I wanted people to trust me, despite anything they'd heard. And more than that, I wanted them to know me. Not the stuff they thought they knew about me. No, the real me. I wanted them to get past the rumors. To see beyond the relationships I once had, or maybe still had but that they didn't agree with.

Jay Asher

Categorized in : Past People Real

The main thing I wanted to say, and thankfully it’s what most people say they get out of the book, is simply an acknowledgement that we do affect each other in ways we can’t predict.

book people way

No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes, we have no clue. Yet we push it just the same.

impact life people

You can hear rumors. But you can't know them. by Jay Asher

You can hear rumors. But you can't know them.

rumor knows

You don’t know what goes on in anyone’s life but your own. And when you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re not messing with just that part. Unfortunately, you can’t be that precise and selective. When you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re messing with their entire life. Everything. . . affects everything.

mess persons goes-on

You can't stop the future You can't rewind the past The only way to learn the secret ...is to press play.

change inspirational past

And at some point, the struggle becomes too much-too tiring-and you consider letting go. Allowing tragedy... or whatever... to happen.

tragedy struggle letting-go

Because no, I didn’t push her away. I didn’t add to her pain or do anything to hurt her. Instead, I left her alone in that room. The only person who might’ve been able to reach out and save her from herself. To pull her back from wherever she was heading. I did what she asked and I left. When I should have stayed.

pain hurt should-have

If my love were an ocean, there would be no more land. If my love were a desert, you would see only sand. If my love were a star- late at night, only light. And if my love could grow wings, I'd be soaring in flight.

stars love romantic

You can't go back to how things were. How you thought they were.... by Jay Asher

You can't go back to how things were. How you thought they were. All you really have is...now.

And in high school, people are always watching so there's always... by Jay Asher

And in high school, people are always watching so there's always a reason to pose.

high-school people school

When you hold people up for ridicule, you have to take responsibi... by Jay Asher

When you hold people up for ridicule, you have to take responsibility when other people act on it.

bullying responsibility people

I needed a break... from myself. by Jay Asher

I needed a break... from myself.

break needed

If I had a chance with him, I missed it. No, I didn't miss it. I... by Jay Asher

If I had a chance with him, I missed it. No, I didn't miss it. I threw it away.

chance ifs missing

Like driving along a bumpy road and losing control of the steering wheel, tossing you—just a tad—off the road. The wheels kick up some dirt, but you're able to pull it back. Yet no matter how hard you try to drive straight, something keeps jerking you to the side. You have so little control over anything anymore. And at some point, the struggle becomes too much—too tiring—and you consider letting go. Allowing tragedy... or whatever... to happen.

losing-control struggle letting-go

And what about you-the rest of you-did you notice the scars you left behind? No. Probably not. Because most of them can't be seen with the naked eye.

scar naked eye

Because when you're posed, you know someone's watching. You put on your very best smile. You let your sweetest personality shine.

best-smile shining personality

After all, how often do we get a second chance? by Jay Asher

After all, how often do we get a second chance?

second-chance chance

I swear, guys in groups are capable of the stupidest things." "Like war," Kellan says, heaping napkins and ketchup packets onto her tray. "And jumping off rooftops." "And lighting their farts on fire," she says.

jumping fire war

In the end....everything matters. by Jay Asher

In the end....everything matters.

ends matter

Stories about sensitive issues like sex, drugs or sexual assault, suicide and teen drinking, are often censored because people just don't want to talk about those things. It's not that these things don't happen, but when they're shared in a fictional setting, for some reason they make some people uncomfortable.

suicide drinking people