Weekend Words #7

Weekend Words showcases inspiring quotes from books, about writing, and about life. This feature will happen every weekend, either on Saturday or Sunday, depending on my schedule. While this is a reading/writing centric blog, this feature doesn’t have to be focused on those areas–it is intentionally open-ended to give bloggers a chance to say what’s on their mind.

Everyone should feel free to take part–it would honestly make my day! Complete instructions can be found on the feature’s page. 

1. A Powerful Quote From a Recent Read

“We rarely find a depth by looking inside of ourselves for it. Depth is found in what we can learn from the people and things around us. Everyone, everything, has a story…When you learn those stories, you learn experiences that fill you up, that expand your understanding. You add layers to your soul.” — Kasie West, The Fill-In Boyfriend

The Fill-In Boyfriend didn’t have a lot of deep moments, but I loved this quote so much. So much of high school is trying to figure out who you are, but this quote makes you stop and realize that the answer isn’t something you can find by sitting around and thinking about yourself.

2. A Quote that Inspired Me This Week

“The problems we face did not come down from the heavens. They are made by bad human decisions, and good human decisions can change them.” — Bernie Sanders

I love the down-to-earth honesty of this quote. After this week, I think we all need a reminder that things can always get better, but only if we actually try to fix them.

3. Something I’ve Been Wanting to Say

I understand a lot of different types of desperation, and I know that not everyone has home lives as positive and compassionate as mine. But I will never be able to get over academic cheating. 

Being a straight-A student isn’t a prerequisite for mattering in this world. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and none of us are good at everything–no matter what it looks like on paper. To people who feel pressured into cheating out there, remember that you aren’t just hurting yourself, you’re dragging down the level of the entire classroom, and you’re probably crushing someone else’s spirit in the process.

And to schools that think the answer to an epidemic of cheating is to lower the punishments for cheating? There aren’t even words for how completely you are screwing your remaining honest students.

Can you tell what my school did this week?

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I hope you’re all having a great weekend! What quotes have inspired you recently?