"Live as if you were living for the second time and acted as wrongly the first time as you are about to act now."
— Viktor E. Frankl (Man's Search for Meaning)

"But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer."
— Viktor E. Frankl (Man's Search for Meaning)

"Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in its spiritual being, his inner self. Whether or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance."
— Viktor E. Frankl

"...I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsiblity on the West Coast."
— Viktor E. Frankl (Man's Search for Meaning)

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
— Viktor E. Frankl

"A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the "why" for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any "how"."
— Viktor E. Frankl

""The pessimist resembles a man who observes with fear and sadness that his wall calendar, from which he daily tears a sheet, grows thinner with each passing day. On the other hand, the person who attacks the problems of life actively is like a man who removes each successive leaf from his calendar and files it neatly and carefully away with its predecessors, after first having jotted down a few diary notes on the back. He can reflect with pride and joy on all the richness set down in these notes, on all the life he has already lived to the fullest. What will it matter to him if he notices that he is growing old? Has he any reason to envy the young people whom he sees, or wax nostalgic over his own lost youth? What reasons has he to envy a young person? For the possibilities that a young person has, the future which is in store for him?

'No, thank you,' he will think. 'Instead of possibilities, I have realities in my past, not only the reality of work done and of love loved, but of sufferings bravely suffered. These sufferings are even the things of which I am most proud, although these are things which cannot inspire envy.' "

From "Logotherapy in a Nutshell", an essay"
— Viktor E. Frankl (Man's Search for Meaning)

"We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."
— Elie Wiesel

"“There is no such thing as a soulmate…and who would want there to be? I don’t want half of a shared soul. I want my own damn soul.”
Ely in Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
"
— Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

"Having the critics praise you is like having the hangman say you’ve got a pretty neck"
— Eli Wallach

"Why should we take advice on sex from the pope? If he knows anything about it, he shouldn't!"
— George Bernard Shaw

"If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance."
— George Bernard Shaw

"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it. "
— George Bernard Shaw

"In heaven an angel is no one in particular."
— George Bernard Shaw

"If you have an apple and I have an apple,
and we exchange apples,
We each have one apple.
If you have an idea and I have an idea,
and we exchange ideas,
We each have two ideas."
— George Bernard Shaw

"My way of joking is to tell the truth. It's the funniest joke in the world."
— George Bernard Shaw

"There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it."
— George Bernard Shaw

"Suicide is a form of murder - premeditated murder. It isn't something you do the first time you think of doing it. It takes getting used to. And you need the means, the opportunity, the motive. A successful suicide demands good organization and a cool head, both of which are usually incompatible with the suicidal state of mind"
— Susanna Kaysen (Girl, Interrupted)

"On the morning the last Lisbon daughter took her turn at suicide- it was Mary this time, and sleeping pills, like Therese- the two paramedics arrived at the house knowing exactly where the knife drawer was, and the gas oven, and the beam in the basement from which it was possible to tie a rope."
— Jeffrey Eugenides (The Virgin Suicides)

"Whatever we call it - mind, character, soul - we like to think we possess something that is greater than the sum of our neurons and that animates us.
"
— Susanna Kaysen

"The debate was wearing me out. Once you've posed that question, it won't go away. I think many
people kill themselves simply to stop the debate about whether they will or they won't.
Anything I thought or did was immediately drawn into the debate. Made a stupid remark--why not kill
myself? Missed the bus--better put an end to it all. Even the good got in there. I liked that movie--maybe
I shouldn't kill myself."
— Susanna Kaysen

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
— Douglas Adams (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe)

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."
— Robert A. Heinlein

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
— Maya Angelou

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."
— Anaïs Nin

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
— Marianne Williamson (A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles)

"For most of history, Anonymous was a woman."
— Virginia Woolf

"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."
— J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)

"Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people."
— Eleanor Roosevelt

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
— Oscar Wilde

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint."
— Mark Twain

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."
— Shel Silverstein

"The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four people is suffering from a mental illness. Look at your 3 best friends. If they're ok, then it's you."
— Rita Mae Brown

