Mockingbird

Sometimes I read the same books over and over and over. What's great about books is that the stuff inside doesn't change. People say you can't judge a book by its cover but that's not true because it says right on the cover what's inside. And no matter how many times you read that book the words and pictures don't change. You can open and close books a million times and they stay the same. They look the same. They say the same words. The charts and pictures are the same colors. Books are not like people. Books are safe.

I don't think I'm going to like it at all. I think it's going to hurt. But after the hurt I think maybe something good and strong and beautiful will come out of it.

I don't like the word soon because you don't know when it's going to sneak up on you and turn into NOW. Or maybe it'll be the kind of soon that never happens.

Understanding people’s difficulties and—just as crucial—helping people understand their own difficulties and teaching them concrete ways to help themselves will help them better deal with their own lives and, in turn, ours.

Empathy isn't as hard as it sounds because people have a lot of the same feelings. And it helps to understand other people because then you can actually care about them sometimes. And help them. And have a friend.

Ignore and ignorance share the same root.

I feel like Snow White because now I have a bunch of little dwarf friends who love me. I may not know how Scout's overalls feel but I think I know how Snow White's Shoes feel because now I know why Snow White was happy.

A movie is better than real life because in the movies only the bad guys die. Or you can pick the good movies where the bad guys die and only those. If you get tricked and a good person dies in the movie then you can rewrite it in your head so the good person lives and the part about death is superfluous.

I know, I say, after he says, This is hard, for the third time. This is what happens when you have a TRM, I tell him. You make a mess. It's okay. You just have to try harder next time. I am trying hard, Dad says. I know. You get a sticker. Thank you. Okay. You get another sticker for being polite.

Even though I didn't think I'd like empathy it kind of creeps up on you and makes you feel all warm and glowy inside. I don't think I want to go back to life without empathy.

I think about what Devon would say. You have to Work At It Dad. You have to try even if it's hard and you think you can never do it and you just want to scream and hide and shake your hands over and over and over.

I wish people would follow the Facial Expressions Chart like they’re supposed to.

Blurring is good for the things you don’t want to see but it doesn’t work so well for the stuff you actually have to Deal With.

Haven’t you ever seen someone standing alone? I shrug. Just one. Why don’t you talk to that child? Because it’s me and Devon told me I shouldn’t talk to myself. Not in public anyway

I don’t think you’re disgusting just because you have hair sticking out of your ear. Dad

She points to some girls who are standing in a circle talking and giggling LOUD. They are bent. What do you think they’re feeling? Like throwing up? She Looks At The Person. Well they’re bending over so much it looks like they’re going to throw up. Do you usually laugh a lot just before you throw up? No. I don’t. But who knows about them?

A empatia não é tão difícil quanto parece porque muitos dos sentimentos das pessoas são os mesmos. E isso ajuda a compreender os outros porque aí a gente pode realmente se preocupar com eles de vez em quando. E ajudá-los. E ter amigos. Como Michael. E fazer alguma coisa por eles e fazer com que se sintam tão bem quanto a gente está se sentindo.

Josh is walking into the principal’s office when I get off the phone.

You have to try even if it’s hard and you think you can never do it and you just want to scream and hide