R.J. Palacio Quotes

You can't blend in when you were born to stand out.

Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.

I wish everyday could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time. Then we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks.

Whenever there is a conflict between being right and being kind, if possible, choose being kind.

We carry with us, as human beings, not just the capacity to be kind, but the very choice of kindness.

My mom smiled at me. Her smile kind of hugged me.

I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

There are always going to be jerks in the world . . . [but] there are more good people on this earth than bad people, and the good people watch out for each other and take care of each other.

Here’s what I think: the only reason I’m not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way.

Kinder than is necessary. Because it's not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed.

One mistake does not define you.

I actually like how doctors talk. I like the sound of science. I like how words you don't understand explain things you can't understand.

I eat like a tortoise eats, if you've ever seen a tortoise eating. Like some prehistoric swamp thing.

Middle School is about as bad as it gets, and then it gets better.

Sometimes you don't have to mean to hurt someone to hurt someone.

Learning who you are is what you're here to do.

You don't need your eyes to love. You just feel it inside you.

It’s not enough to be friendly. You have to be a friend.

Or whatever politically correct spiritual representation of universal goodness you happen to believe in.

Just follow the day and reach for the sun!

Don’t be friends with jerks.

A big sister who cries over being human over you. A gravelly voiced kid who's friends left him over you. And a pink-haired girl who keeps your picture in her wallet.

That's how it is in heaven. It's just love, and no one forgets who they love.

Always try to be a little kinder than necessary.

Sometimes I think my head is so big because it is so full of dreams

I wish every day could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time. Then we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks.

You don't need your eyes to love, Right?

If you don't know what to do, just be kind. You can't go wrong.

Such a simple thing, kindness. Such a simple thing. A nice word of encouragement, given when needed. An act of friendship. A passing smile.

olivia reminds me of a bird sometimes, how her feathers get all ruffled when she's mad. and when she's fragile like this, she's a little lost bird looking for its nest.

The only thing that I know that truly heals people is unconditional love.

It's so weird how that can be, how you could have a night that's the worst in your life, but to everybody else it's just an ordinary night.

Sometimes when I have the feeling like I’m almost crying, it can turn into an almost-laughing feeling.

No, no, it's not all random, if it was really random, the universe would abandon us completely, and the universe doesn't. It takes care of its most fragile creations in ways we can't see.

So doesn't that make the universe a giant lottery, then? You purchase a ticket when you're born. And it's all just random whether you get a good ticket or a bad ticket. It's all just luck.

So I just went over and sat with him. Not a biggie. I wish people would stop trying to turn it into something more. He's just a kid. The weirdest-looking kid I've ever seen, yes. But just a kid.

And I wondered how it would feel to be in Heaven and not have my face matter anymore. Just like how it never, ever mattered to Daisy.

One of the reasons I grew my hair long last year was that I like how my bangs cover my eyes: it helps me block out the things I don't want to see."-August thinking

sometimes i think my head is so big because its full of dreams

Maybe it is a lottery, but the universe makes it all even out in the end. The universe takes care of its birds.

Sometimes it's good to start over

I thought it would teach them a thing or two about empathy, and friendship, and loyalty. As it turns out, Jack Will didn't need to learn any of these virtues- he already had them in abundance.

But the good thing about life is that we can fix our mistakes sometimes. We learn from them. We get better.

its better to know some question than all answers -James Thurber