Warm winters. Strong, bitter coffee after morning sex. Sunlight upon dirt. Rain upon an old beater across the street. The music that was in your head in bed making its way through your speakers. Words running across a screen. Remembering the ocean at night in the '80s while my first girlfriend blasted The Cure on her boom box: Realizing that 'Fascination Street' was about getting a blow job, her laugh, the sweet explanation to her on the sand. Being behind my computer in the Seattle summers, letting the water warm in the Sound, thinking about my board, the islands. A dog-eared copy of Ask The Dust. Sitting in Los Angeles watching people hunt each other. Walking through the East Village in summer eating fat chunks of seedless watermelon. The eyes of dogs. The skin of Europe. The slicing away of death through the tapping of the keys. The sunsets in Tombstone, in Mexico, in Miami. The high moon over Austin and Vegas, the dead smell of Fisherman's Wharf. Orange blossom. Feeling your skin rise in the middle of a poem.

war is wrong

my eyes are brown

I love him

art matters

I can't save everyone

I will try to save everyone anyways

the sea is filled with tears

the night sky is rarely black

Magic is real

books save lives

moonsnails saved my life

I'm going to be okay

tea can fix anything

everyone is created equal

very few are treated equal

I belong in NYC

photographs capture feelings

whales are magnificent

high school sucks

nice pens are important

water is delicious

music is a universal language

poetry is saving me

I have some really amazing friends.

My family is certifiably insane.

I don't enjoy school.

My brothers love me, and I love them.

I have a like-hate relationship with myself.

Being a college student isn't easy.

Cats can be very evil.

Being lonely isn't fun.

Having a car makes life easier.

Having great friends makes life better.

Never be afraid to call yourself an artist, or a writer, or an actor, or whatever you are.

People say they're an "aspiring" whatever. If you do it every day and you enjoy it, own it. You ARE a writer, an artist, a singer, an actor, an athlete-- you gotta own that title, because you earned it.

It's never too early to think about, only to early to talk about. That's the best relationship advice I've ever gotten.

Look for the little beauties in life. The light coming through the leaves in the morning might be all you need to make your day brighter. The universe speaks to you that way.

Don't think about it until it matters. Don't worry about things if you don't have to. That's too much stress to put on the strongest shoulders. Just gently push it to the back of your mind and think of something else for a while. This has saved me time and time again.

I know it's polite to hold the door for a stranger coming through behind you.

If you let a door close in my face, I will sing, "THANK YOUUUUUUU!!!!" at the top of my lungs.

Smoked salt is a game-changer.

The minute I mop the floor, somebody will track mud through the house.

Healthy eating is essential.

Sometimes healthful eating is overrated.

Marshmallows are a gift from the angels.

If anything every happened to me, my husband would not know how to use the washing machine.

Or the dishwasher.

My dog loves me unconditionally.

One day, my kids will see me as wise.

And appreciate my sense of humor.

I think my parents and smart and funny.

Don't crowd meatballs in the pan. They'll steam rather than seer.

I will never be taller than the average 5th grader.

When people pronounce espresso as EX-spresso, I want to choke them with a cannoli.

the fact that ignorant people try to put a stamp on what love is is absolutely insulting. what if i told you you couldn't love your favorite food because i didn't like it? doesn't that sound ridiculous?

yes it does, because it is.

people can wear black and be beautiful,

people can wear pink and be beautiful.

if guys like the color pink and are open about it that doesn't make them any less of a man, if anything it makes the people who think they are cowards and egotistical.

art is art. plain and simple.

hot chocolate's soul mate is whipped cream (sorry marsh mellows, that's just how it is)

you can love your current body and still want to get healthy(ier).

size does not determine beauty.

there's a difference between being confident in yourself and being narcissistic. sadly we've joined the two to mean the same thing.

if you haven't tried a fountain pen,

you're missing out.

writing helps with the grieving process.

a picture's worth a million words.

we all have different opinions and people need to start accepting that.

for those of you who believe we were giving free will but then get upset when God lets "bad things happen to you," you're an idiot. bad things come from decisions and those decisions come from someone with free will. just like you.

giving birth hurts more than getting kicked in the balls.

a good book, though it may destroy you emotionally, it'll strengthen you as a person.

the ocean is therapeutic and just plain beautiful in itself.

all writing has purpose and has the potential to touch someone's life, but first you must start writing.

a bunch of people in the world are hugging or kissing or even having sex right now, and you're reading this.

My family is crazy.

My friends mean more to me than I like to say.

I will never be like anyone else.

Nature is beautiful.

I'm a seriously lazy person.

I will play on the softball team I want to play on this year, no matter how much people hate me for it.

I'm addicted to the internet.

I want to leave middle school already.

I'm ready for a new start.

I hate people who pretend to be dumb.

I've done it myself.

I'm going to cry at eighth grade graduation.

I need new people in my life.

Dishonesty is the policy for cheap individuals.

I know God exists and I exist to enjoy life

I know love is real and it's the strongest feeling on Earth

I know traveling is the best way to learn and I know I should never judge other people for who they are or their religion because there's so much I can learn from them

I know sometimes timing is bad but things will always be for the best

I know money absolutely does not buy happiness but it can buy stability

I know who I want to be and I know I'm not there yet but I also know I'll get there someday

-I will never think about 1 thing without 9 other thoughts in my brain.

-I can eat 100% organic food, but it sounds lame.

-There will never be a time machine, because we've never seen one.

-Life will always have a problem, and that's great.

-That one time I got a therapist, he quit because of me.

-My teeth will never seem white enough to me

-I'll never feel like I run fast enough

-Southern cookin' is the best

-A world without chicken is also a world without me.

-Due to my Irish blood, I'll likely be an alcoholic for a year or so

-The word swag will eventually be in that section of our history books that makes you think 'Everyone was weird at that time.'

-Haters gonna hate

-Breaker's gonna break

-I'm just gonna shake it off

Babies are born pure.. Mental illness is real.. Is Just real as cancer..My mother loved me but it was hard since her and my dad did not want a baby so soon after marriage..My kids and grandkids love me..Hate is a strong word..I am not a good picker of life partners..I love my friends..I love my family..I want to fight Isis but I don't know how..I have seen miracles with my own eyes and in my own life..My daughter is the strongest person I know..My work is so important .. I need to retire..I want my grandkids to grow up in a peaceful world..I want my family members to succeed .. They try so hard.. I want the American Dream to be real..I want my son to find happiness ..I want to build a home for the homeless.. I know that sometimes it is the cards they were dealt..