Kim Quindlen

Money can’t buy happiness, and spending a lot of it isn’t going to heal your broken heart. But sometimes, a careful, well-thought-out purchase can help ease the pain of a breakup – at least a little bit.

Failing is part of life and it’s going to happen to you many, many times – but failing doesn’t make you a failure. The only way that you become a failure is if you stop trying.

Remind yourself that your body is not something for you or others to judge – it’s a vessel that allows you to explore the world, communicate with others, try new things, and experience new feelings.

Regardless of what mediocrity means to you, the common denominator is about being comfortable. Too comfortable to try, too comfortable to take a risk, too comfortable to disrupt what you’ve convinced yourself is ‘a good thing.’

Your twenties bring the death of a lot of friendships. But they’re also responsible for the birth of friendships that are much deeper, fulfilling, and heartening than you’ve ever experienced in your life.

Focus on finding happiness through what you already have, rather than what you believe you still need.

On Thanksgiving morning of 2013, Shonda Rhimes’s older sister Delorse muttered six words to her: “You never say yes to anything.” And so began a life-changing year (that has continued to this day) focused on putting yourself out there, doing…

She loved you through your “When I lived in Europe” phase.

I have a love/hate relationship with the beginning of each new year.

We hate The Asshole, and yet, somewhere deep in our subconscious, we are thankful for him or her, because they become the point around which our whole life revolves.

If someone asks you if you’d like to hold their child, you just say “I’m okay, thanks,” as if they were offering you a beer.

The moment when you first become comfortable in silence together. When you no longer feel pressured to have a conversation, because you’re so happy and relaxed around one another that you don’t always feel the need to be talking.

It always starts with overestimating yourself.

“Whether you’re offending by me saying Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas, take comfort in knowing I don’t really mean either.”

Your favorite shot to take is Pepto-Bismol.

She wants you to remind her that violent or controlling men are the exception, not the rule.

Soulmates aren’t a thing that happen instantly and magically. Soulmates become soulmates after years and years of commitment, hard work, selflessness, and difficult choices.

Fear often manifests itself when there’s something we know we want to do, but we’re hesitant to go after it because we might fail, get rejected, or be disappointed.