I love quotes and sayings. My mother would always spew them at me when I was little, and it was incredible because she had a quote for every scenario. I wonder to this day if they were all actual quotes said by someone or if she created them just for me.
Regardless, I grew up associating quotes with guidance. The youth is not wise, and as a member of this age group, I looked for direction and help from people who have already lived life. I looked for quotes to inspire me and keep me going, and like the super dork I am, my room is usually littered with quotes on neon yellow Post-it notes for extra motivation.
Through my 19 years of life, I've found quotes particularly special and helpful, and I thought I'd extend them all to you.
To get through the Good…
“Try to learn to breathe deeply; really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep, really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough." – Ernest Hemingway
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." — 1 Corinthians 13:13
“Don't take life too seriously. You'll never get out of it alive." — Elbert Hubbard
“We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down." – Kurt Vonnegut
“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close." – Pablo Neruda
“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person." – Audrey Hepburn
The Bad…
“Since I was young, I have always known this: Life damages us, every one. We can't escape that damage. But now, I am also learning this: We can be mended. We mend each other." – Veronica Roth
“The pain that you've been feeling, can't compare to the joy that's coming." – Romans 8:18
“Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have – life itself." – Walter Anderson
“Good things aren't supposed to just fall into your lap. God is very generous, but He expects you to do your part first." – Audrey Hepburn
“I learned there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead, others come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready, you see. Now my troubles are going to have trouble with me." – Dr. Seuss
“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life." - J.K. Rowling
… And the Ugly {Break up}
“Your past is just a story. And once you realize this, it has no power over you." – Chuck Palahniuk
“Respect yourself enough to walk away from anything that no longer serves you, grows you or makes you happy." – Robert Tew
“Everyone's allowed to be in love with the wrong person at some point. In fact, it's a mistake not to be." – Harriet Evans
“Hearts live by being wounded." – Oscar Wilde
“Somewhere out there is another little freak who will love us and understand us and kiss our three heads and make it all better." – Carrie Bradshaw
“Once you truly believe you're worthy of love, you will never settle for anyone's second best treatment." – Charles J Orlando
“I am trying to see things in perspective. My dog wants a bite of my peanut butter chocolate chip bagel. I know she cannot have this, because chocolate makes dogs very sick. My dog does not understand this. She pouts and wraps herself around my leg like a scarf and purrs and tries to convince me to give her just a tiny bit. When I do not give in, she eventually gives up and lays in the corner, under the piano, drooping and sad. I hope the universe has my best interest in mind like I have my dog's. When I want something with my whole being, and the universe withholds it from me, I hope the universe thinks to herself: 'Silly girl. She thinks this is what she wants, but she does not understand how it will hurt.'" — Theories About the Universe
“If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's yours; if it doesn't, it never was." – my mom (and probably someone else, too)