Happy Hour

He said, 'What do you want?' All I could think of was peeling the skin of a Valencia orange in bed on a bright morning with someone pulling me into the covers because they want to spend two or three minutes nestling before starting their day. So I said, 'Not much.

I realize now, the older you get, the harder it is to be impressed because people make you feel ashamed of ever being impressed by anything at all. I kept many glowing remarks to myself because of this.

Though we give the appearance of it, I wonder when we were last truly carefree. Were we ever? It's an odd, impalpable thing to always chase. I've felt it in small, delicious fragments, and usually when I'm dancing. The only way to achieve even the veneer of such freedom is to resist being pulled down by the weight of everything.

I feel as though becoming a woman is like a long tradition of going through things and coming out strong, but I am tired and weary!

If I were to describe a typical New York conversation it would be two people waiting for their turn to talk.

The less time spent in public, the safer girls feel. That’s not incidental; the world was built that way.

I was under the impression that I loved him, simply because I never knew what he was thinking.

Seeing someone you used to love is like visiting a house you once lived in.

I supposed to savour is to hold something in your mouth for more than a moment, to linger and draw out its details. Sometimes you are far too hungry to wait, and things get lost. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that I write things into remembrance. I like to linger long enough to name pleasurable things and seek out more.

Summer solstice came and went, and in a way, I find that sad because even though it is the longest day of the dear and marks the beginning of summer, from now on, the days grow shorter and shorter. It's true that some parties end before they even begin.

Traveling alone makes you vulnerable to being moved by things.

Can you passionately search for having fun without losing the lustre of spontaneity?

I am slowly learning to never accept less than I deserve. Deciding how much I deserve is another matter. I wish someone would say to me, "I will never look up or down at you.

It’s funny how in a place where everything is an experience, people see such little value in just living.

Don't ever forget you have the ability to choose. Never wait to be chosen by someone who came ready to treat you right. I know it may not seem this way in art and literature, but we are not mere vessels for love and admiration.

It is interesting to note that many people believe getting someone to treat you with respect is an achievement.

Sometimes making bad decisions really takes no time at all. In fact, you realize you've been itching to do it all along. Deep down, I think it comes from being so angry at having to restrict yourself all the time. Because in the end, no matter how you behave, someone will always dash your life's work away with little to no regard. We are always swimming against the tide. How's that for justice? If I am reckless, it is because I am tired.

I go between feeling much too young and much too old for my age. (115)

It’s much easier to seem silly and light than to be the sum of your experiences.

Money was limited, but my taste was not.

Beauty is a funny thing. It tools you into thinking you like someone when really all you want is to possess them. Ultimately, I guess that's what desire is. Something I find so beautiful should be mine!

A piece of advice: You’ll come across many people who will want to be with you. People’s imaginations aren’t entirely idle; they can slot you into their futures easily. You have qualities that people wouldn’t mind spending time with, at least for a while. You could be the perfect girl for Anybody. We are conditioned to be obsessed with people falling in love with us. Reaching that point is seen as a success. We’re always asking, ‘Why do they act this way?’ and then morphing, cooing, comforting. By the time you win them over, you don’t know how to really love them in return because we never ask ourselves enough about what we want. Don’t ever forget you have the ability to choose. Never wait to be chosen by someone who came ready to treat you right. I know it may not seem this way in art and literature, but we are not mere vessels for love and admiration. If I said yes to every proposition I was given just because I was flattered by it, well!” What she means is have an idea of what you want and never get talked out of it. I am slowly learning to never accept less than I deserve. Deciding how much I deserve is another matter. I wish someone would say to me, "I will never look up or down on you.

We are conditioned to be obsessed with people falling in love with us.

It would be nice if whenever someone said, "I love you," it meant, "Everything will be fine." (222)

He asked, "What is the problem, Isa?" And tired of being coy all the time, I wanted to say, "I like when you are tender with me. I wish you were tender all the time." It was the feeling that his tenderness was selective, and I wanted to be the object of all of it. I fiddled with my straw. The pulp of the lime trembled in the glass. I said, "You know," and he said, "No, I don't." I have tried to stick together tenderness from each person. It's a natural urge to want to be important in someone's life. The soft underbelly of a coarse man. A preview is never enough because I am insatiable. (150)

What she means is have an idea of what you want and never get talked out of it. I am slowly learning to never accept less that what I deserve. Deciding how much I deserve is another matter. I wish someone would say to me, "I will never look up or down at you." (139)

The Fear makes this anxiety bloom in my chest to proportions I am far too petite to contain. (12)