A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.

The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.

I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.

A finished person is a boring person.

There is a little boy inside the man who is my brother... Oh, how I hated that little boy. And how I love him too.

After all those years as a woman hearing 'not thin enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not this enough, not that enough,' almost overnight I woke up one morning and thought, 'I'm enough.'

Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.

There is a lot of talk now about metal detectors and gun control. Both are good things. But they are no more a solution than forks and spoons are a solution to world hunger.

Look back, to slavery, to suffrage, to integration and one thing is clear. Fashions in bigotry come and go. The right thing lasts.

You are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life ... Your entire life ... Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul.

America is a country that seems forever to be toddler or teenager, at those two stages of human development characterized by conflict between autonomy and security.

he dared to explore her withered neck w/his fingertips…her hips w/their decaying bones, her thighs with their aging veins.

The greatest happiness of the greatest number is the foundation of morals and legislation.

A promise made is a debt unpaid.

Art is not living. It is the use of living. The artist has the ability to take the living and use it in a certain way and produce art.

Every one being allowed to learn to read, ruineth in the long run not only writing but also thinking.

Every penny I've ever saved has been spent on airline tickets to different corners of the world.

Easy things should be easy, and hard things should be possible.

A career is a progression of ups and downs, how you deal with them and how you bounce back.

Sometimes you just gotta cry, but you never,ever do it in public.

Shake It Up definitely teaches kids about the importance of reaching for your dreams and setting high goals. It also teaches great lessons about friendship and family.