Karla Hernandez > Karla's Quotes

“The present is our own. The right-this-second, the here-and-now, this moment before the next, is ours for the taking. It’s the only free gift the universe has to offer. The past doesn’t belong to us anymore, and the future is just a fantasy, never guaranteed. But the present is ours to own. The only way we can realize that fantasy is if we embrace the now.”
― Renee Carlino, Before We Were Strangers

“You can’t re-create the first time you promise to love someone or the first time you feel loved by another. You cannot relive the sensation of fear, admiration, self-­consciousness, passion, and desire all mixed into one because it never happens twice. You chase it like the first high for the rest of your life. It doesn’t mean you can’t love another or move on; it just means that the one spontaneous moment, the split second that you took the leap, when your heart was racing and your mind was muddled with What ifs?—that moment—will never happen the same way again. It will never feel as intense as the first time. At least, that’s the way I remember it. That’s why my mother always said we memorialize our past. Everything seems better in a memory.”
― Renee Carlino, Before We Were Strangers

“Everything seems better in a memory.”
― Renee Carlino, Before We Were Strangers

“Poetry is just evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.”
― Renee Carlino, Before We Were Strangers

“And in that moment, you realize how little control you have over your own destiny. From the time you're born, you have no control; you can't choose your parents, and, unless you're suicidal, you can't choose your death. The only thing you can do is choose the person you love, be kind to others, and make your brutally short stint on earth as pleasant as possible.”
― Renee Carlino, Before We Were Strangers

“It was like the universe was teasing us; we saw each other just a second too late.”
― Renee Carlino, Before We Were Strangers

“We were victims of bad timing. But here we are again.”
― Renee Carlino, Before We Were Strangers

“Maybe that’s what growing up was really all about. Adults always say how complicated life gets as we age, but really, I think we just look for bigger challenges to overcome. Our biggest fears stretch from sleeping without our beloved teddy bear to finding out that we have no purpose in life. Did time, maturity, and overcoming obstacles offer the kind of contentment so evident in Orvin? Or did we just simply give up and surrender to the life we were already living?”
― Renee Carlino, Before We Were Strangers

“Would they have carried on with their lonely lives, living like two halves of one heart, just out of reach of each other?”
― Renee Carlino, Before We Were Strangers

“Friends forever might have been a tired expression, but when he asked, it was like music or poetry. I knew it meant something. I knew it meant I need you in my life”
― Renee Carlino, Before We Were Strangers

“Isn’t that all we need to hear sometimes—that you’re a good mom or friend or daughter or wife?”
― Renee Carlino, Before We Were Strangers

“New York has an energy that takes root inside of you. Even a transplant like me gets to know the different boroughs, like they're living, breathing organisms. There's nowhere else like it. The city becomes a character in your life, a love you can't take out of you. The mysteriously human element about this place can make you fall in love and break your heart at the same time.”
― Renee Carlino, Before We Were Strangers

“It’s time.” He opened his arms and I rushed into them with such force, like I was trying to jump inside of him so he could take me along, a stowaway inside his heart. He squeezed me hard and for a long time. “I’ll see you, Grace.” We let go of each other and stepped apart. “I’ll see you later, Matt.” He smiled and walked away.”
― Renee Carlino, Before We Were Strangers

“What are you doin’, man?” Scott’s voice came from the doorway.

I turned and smiled. “Just thinking.”

“You seem a little brighter.”

“Actually, I was thinking about how I ended up thirty-six, divorced, and trapped in cubicle hell.”

He walked to the coffeepot and poured a mug full then leaned against the counter. “You were a workaholic?” he offered.

“That’s not why Elizabeth was unfaithful. She fell right into Brad’s skinny arms, and he works more than I do. Hell, Elizabeth works more than I do.”

“Why are you dwelling on the past? Look at you. You’re tall. You have hair. And it looks like”—he waved his hand around at my stomach—“you might have abs?”

“You checking me out?”

“I’d kill for a head of hair like that.”

Scott was the kind of guy who was bald by twenty-two. He’s been shaving it Mr. Clean–style since then.

“What do women call that thing?” He pointed to the back of my head.

“A bun?”

“No, there’s, like, a sexier name for it. The ladies love that shit.”

“They call it a man-bun.”
― Renee Carlino, Before We Were Strangers

“Why do I have to tell a story?” I asked.
“Because if you don’t tell the story, someone else will tell it for you.”
― Jennifer Lynn Barnes, The Inheritance Games

“Everything’s a game, Avery Grambs. The only thing we get to decide in this life is if we play to win.”
― Jennifer Lynn Barnes, The Inheritance Games

“We aren’t normal. This place isn’t normal, and you’re not a player, kid. You’re the glass ballerina—or the knife.”
― Jennifer Lynn Barnes, The Inheritance Games

“Each night before I fall asleep, I make it a point to turn to my wife and silently say "Only you, only ever you". And her love slips quietly around me, holding me, anchoring me, reminding me that the loudest words are the ones we live.”
― Mia Sheridan, Archer's Voice

“Someday … when we're old and gray, I'm going to look at you lying in bed beside me, just like this, and I'm going to look into your eyes and know that it's only ever been you. And that is going to be the great joy of my life.”
― Mia Sheridan, Archer's Voice

“I stand by my logic though. I think love is a concept, and each person has an individual word for what sums it up for them. My word for love is Bree.”
― Mia Sheridan, Archer's Voice

“..the loudest words are the ones we live.”
― Mia Sheridan, Archer's Voice

“And sometimes, that's all it takes–one person who's willing to listen to your heart, to the sound no one else has ever tried to hear.”
― Mia Sheridan, Archer's Voice

“I realized that people's reactions had more to do with them, more to do with who they were, than anything about me”
― Mia Sheridan, Archer's Voice