Quotes from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“...because a life without meaning, without drive or focus, without dreams or goals, isn't a life worth living.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“You've got to show the world who you are before it tells you. Otherwise you become victim to someone you're not.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“You don’t get to pick where you’re from, but you always have control of where you’re going.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“Whoa, I've really got to stop making plans with fictional characters. It can't be healthy to develop relationships with people who don't exist.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“High School. Society’s bright idea to put all their aggressive, naive youth into one environment to torment and emotionally scar each other for life.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“Like having a great idea, life comes at you fast. It hits you and tries to escape and be expressed in any way possible. In a way, it's a lot like...lightning.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“What grinds me the most is we're sending kids out into the world who don't know how to balance a checkbook, don't know how to apply for a loan, don't even know how to properly fill out a job application, but because they know the quadratic formula we consider them prepared for the world`
With that said, I'll admit even I can see how looking at the equation x -3 = 19 and knowing x =22 can be useful. I'll even say knowing x =7 and y= 8 in a problem like 9x - 6y= 15 can be helpful. But seriously, do we all need to know how to simplify (x-3)(x-3i)??
And the joke is, no one can continue their education unless they do. A student living in California cannot get into a four-year college unless they pass Algebra 2 in high school. A future psychologist can't become a psychologist, a future lawyer can't become a lawyer, and I can't become a journalist unless each of us has a basic understanding of engineering.
Of course, engineers and scientists use this shit all the time, and I applaud them! But they don't take years of theater arts appreciation courses, because a scientist or an engineer doesn't need to know that 'The Phantom of the Opoera' was the longest-running Broadway musical of all time.
Get my point?”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“From this day on, I refuse to let anyone bring me to a point where I can't take a horrible situation and spin it into something beneficial. I will never let anyone make me feel anything I don't want to feel again or rob me of the passions that make me who I am.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“To Grandma:
Once upon a time,
there was a boy who flew.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“You're sad-looking," she said. "My grandson used to be such a happy boy. He used to write me stories. I remember the first story he ever wrote me, 'Once upon a time, there was a boy.' And that became 'Once upon a time there was a boy who wanted to fly.' And they kept getting better and better over time. I never found out if the boy got to fly."

I gave her a small smile. If only she knew the boy's wings had been clipped.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“I know I'm bitter and a little jaded, and mildly enjoy it, but am I a sad person? Am I happy?

I plan on being happy in the future for sure, but it isn't here yet. So what does that make me, exactly?”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“When one thing takes another away, what do we call that?” she asked my class. “Homicide!” I called out”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“I may have no idea what I'm talking about," I said, a little ticked off now. "But we're all a part of a minority waiting for a majority to pull their heads out of their asses.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
No amount of money,
Can stop me from loving you,


Try as they may,
Try as they might,
I’m not letting go,
Without a fight,


Some say it’s wicked,
Some say it’s sinful,
Some it’s wrong,
And just wrong,


I don’t know much,
But when push comes to shove,
I definitely don’t believe,
There’s such thing wrong as love.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“I was reading that lightning is a negative charge that comes from the friction that clouds carry. And since opposites attract, I would like to think that he was so positive the moment that he died, so happy, he pulled that bolt right out of the sky. I don’t know if that’s possible, but that’s what I believe.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“You've got to show the world who you are before it tells you.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“I don't necessarily consider myself a virgin, probably because I have such a penetrating personality”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“I don't know much,
But when push comes to shove,
I definitely don't believe,
There's such a thing as wrong love.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“My grandpa had a saying before he died: You can hope in one hand, shit in the other, and see which is filled first.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“Creatures of the Darkness
BY VICKI JORDAN

It was world of vampires and demons, where innocence
was rare and so were the living. It was a world of darkness,
where light had been outlawed and nightfall had swallowed
us whole.

An epic war had been fought, and the creatures of the dark
had finally prevailed over the promoters of the light. Finally,
for the first time in existence, the people of the shadows could
come out and freely walk among one another in the rays of the
dying sun, which had once been used to shun them away.

A little girl, a child of the light, had survived the battle and
crawled out from under the ashes of the destruction. She looked
around at her altered world in dismay and confronted a vampire
about the changes, of which she did not approve.

“Why did you turn my world into a world of night, and make
wrong into a new form of right? How could you make all the light
disappear, and with it everyone I once loved so dear? Why are the
shadows now the new sun, and why is everything lost what you have
won?”
The vampire looked down at the little girl with amusement
and delight.

“Because, little girl, this is the real world you see, where there’s no
light to shine on false identities. We didn’t destroy the world just to scare;
we simply uncovered what was already there. What has come out was all the
darkness that was once hidden within, and you’ll soon meet the darkness
in you once my fangs pierce your skin.”

