I gave guitar lessons. I tried to join bands. My mom always said it was obvious that nothing was going to stop me.

At the end of the day, all you can hope for is to go on. The older I get, the more I realize that just keeping on keeping on is what life's all about.

I've always been an avid reader. If I don't have a book in the car, I'll stop and pick one up just to have something to read. I don't even remember learning to read.

Dreams were all they gave for free to ugly duckling girls like me.

Libraries are a hallmark of a civilized culture, and librarians represent that culture to all facets of society.

There will always be those people who are just backward and ignorant. There will always be those people. They need somebody to feel superior to.

It's neat to have finally reached a point where I can accept what I was and what I am.

I love seeing teachers outside of school. It's like seeing a dog walk on its hind legs.

The best thing you can learn from the worst times of your life is that it always gets better. It may take a month, a year, a decade, but it will get better if you leave yourself open to it.

I learned the truth at seventeen, That love was meant for beauty queens, And high school girls with clear skinned smiles, Who married young and then retired.

I think I grew up, stopped worrying about what people thought of me, and whether things were going to turn out OK. I'm concentrating on doing the best work I can do and letting it go at that.

The wittiest authors raise the very slightest of smiles.

A human being is part of a whole called by us the universe.

The elevator to success is broken, take the stairs.

My finger picking is sort of a cross between Pete Seeger, Earl Scruggs, and total incompetence.

To be a great offensive rebounder, you have to think like a defensive rebounder and battle for position while also being in the flow of your offense. And then it's just being determined.

The Midwest is such a tabula rasa.

Be brave enough to never yearn For that you cannot hold close In your heart forever. Tread lightly, cherish compassion And live in the moment without fear.

Practice meditation regularly. Meditation leads to eternal bliss. Therefore meditate, meditate.

Actually, if you could see close in my eyes, the American flag is waving in both of them and up my spine is growing this red, white and blue stripe.