Samuel > Samuel's Quotes

“Boring," the director said. "Could we create a little more chemistry?"
Graham gritted his teeth. The guy might be brilliant, but he had an annoying habit of constantly saying "we" when he meant "you", and Graham was pretty sure chemistry wasn't something you could just create anyway; it was either there or it wasn't, and with Olivia, it wasn't. Yet somehow, even though there were two people involved in the kiss, Graham was the only one getting a lecture. Still, he nodded gamely, and set himself up to try again.”
― Jennifer E. Smith, This Is What Happy Looks Like

“Society often overlooks us introverts. We idolize the talkers and the spotlight seekers, as if they are the role models everyone should be emulating. I call this the Extrovert Ideal. This is the belief that we're all supposed to be quick-thinking, charismatic risk takers who prefer action to contemplation. The Extrovert Ideal is what can make you feel as if there's something wrong with you because you're not at your best in a large group. It's an especially powerful force in school, where the loudest, most talkative kids are often the most popular, and where teachers reward the students who are eager to raise their hands in class.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts

“Obedience follows trust as surely as disobedience follows distrust. But what does distrust look like? Distrust has two aspects: (1) Distrust is Adam disregarding God and saying, "I know better" and (2) distrust is the Israelites at Sinai saying "God, tell us what to do, and we'll do it" (see Exodus 19:8).
Don't be fooled by the Isrealites' desire to obey God. Their motives were rotten, and their hearts were faithless. If they trusted God they would not have asked for rules. They would've said, "God, remember your covenant with our father Abraham and bless us." Instead they basically said, "God, we don't believe your promises to Abraham. Tell us how we can bless ourselves." And God gave them what they asked for: rules for self-blessification.”
― Paul Ellis

“Parents aren't always right about everything," Hadley says. "Sometimes it just takes a while to figure that out.”
― Jennifer E. Smith, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

“Living in a dense environment means a less stressful and time-consuming commute to work without the aid of a car. It's about a greater sense of community and partnership that naturally develops when you walk through a place and casually collide with neighbors. It's about feeling a sense of attachment to stores and bars and restaurants and their owners and employees. Frequently I will stop in to say a hello at a restaurant or store even if I'm not shopping or eating. It's about using a compact life to reduce environmental impact. For me, it boils down to this: a place you walk through is a place you know and love.”
― Philip Langdon, Within Walking Distance: Creating Livable Communities for All

“A walkable community has to have useful things for people to walk to.”
― Philip Langdon, Within Walking Distance: Creating Livable Communities for All

“Evangelicalism has taken the Extrovert Ideal to its logical extreme...If you don't love Jesus out loud, then it must not be real love. It's not enough to forge your own spiritual connection to the divine; it must be displayed publicly.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”
― Dr. Seuss

“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

“Friendship ... is born at the moment when one man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .”
― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

“Don’t walk in front of me… I may not follow
Don’t walk behind me… I may not lead
Walk beside me… just be my friend”
― Albert Camus

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou

“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”
― Oscar Wilde

“What's the point of anything like this?" Aunt Sofia says. "You date. You enjoy each other's company. You have fun. Maybe you make out a little."
"Sofe!" Uncle Jake says, leaning back from the window to glare at her.
"Well," she says with a smile, but then her face rearranges itself to something more serious. "All I'm saying is that it doesn't have to be complicated. This is supposed to be the fun part, you know? So go have fun.”
― Jennifer E. Smith

“Now his story has shifted. He's no longer the underdog. Instead he's suddenly the luckiest guy in the room, in the school, maybe even in the whole city. He's the luckiest guy anybody knows, and there's no need to root for someone like that to win. Because guys like that—lucky guys, fortunate guys—they don't need any support. And the audience knows it.”
― Jennifer E. Smith, Windfall

“As Ray states in The Great Good Place, the nature of a third place is one in which the presence of a "regular" is always welcome, although never required. Membership is a simple, fluid process of frequent social contact, renewed each time by choice of the people involved. Eventually, social bonds develop through a type of informal intimacy. The important aspect of these relationships is that they occur outside of any commitment and exist solely in the realm of basic human respect. I ascribe huge importance to this one point because it is this one valuable kernel that is slipping away from our isolated modern world. I think that we all miss its presence and this affects us all in very slight, painful ways.”
― Ray Oldenburg, Celebrating the Third Place: Inspiring Stories About the "Great Good Places" at the Heart of Our Communities

“We are an open mixing place for the general public, but we are strongly committed to bringing together people who may not normally spend time together in the hope that they will become friends, seeking deeper relationships with each other and with the community. A sign I once saw in an old café window proclaimed, "There are no strangers here, just friends who haven't met," and that pretty much captures what we're about.”
― Ray Oldenburg, Celebrating the Third Place: Inspiring Stories About the "Great Good Places" at the Heart of Our Communities

“Extroverts are not superior to introverts, and vice versa. We are different personality types with different needs and motivations. In our culture, different is scary. Extroverts have laid claim on the definition of normal, leaving introverts to feel guilty for not fitting in.”
― Michaela Chung, The Irresistible Introvert: Harness the Power of Quiet Charisma in a Loud World

“Most learning is not the result of instruction. It is rather the result of unhampered participation in a meaningful setting. Most people learn best by being "with it," yet school makes them identify their personal, cognitive growth with elaborate planning and manipulation.”
― Ivan Illich, Deschooling Society

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”
― Frederick Douglass