We are our own greatest fears…..”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“What grinds me the most is that we’re sending kids out into the world who don’t know how to balance a checkbook, don’t know how to apply for a loan, don’t even know how to properly fill out a job application, but because they know the quadratic formula we consider them prepared for the world?”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“Sometimes for your own sanity you just have to agree with idiocy.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“A few of the girls and I jumped into my jetta and took off. "Lets go stand outside someone from Glee's house now," one of them said”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“I remember wanting to laugh, but I held it in. I guess even then I thought laughing at someone's dream was one of the cruelest things one person could do to another.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“All great writers have issues with their hometowns; guess I'm not the exception.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“It was one of those moments when you want to help, but don't know how. You think of a million things to say but are afraid you aren't the correct person to say them.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“Youth is not an excuse for insanity.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“I almost shat my pants. Literally, the floor was almost covered in my shat.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

“What prevents my life from being a sad after-school special is I don't give a shiiit.”
― Chris Colfer, quote from Struck by Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal

About the author

Popular quotes

“Missing you is worse than Pittsburgh.”
― Salvador Plascencia, quote from The People of Paper

“You can get hooked on afterlife ideas just like a drug. The reason to avoid ideas about life after death isn't because they couldn't possibly be true. Maybe they could. How would I know? It's because ideas like that promote a kind of dreamy fantasy state that distracts us from seeing what our life is right now.

"The question doesn't fit the case."

Look at your life as it is right now and live it, right now.”
― Brad Warner, quote from Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth about Reality

“Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto”
― Julia Gregson, quote from East of the Sun

“Cats. The original source of the, er, taint is a wee bit obscure. Twas either brought back by a Crusader or from some ancient Celtic bride, a priestess in the old religion, a shape-shifter.” He shrugged. “Despite what I am, I find that a wee bit difficult to imagine. But, there it is. The Callans appear to have done what ye plan to do—bred it out. There are tales from the old, misty past that hint at some difficulties because of this trait, but the Callans began to be verra particular in their mates. Their family lines are kept meticulously complete right to the most distant of cousins. Intermarriage, no matter how rich the prize, is strictly forbidden for fear that this trait will blossom in its full glory again and pull them all back into danger.” “So, they have bred it out then?” Cathal could understand why Bridget might hide this fact about her clan, but still felt hurt and angry that she would hide it from him. “Most of it. There lingers a hint, though. In the coloring, for example. Twas the medallion that set me on the right path. It reminded me of a tale I had once been told. I found that and soon tracked down the rest. It also explains a lot of things such as how your wife hisses and scratches, how she can run as she does.” “How she purrs,” Cathal whispered. “Does she? How intriguing.” Jankyn met Cathal’s scowl with a sweet smile. “The way she seems to sense danger, her keen eyesight, especially in the dark, and that certain grace she has. All Callan women are rumored to be small, lovely, graceful, passionate, and fertile. Verra, verra fertile. Your wee wife comes from a verra big family.” “Do ye recall the first night she was here? The way she acted when she first awoke?” Jankyn nodded. “Verra like a cat.” “Aye, but for one fleeting moment there was something in her face, something verra catlike.” “Why didnae ye say so?” “I thought it a trick of the light. Now I think not. It also means it might be impossible to breed out all our MacNachton traits. The Callans havenae fully succeeded, have they?” “Would that be such a bad thing? I can think of a few that would only serve us weel and would only raise envy, nay fear.” “True. I suspicion some of the things in the Callan bloodline do the same. The more I think on it, the more I curse myself as a blind fool. Aye, some of what Bridget does could just be considered, weel, a female’s ways. But nay all of them. Certainly nay the way she fought Edmee. I was but stunned when Edmee tossed me aside. Couldnae move, but I could see how Bridget leapt at Edmee. She used those cursed long nails of hers on Edmee and it took Edmee a few moments to get a firm grasp on Bridget. I can now see that the way Bridget moved to try to stay out of Edmee’s grasp was verra like a cat. Then Edmee threw Bridget and, somehow, e’en as she was flying through the air, she curled that wee body of hers into a ball. That and the heather saved her.” “Aye. Raibeart and I were close enough to see that. Raibeart still mutters about it. That and the fact that your wee wife made sure to take a few large hanks of Edmee’s hair with her when she was thrown. Of course, a cat is said to land on its feet. For one wee minute, I truly thought she was about to perform that wondrous feat, but then she curled up into the ball. I wonder why.” “Mayhap when I have finished bellowing at her, I will ask her that question.” He smiled faintly when Jankyn laughed. “So, ye will keep her?” “Aye. E’en when I feared ye were about to tell me she had MacNachton blood, something that would near ruin all my grand plans, I meant to keep her.” He sighed, finished off his wine, then rose to refill his goblet. “I had best send for her, confront her with this, and hear what she has to say for herself.” “No need. I believe I hear the patter of wee paws approaching.” Cathal gave Jankyn a disgusted look as he retook his seat. “I would be wary of teasing her too much. Dinnae forget those nails.” “Cathal?”
― Hannah Howell, quote from The Eternal Highlander

“Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience.”
― Mary Wollstonecraft, quote from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.