Quotes From "Along For The Ride" By Sarah Dessen

It didn't make you noble to step away from something that wasn't working, even if you thought you were the reason for the malfunction. Especially then. It just made you a quitter. Because if you were the problem, chances were you could also be the solution. The only way to find out was to take another shot. Sarah Dessen

Maybe the truth was, it shouldn't be so easy to be amazing. Then everything would be. It's the things you fight for and struggle with before earning that have the greatest worth. When something's difficult to come by, you'll do that much more to make sure it's even harder--if not impossible--to lose. Sarah Dessen

It was so risky and so scary, and yet at the same time, so beautiful. Maybe the truth was, it shouldn't be easy to be amazing. Then everything would be. It's the things you fight for and struggle with before earning that have the greatest worth. When something's difficult to come by, you'll do that much more to make sure it's even harder -if not impossible- to lose. Sarah Dessen

It all counts, ' Adam said again. 'And the bottom line is, what defines you isn't how many times you crash, but the number of times you get back on the bike. As long as it's one more, you're all good.-pg 325 Along for the Ride Sarah Dessen

Sometimes, you have to manufacture your own history. Give fate a push, so to speak. Sarah Dessen

...You can't unlearn something, even if you want to. You know what you know. Sarah Dessen

Really, it had been stupid to expect anything anyway. A few late nights does not a habit, or a relationship, make. Sarah Dessen

When's something difficult to come by, you'll do that much more to make sure it's even harder- if not impossible- to lose. Sarah Dessen

Why should I even bother? What's the point, really?" He thought for a moment. "Who says there has to be a point?" he asked. "Or a reason. Maybe it's just something you have to do. Sarah Dessen

What defines you isn't how many times you crash but the number of times you get back. Sarah Dessen

Life is full of screwups. You're supposed to fail sometimes. It's a required part of the human existance. Sarah Dessen

Life is full of screwups, " he said, chucking another paper at the split-level before taking the corner. "You're supposed to fail sometimes. It's a required part of the human existence. Sarah Dessen

It shouldn't be easy to be amazing. Then everything would be. It's the things you fight for and struggle with before earning that have the greatest worth. When something's difficult to come by, you'll do that much more to make sure it's even harder―or impossible―to lose. Sarah Dessen

School was my solace, and studying let me escape, allowing me to live a thousand vicarious lives. Sarah Dessen

Earlier in the summer, I'd found the syllabi to a couple of the courses I was taking at Defriese in the fall, and I'd hunted down a few of the texts at the U bookstore, figuring it couldn't hurt to acquaint myself with the material. Sarah Dessen

I don't know, " I said. "What else did you do for your first eighteen years?"" Like I said, " he said as I unlocked the car, "I'm not so sure that you should go by my example."" Why not?"" Because I have my regrets, " he said. "Also, I'm a guy. And guys do different stuff."" Like ride bikes?" I said." No, " he replied. "Like have food fights. And break stuff. And set off firecrackers on people's front porches. And..""Girls can't set off firecrackers on people's front porches?"" They can, " he said.. "But they're smart enough not to. That's the difference. . Sarah Dessen

When you don't know where you're going, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to have more than you need. Sarah Dessen

Stuff that would be weird in the bright light of day just wasn't so much once you passed a certain hour. Sarah Dessen

To me, summer has always been about potential. This was especially true when I was in high school. Those 3 or so months between 1 school year and the next always meant change. People got taller or wider or smaller. They broke up or came together, lost friends or gained them, had life experiences that you could tell had transformed them even if you didn't know what they were. In the summer, the days were long, stretching into each other. Out of school, everything was on pause and yet happening at the same time, this collection of weeks when anything was possible. As a teenager, I was always hoping to change, to become someone other than who I was. Each summer, I felt I had the chance to do that. All I had to do was wait and see what happened. . Sarah Dessen

I was such a smart kid, I should have figured out that the only way to really get my parents’ attention was to disappoint them or fail. But by the time I finally realized that, succeeding was already a habit too ingrained to break. Sarah Dessen

But I didn't. I didn't say anything, if only because I had no idea how to respond to such an overture. If my experience with friends was sparse, what I knew about boys- other than a competitors for grades or class rank- was nonexistent Sarah Dessen