“the past only had whatever power you gave it; life was what you made it and if you wanted something different from what you had, it was up to you to make it happen.”

“One of the oddest things about being grown-up was looking back at something you thought you knew and finding out the truth of it was completely different from what you had always believed.”

“So early in my life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.”

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

“Whatever you think, be sure it is what you think; whatever you want, be sure that is what you want; whatever you feel, be sure that is what you feel.”

“if you don't have peace, it isn't because someone took it from you; you gave it away. You cannot always control what happens to you, but you can control what happens in you.”

“Sometimes, you didn’t get what you wanted. But if you had all you needed? Life was good.”

“History was what had happened; class was something you read about in a book.”

“But this was what happened when you didn't want to visit and confront the past: the past starts visiting and confronting you.”

“Focused will is incredible. If you have a dream and you don't give up no matter what obstacles come up, then life's problems will fall away and you will get what you want. It happens. It works.”