Author: Kelsey Mihachik

“Stories have always been important to me.” – pg. xi

“Illusion is part of what I like in what I see or read.” – pg. 71

“Writers are writers first. Before anything else. It’s a calling.” – pg. 5

“I went from believing nothing has any meaning to believing that everything does.” – pg. 55

“I am trying to figure out who I am exactly, this new whatever version.” – pg. 56

“Writing taught me who I was, because your writing is your fingerprint.” – pg. 102

“Writing is how I make sense of everything.” – pg. 141

“If you see my vulnerability […], well, I hope you respect my bravery.” – pg. 250

“There are so few people that you meet in life that give you that feeling that you’ve found a real unique, original person.” – Aziz Ansari, pg. viii

“Most jokes when read by ‘comedy people’ don’t get a laugh per se. You just read it and go, ‘Oh that’s funny’ and you understand it would get a laugh.” – Aziz Ansari, pg. xii

“Tragedy always strikes on a beautiful day.” – pg. 3

“We are all horrible and wonderful and figuring it out.” – Harris Wittels, pg. 142

“It’s not that I don’t want to feel the feelings. I don’t mind the feelings. I welcome them, in fact. I just don’t have anything left to say about them.” – pg. 162

“The only person who can stop you from reaching your goals is you.” – pg. 203

“I think we’re all just doing our best to survive the inevitable pain and suffering that walks alongside us through life.” – pg. 223

“I’m becoming someone else. I’m becoming a person I don’t yet know.” -pg. 223

“No one ever knows what to say about anything.” – pg. 236

“I think about the day a person dies, how the morning is just a morning, a meal is just a meal, a song is just a song. It’s not the last morning, or the last meal, or the last song. It’s all very ordinary, and then it’s all very over. The space between life and death is a moment. […] I am forever changed by something that happened to you in a moment.” – pg. 246

“Because when someone you love with all your being suddenly drops dead, it’s a reminder of a few things: 1. We aren’t in control, 2. Time is running out, [and] 3. Nothing matters.” – pg. 255

“I’ve gotten to the point where the good days outweigh the bad, and that’s something.” – pg. 260

“We have a bucket in our hearts, and the people you love and who love you fill up your bucket.” – pg. 264

“Sometimes people are exactly who you expect them to be.” – pg. 171

“It’s all gonna turn out fine.” – pg. 269

“Life doesn’t often spell things out for you or give you what you want exactly when you want it.” – pg. 101

“Sometimes the idea of doing something is the most fun part.” – pg. 157

“If someone takes a chance on you, prove them right.” – pg. 10

“Be who you say you are. This sounds easy, but how many people do you know who project one life, then live another?” – pg. 14

“Run with those who are faster than you.” – pg. 40

“Continue to be curious about who you are becoming.” – pg. 51

“If you’re going to gamble, bet on yourself.” – pg. 83

“Never underestimate the value of recharging yourself.” – pg. 91

“Love what and who you give your time to.” – pg. 148

“When it’s time to leave, leave them guessing.” – pg. 168

“If someone is bringing more stress than good into your life, then you should probably move along.” – pg. 31

“When you’re at a low, you’ll be surprised not only by who ghosts you but also by who lifts you up. Remember the ones who lift you up.” – pg. 33

“The next time you go through a tragedy, I really urge you to focus on what you do have.” – pg. 42

“It takes so much out of a person to have a good hard cry that of course you’re not going to want to do it again. Once it’s done, it’s done.” – pg. 53

“[Rock bottom] makes you want to understand what went wrong so it won’t happen again.” – pg. 64

“Even if you lose your dream job, or what you think is your dream job, something else will come along.” – pg. 75

“Just because you realize that you messed up and that you’re at fault, you’re still allowed to be angry and hurt and frustrated. There’s a whole gray area that comes with being at rock bottom.” – pg. 81

“Buy the shoes if you must but not if you can’t.” – pg. 177

“The way I gain energy and get centered is by being alone.” – pg. 182

“I’m still figuring it all out.” – pg. 186

“Having it all, for me, became less about things and trips. […] It became about being fulfilled personally and professionally.” – pg. 249

“When you’re down, you can choose to be happy.” – pg. 267

“If you want something to happen you need to make it happen yourself.” – pg. 6

“Own everything you do.” – pg. 16

“Let yourself feel your feelings.” – pg. 59

“The female friendships in my life have been way more important than any of the romantic relationships I’ve been in. […] Friends are like chosen family, and that should be cherished.” – pg. 101

“I just really believe that if you see something you want, you should act on it instead of being passive.” – pg. 103

“When you feel wholly yourself, that’s when we are our happiest.” – pg. 221

“Think of times you have felt your happiest and make a list of them, and then take some time to think about why you were happy.” – pg. 221

“I remember how I didn’t want that day to end, terrible as it was. I didn’t want to go to sleep because as long as I was awake, it was still a day that I shared with [him].” – Beverly Eckert

“My calling was not to be a great man, but I could be a great man’s neighbor.” – pg. 246

“I didn’t decide to become a comedian that night, but I knew […] doing anything else would be a miserable compromise.” – pg. 255

“It’s okay if it takes you a while to make friends; you’ll better appreciate what a friend is worth.” – pg. 283

“As you grow, so will your world, and the bigger your world, the more people will hear your story and say, ‘I know how you feel.'” – pg. 283

“All the great laughs come from the minds of misfits.” – pg. 283