"...we accept the love we think we deserve."
— Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)

"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."
— Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)

"I would die for you. But I won't live for you."
— Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)

"It's just that I don't want to be somebody's crush. If somebody likes me, I want them to like the real me, not what they think I am. And I don't want them to carry it around inside. I want them to show me, so I can feel it too."
— Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)

"Nobody loves me, nobody cares,
Nobody picks me peaches and pears.
Nobody offers me candy and Cokes,
Nobody listens and laughs at me jokes.
Nobody helps when I get into a fight,
Nobody does all my homework at night.
Nobody misses me,
Nobody cries,
Nobody thinks I'm a wonderful guy.
So, if you ask me who's my best friend, in a whiz,
I'll stand up and tell you NOBODY is!
But yesterday night I got quite a scare
I woke up and Nobody just WASN'T there!
I called out and reached for Nobody's hand,
In the darkness where Nobody usually stands,
Then I poked through the house, in each cranny and nook,
But I found SOMEBODY each place that I looked.
I seached till I'm tired, and now with the dawn,
There's no doubt about it-
NOBODY'S GONE!!"
— Shel Silverstein

"My skin is kind of sort of brownish pinkish yellowish white. My eyes are greyish blueish green, but I'm told they look orange in the night. My hair is reddish blondish brown, but its silver when its wet, and all the colors I am inside have not been invented yet."
— Shel Silverstein (Where the Sidewalk Ends)

"If you have to dry the dishes
(Such an awful boring chore)
If you have to dry the dishes
('Stead of going to the store)
If you have to dry the dishes
And you drop one on the floor
Maybe they won't let you
Dry the dishes anymore
"
— Shel Silverstein (A Light in the Attic)

""When the light turns green, you go. When the light turns red, you stop. But what do you do when the light turns blue with orange and lavender spots?"
"
— Shel Silverstein

"So I'm all of love that could make it today."
— Shel Silverstein (Where the Sidewalk Ends)

"'why can't you see i'm a kid', said the kid.
'Why try to make me like you?
Why are you hurt when I don't cuddle?
Why do you sigh when I splash through a puddle?
Why do you scream when I do what I did?
Im a kid.'"
— Shel Silverstein (Falling Up)

"Early bird
Oh, if you’re a bird, be an early bird
And catch the worm for your breakfast plate.
If you’re a bird, be an early bird—
But if you’re a worm, sleep late.
"
— Shel Silverstein

""Tell my I'm clever,
Tell me I'm kind,
Tell me I'm talented,
Tell me I'm cute,
Tell me I'm sensitive,
Graceful and Wise
Tell me I'm perfect--
But tell me the TRUTH."
— Shel Silverstein (Falling Up)

"I asked the Zebra,
are you black with white stripes?
Or white with black stripes?
And the zebra asked me,
Are you good with bad habits?
Or are you bad with good habits?
Are you noisy with quiet times?
Or are you quiet with noisy times?
Are you happy with some sad days?
Or are you sad with some happy days?
Are you neat with some sloppy ways?
Or are you sloppy with some neat ways?
And on and on and on and on and on and on he went.
I’ll never ask a zebra about stripes...again."
— Shel Silverstein

"It was, he thought, the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high. Some people, perhaps, would say that there was little to choose between the two ways, but Dumbledore knew - and so do I, thought Harry, with a rush of fierce pride, and so did my parents - that there was all the difference in the world."
— J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)

"It's going to be alright sir," Harry said over and over again, more worried by Dumbledore's silence than he had been by his weakened voice. "We're nearly there ... I can Apparate us both back ... don't worry ..."

"I am not worried, Harry," said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. "I am with you."
— J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)

"It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well."
— J.K. Rowling

"I took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I had never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamberpots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished. But I must keep an eye out for it. Possibly it is only accessible at five thirty in the morning. Or it may only appear at the quarter moon - or when the seeker has an exceptionally full bladder."
— J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)