Key Quotes/Poems

Renée Watson, Piecing Me Together 

    “There is nothing exquisite about my life. It's mine, though, so I'm going to make something out of it.”Fredrik Backman, Beartown

    “Never trust people who don't have something in their lives that they love beyond all reason.”Jostein Gaarder (Sophie's World)

    "Nevertheless, we are free individuals, and this freedom condemns us to make choices throughout our lives. There are no eternal values or norms we can adhere to, which makes our choices even more significant. Because we are totally responsible for everything we do."Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

    “Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”R.J. Palacio, Wonder

    “Sometimes I think my head is so big because it is so full of dreams” R.J. Palacio, Wonder 

     “It’s not enough to be friendly. You have to be a friend.”
Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak

    “When people don't express themselves, they die one piece at a time.”Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak
    “I have survived. I am here. Confused, screwed up, but here. So, how can I find my way? Is there a chain saw of the soul, an ax I can take to my memories or fears?”Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak
    “I just want to sleep. A coma would be nice. Or amnesia. Anything, just to get rid of this, these thoughts, whispers in my mind.Lois Lowry, The Giver

    “The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.”

Lois Lowry, The Giver

    “It's the choosing that's important, isn't it?”
Lois Lowry, The Giver

    “Submitting to censorship is to enter the seductive world of 'The Giver': the world where there are no bad words and no bad deeds. But it is also the world where choice has been taken away and reality distorted. And that is the most dangerous world of all.”
Lois Lowry, The Giver

    "If everything's the same, then there are no choices! I want to wake up in the morning and DECIDE things! A blue tunic, or a red one?”
S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders

    "Things are rough all over.”

S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders

    “Nothing sparkly can stay.”
S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders

    “If we don't have each other, we don't have anything.”
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

    “Certain things, they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone.”Kurtis Connor, YouTube

    "sadness, fear, and uncertainty"Lucifer Morningstar, Lucifer

    "People don't arrive broken. They start with passion and yearning..."Lucifer Morningstar, Lucifer

"If all the apples are bad...maybe its the tree."Lin Manuel-Miranda, a songwriter, actor, singer, filmmaker, rapper, and playwright.

    "Doubts may grow as shadows loom, when you’re alone with your thoughts. Plant music, art, pics of the ones you love in the darkest corners. Harvest the fruits of your daydreams and rest. Water and sunlight to the best in you."Zora Neale Hurston

    "If you are silent about your pain, they'll kill you and say you enjoyed it."Edith Wharton, Patience

    "PATIENCE and I have traveled hand in hand

So many days that I have grown to trace

The lines of sad, sweet beauty in her face,

And all its veiled depths to understand.

Not beautiful is she to eyes profane;

Silent and unrevealed her holy charms;

But, like a mother's, her serene, strong arms

Uphold my footsteps on the path of pain.

I long to cry, -- her soft voice whispers, "Nay!"

I seek to fly, but she restrains my feet;

In wisdom stern, yet in compassion sweet,

She guides my helpless wanderings, day by day.

O my Beloved, life's golden visions fade,

And one by one life's phantom joys depart;

They leave a sudden darkness in the heart,

And patience fills their empty place instead."Lin Manuel Miranda, a songwriter, actor, singer, filmmaker, rapper, and playwright.

    "You are perfectly cast in your life. I can't imagine anyone but you in the role. Go play."Mascamo, I AM A BOY

    "oh how the pain

It's sad and hard to be a young trans boy

No one thinks I'm a real man

Everyone wishes I would die already

Everyone calls me a girl

I'm sick

I'M FUCKING SICK OF THIS

YES I'M A BOY AND YES I HAVE TITS AND

YES I'M STILL A BOY WITH LONG HAIR"Dan Levy, Canadian actor, writer and producer

    "I'm a warrior by nature."Dan Levy, Canadian actor, writer and producer

    "It is important that we realize that words have meanings far beyond the dictionary definition."David Rose, Schitt's Creek

    "That is the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard."David Rose, Schitt's Creek

    "Like Beyonce, I excel as a solo artist."

Moira Rose, Schitt's Creek

    "When one of us shines, all of us shine."Neil Gaiman, author

    "Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”Neil Gaiman, Coraline

    "Because' she said, 'when you're scared but still do it anyway, that's brave."

 coral.raven, To The (Usually) Hypothetical Angry Man in Every Public Place

    "1. Silent. Keep walking. This is not worth my attention.

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2. I don't have the energy for this. If you're gonna try something, just do it, or leave me alone.

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3. My mom told me that I'd killed her daughter when I came out. You think /You/ can say anything that's gonna top that?

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4. You're right. I am a faggot. I'm a queer, tranny, faggot, freak. And I LOVE it. These words aren't the daggers you intend them to be. These words are home. These words are my friends. My family, my heart. You can't hurt me with them.

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5. Don't touch me.

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6. I said, don't Fucking touch me.

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7. I will defend myself. And no matter what happens next,

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8. I'll be fine. Whole. Even in death, I can't lose.

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9. Can you say the same?

Jacob Opie, Bliss and Blisters

    "America: Land of the Free, Home of the Brave…

At least, that’s the lie we tell ourselves,

One so fragile a single man kneeling to the ground threatens to shatter it.

It’s all a facade, hiding the injustice,

Of course, it’s easier just to forget about it.

They say ignorance is bliss, but one’s bliss is another’s blisters.

 

In this nation, we are ruled not by democracy but by patriarchy,

One that cares more about what is covering her skin than what is beneath it.

The media exploits her body, while others seek to control it,

It’s as if this is what she is destined for from birth.

How do you tell a little girl that little is all she’ll ever be,

That she’ll never be worth as much as the child she may or not one day carry?

 

In this nation, the color of one’s skin can be a death sentence,

To even suggest that your life matters is controversial.

A system that seeks to demonize,

Impoverished streets that lead straight to overcrowded cells

And those who are supposed to protect and serve abuse their power,

Preferring to shoot first and ask questions later.

 

In this nation, the privileged sit in their bubbles while many hide in their closets,

They cry “religious freedom” while others cry tears of pain.

And while they wage wars on bathrooms and lead crusades for conversion,

The very children they claim to protect are suffocating on their hate.

When will love just be love,

When will being yourself not mean being damned for it?

 

In this nation, what makes you different makes you lesser.

Many would like to paint a picture perfect utopia,

To turn a blind eye, sweep the imperfections under the rug.

The struggle for rights against those who are afraid of what they don’t understand,

That is the country’s truth.

America: Land of the Oppressed, Home of the Cowards."