1. "She was beautiful. Not like movie-star beautiful. Not like your perfect girl beautiful. Different. There's this poem by e.e. cummings. He says someone's beautiful like a building on fire. That’s what she was like." - Bryan on his crush, Ashley.
2. "I used to think that if you loved something, you're supposed to make everything perfect so it can be perfect forever. But I'm learning there are some things you just have to let be what they are. Even if they're imperfect. Even if they're impossible." - Bryan on his friendship with Steve.
3. "He was one of those guys who can turn on the charisma with a switch, and then he flips it off just as quick, like he’s afraid he’ll blow out the circuit. He’d rather play the buffoon than let even one person see how smart and sensitive and vulnerable he really is." - Renaldo on Marcus.
4. "It’s good to have secrets. When the whole world knows what you’re doing all the time, when people can judge you from the outside, it keeps you small. That’s what Dad says." - Bryan on keeping his dyslexia a secret.
5. "My dad says that sometimes when you want to write a paper about something you have to start by writing down everything that you know isn't true. I was pretty sure that was going to be the whole paper." - Bryan on his struggles with writing an autobiography.
6. "If you really want to help people, and not just the ones who are easiest to help, you have to be willing to let them come at their own pace.” - Mr. Tambourine, the English teacher.
7. "When life sucks, play the drums. It's like an exorcism. The notes and the energy go in one end and the bad mood comes out the other." - Bryan on his love for playing the drums.
8. "My mom had a theory about things falling apart. She used to say that every single thing in life turns to shit eventually, and the big test is how you react when that happens. Do you give up or do you keep swinging even when you’re about to lose? The truth is, I don’t know. I try to keep swinging." - Bryan on dealing with adversity.