quotes, writings and poetry i like

[thecollectedquotes]

I cannot stand small talk, because I feel like there's an elephant standing in the room shitting all over everything and nobody is saying anything. I'm just dying to say, "Hey, do you ever feel like jumping off a bridge?" or "Do you feel an emptiness inside your chest at night that is going to swallow you?" But you can't say that at a cocktail party.

— Paul Gilmartin

[thecollectedquotes]

I was laying in bed one night and I thought 'I'll just quit – to hell with it.' And another little voice inside me said 'Don't quit ― save that tiny little ember of spark.' And never give them that spark because as long as you have that spark, you can start the greatest fire again.

— Charles Bukowski

[thecollectedquotes]

Breathe. It's okay. You're going to be okay. Just breathe. Breathe, and remind yourself of all the times in the past you felt this scared. All of the times you felt this anxious and this overwhelmed. All of the times you felt this level of pain. And remind yourself how each time, you made it through. Life has thrown so much at you, and despite how difficult things have been, you've survived. Breathe and trust that you can survive this too. Trust that this struggle is part of the process. And trust that as long as you don't give up and keep pushing forward, no matter how hopeless things seem, you will make it.

— Daniell Koepke

[thecollectedquotes]

There are some things about myself I can't explain to anyone. There are some things I don't understand at all.

— Haruki Murakami

[thecollectedquotes]

I do my best thinking at night when everyone else is sleeping. No interruptions. No noise. I like the feeling of being awake when no one else is.

— Jennifer Niven, All the Bright Places

[thecollectedquotes]

I know I felt that way. For years. It was as if I was a character in a movie and the real action was about to start at any minute. But I think some people wait forever, and only at the end of their lives do they realize that their life has happened while they were waiting for it to start.

— Jess Walter, Beautiful Ruins

[thecollectedquotes]

So many people are shut up tight inside themselves like boxes, yet they would open up, unfolding quite wonderfully, if only you were interested in them.

— Sylvia Plath, Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams: Short Stories, Prose and Diary Excerpts