This Is Why They Hate Us Quotes

“Why is the world like this? How is the world like this? How is it that humans have created a society that allows a child to come to the conclusion that they would be better off dead than alive because they like the same sex?”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“Our minds are truly the one place where no one else can follow us. Even if we try, if we constantly express every thought that comes to mind, if we exist as a walking stream of consciousness, we won’t be able to convey everything that’s going on. There are emotions and feelings and sensations that we’d never be able to articulate.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“People are exhausting. Sure, they can be fun sometimes; they can “open you up to new experiences” or whatever. But the anxiety leading up to spending time with them and the emotional drain afterward make them not worth it.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“The message I've gotten about guys who like guys and girls is that we're faking, that we couldn't possibly be attracted to girls if we're attracted to boys. Bi girls get the same thing, but for them it means they're perceived as straight and for us it means we're perceived as gay.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“I guess it's true that us queers are starved for stories that mirror our lives. I can't remember a time when I saw a queer person in a movie or TV show or book that I didn't have to actively seek out myself.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“Some parents pin all their hopes and dreams on their children, and as a result, those kids feel all kinds of pressure to be some sort of familial savior destined to achieve greatness and keep their extended family from drowning.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“Sometimes I feel so, so alone that I think about someone breaking into my house and stabbing me and feeling flattered because they chose me. Because they paid attention to me."
Her face is somewhere between a smile and a grimace. "That's mildly concerning.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“What a horrible weight it is to be silent when you want to shout, to hold back when you want to reach out, to freeze when you want to melt.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“I’m still someone who hides parts of himself from everyone he knows so they don’t realize I’m not worth all the trouble of caring about me.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“Did you get home safely?" he writes back almost immediately.

I smile and put my feet up on the coffee table. It only took one ride in Fabiola’s truck for Saleem to realize that the fact that I make it home every day in one piece is a miracle.

"nah i died”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“Every time I’m with you, I feel this… tether between us. Like there’s a part of me buried in you, and no matter what, I can’t get close enough to you. Do you feel that too?”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“Why does it hurt so much to see other people happy? Is it because happiness is my first love who never came back? Seeing her (because, let’s be honest, if we had to assign happiness a gender, it’d be female) shine in other people’s lives reminds me that she left me, and all I can do is wait and hope she’ll eventually find me worthy enough to be with again.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“My heart was beating fast. It was hard to breathe. Our eyes locked onto each other’s, and I felt myself slipping into his. If I could’ve spent forever like that I would’ve.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“I love him, and I want him. And he genuinely cares about me, but he doesn’t want me. Yes, he’s, like, literal sunshine, but you know what happens when you’re in the sun too long? You burn.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“Last but not least, thank you, reader. If you see a piece of your soul reflected in this book, I love you. We’ll make it.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“We bisexuals are, after all, mythical creatures.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“I place the yearbook on the coffee table and begin to flip through it, scouting for guys with The Look. The Look™ is the almost indescribable quality of a person’s face that lets people know they’re queer. My main criteria for identifying queer guys might be Do they look nice? Because straight boys are not nice. They are not considerate. They don’t do anything for you unless they want something.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“Who I am and how I act depends on who I’m with. If they give fifty percent, then I give fifty percent. If they give a hundred, then I give zero. If they give zero, I give a hundred.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“There are a lot of people who don’t understand people like me, and a lot of the time I find myself practicing how to make it simpler for them. I spend a lot of time trying to explain… me.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“You can’t love someone if you’re not willing to fight for them. And boy did I love that boy in front of me.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“It’s funny how everything’s a double entendre when you’re living a double life.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“They say you need to love yourself before you can love someone else, but i feel like i need confirmation sometimes, that im someone to love. i want a person to demonstrate that its possible to love me, no matter what. and those three words are so important: no matter what. i want someone to love me unconditionally. i want to be certain that nothing i could ever do would make them stop. but right now, i dont feel like anyone in my life fits that bill. i mean im hiding a part of myself from everyone i love, to scared to show myself in my entirety because maybe then they'd leave”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us

“Saleem is thoughtful, and kind, and a much, much better person than I am. He never complains about his parents or fights with his sister like I would if I were him. He always holds doors open for old ladies and gives homeless people his change or at least apologises to them when he doesn't have any. I bet he doesn't even do that thing where you break something at someone's house and only fix it enough so that it looks fine and the next person who breaks it thinks they did it.”
― Aaron H. Aceves, This Is Why They Hate Us