sarah dessen and a few other things.

"So you're always honest," I said.

"Aren't you?"

"No," I told him. "I'm not."

"Well, that's good to know, I guess."

"I'm not saying I'm a liar," I told him. He raised his eyebrows. "That's not how I meant it, anyways."

"How'd you mean it, then?"

"I just...I don't always say what I feel."

"Why not?"

"Because the truth sometimes hurts," I said.

"Yeah," he said. "So do lies, though."

~Sarah Dessen, Just Listen

"What did it feel like, I wondered, to love someone that much?

So much that you couldn't even control yourself when they came close,

as if you might just break free of whatever was holding you and throw yourself at them with enough force to easily overwhelm you both."

~Sarah Dessen, This Lullaby

"That was the thing. You just never knew. Forever was so many different things.

It was always changing, it was what everything was really all about.

It was twenty minutes, or a hundred years, or just this instant, or any instant I wished would last and last.

But there was only one truth about forever that really mattered, and that was this: it was happening.

Right then, as I ran with Wes into that bright sun, and every moment afterwards. Look, there. Now. Now. Now."

~Sarah Dessen, The Truth About Forever

Photos from here, here, and here.

Sarah Dessen is not doubt one of my favorite authors. Every little word she writes is a deep and meaningful poem. I guess I envy her in a way. What is YOUR favorite Sarah Dessen book? I'm curious to know and I'm sure I'll have fun reading your answers. Mine would probably be This Lullaby, because I love the lullaby in the book that keeps getting repeated:

"This lullaby is only a few words

A simple run of chords

Quiet here in this spare room

But you can hear it, hear it

Wherever you may go

I will let you down

But this lullaby plays on."

I also received an email-one of those kinds that are forwarded and forwarded and forwarded hundreds of times until the whole world has pretty much gotten the same email passed on to them, which I usually just ignore and delete, but for some reason, I read this one-that said something I thought was very interesting and was so true, so I thought I'd share it with you (it's long, but please take the time to read this-it will help you put things in perspective):

A man sat at a metro station in Washington D.C. and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year-old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. The action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on. In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100.00 each. This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context? One of the possible conclusion from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Also, the wonderful, lovely, and so gifted photographer Matilda Irene Linnea (don't you just love her fancy name?) did a whole post devoted to her pure gratitude for me featuring some of her lovely photography in this post. Check it out here.

To finish off this extra-long post, I've been tagged by the ever so stylish Sam (and if you haven't visited her blog, please do. It's full of tons of lovely little outfits that are sure to inspire you on those days of anguish of not knowing what to wear) to do my favorite tag. I'm sure everyone knows the rules to this one, but nonetheless, here they are:

1. Go to the 4th folder in your computer where you store your pictures.

2. Pick the 4th picture in that folder.

3. Explain that picture.

4. Tag 4 people to do the same!

Oh and also, I've done this tag before, so I'm going to cheat and go to my 5th folder (tee hee):

Sooo...this is a collage my friend made for me a while ago. I loved it so much I immediately uploaded it onto my computer. Isn't it lovely? Yay for artsy friends!

I'm going to now tag:

1. Betsey, who never ceases to amaze me with the beautiful things she has to share with the world.

2. Ana, who is a lovely, sweet budding photographer.

3. Jess, who always has a fairy tale to inspire me.

4. Ella, who lives in Fantasyland, like me.