“I’m still learning to love the parts of me that no one claps for.” — Rudy Francisco

“I am running away but I prefer to call it a strategic retreat.”

“This is what I like about photographs. They’re proof that once, even if just for a heartbeat, everything was perfect.”

“To fall in love is to create a religion that has a fallible god.”

“Never apologize for being sensitive or emotional. Let this be a sign that you’ve got a big heart and aren’t afraid to let others see it. Showing your emotions is a sign of strength.”

“It’s a most distressing affliction to have a sentimental heart and a skeptical mind.”

“I think I like my brain best in a bar fight with my heart. I think I like myself a little broken, with rough edges, a little harder to grasp. I like poetry better than therapy anyway. The poems never judge me for healing wrong.”

“To whom do I owe the biggest apology? No one’s been crueler than I’ve been to me.”

“There was a boy, who used to call me from time to time to simply ask me if I was doing fine. I wonder if he himself is doing fine right now.”

““Tell the negativity committee that meets inside your head to sit down and shut up.”