means that we behave according to the belief that every person matters just as much as every other person.  Citizens must not prosper at the expense of another person.  Citizens should aspire to do what they can to counteract the disadvantages that random chance imposes on others."
- Bill Gates, Sr.  (via)

"Joy has no cost."
- Marianne Williamson

"I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."
- Anna Quindlen

"I do not know the word 'quit.' Either I never did, or I have abolished it."
- Susan Butcher

"You all know the Bible is made of testaments old and new
You've been told it's just those two parts or only one if you're a Jew
But what if I were to tell you there's a fresh third part out there
Which was found by a hip new prophet who had a little Donny Osmond flair"
- "All-American Prophet," The Book of Mormon: The Musical

"For those called to seek the kingdom of God… the quest for peace is never optional."
- Joseph Lowery

"Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there."
- Will Rogers

"Maybe we weren't at the Last Supper, but we're certainly going to be at the next one."
- Congresswoman Bella Abzug