Rj Palacio Quotes

I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives.

Kinder than is necessary. Because it's not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed.

Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.

Now that I look back, I don't know why I was so stressed about it all this time. Funny how sometimes you worry a lot about something and it turns out to be nothing.

Sometimes I think my head is so big because it is so full of dreams

It’s not enough to be friendly. You have to be a friend.

When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind. - Dr Wayne W. Dyer

The things we do outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people build to honor heroes after they've died. They're like the pyramids that the Egyptians built to honor the pharaohs. Only instead of being made of stone, they're made out of the memories people have of you.

My mom smiled at me. Her smile kind of hugged me.

AUGUST PULLMAN'S PRECEPT Everyone deserves a standing ovation because we all overcometh the world. --Auggie

Jack, sometimes you don't have to be mean to hurt someone.

If every person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary - the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God.

The best way to measure how much you've grown isn't by inches or the number of laps you can now run around the track, or even your grade point average-- though those things are important, to be sure. It's what you've done with your time, how you've chosen to spend your days, and whom you've touched this year. That, to me, is the greatest measure of success.

Do people look the same when they go to heaven, mommy?" "I don't know. I don't think so." "Then how do people recognize each other?" "I don't know, sweetie. They just feel it. You don't need your eyes to love, right?

I actually like how doctors talk. I like the sound of science. I like how words you don't understand explain things you can't understand.

Here’s what I think: the only reason I’m not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way.

Funny how sometimes you worry a lot about something and it turns out to be nothing.

...your deeds are like your monuments. Built with memories instead of stone.

We carry with us, as human beings, not just the capacity to be kind, but the very choice of kindness.

Learning who you are is what you're here to do.

That's how it is in heaven. It's just love, and no one forgets who they love.

no, no, it's not all random, if it really was all random, the universe would abandon us completely. and the universe doesn't. it takes care of its most fragile creations in ways we can't see. like with parents who adore you blindly. and a big sister who feels guilty for being human over you. and a little gravelly-voiced kid whose friends have left him over you. and even a pink-haired girl who carries your picture in her wallet. maybe it is a lottery, but the universe makes it all even out in the end. the universe takes care of all its birds.

the universe takes care of all its birds.

AMOS CONTI'S PRECEPT Don't try too hard to be cool. It always shows, and that's uncool.

It's what you've done with your time, how you've chosen to spend your days, and whom you've touched this year. That, to me, is the greatest measure of success.

Some things you just can't explain. You don't even try. You don't know where to start. All your sentences would jumble up like a giant knot if you opened your mouth. Any words you used would come out wrong.

I think we're too young to be dating. I mean I don't see what the rush is." Summer says. "Yeah, I agree," said August. "Which is kind of a shame, you know what with all those babes who keep throwing themselves at me and stuff?

It's like people you see sometimes, and you can't imagine what it would be like to be that person, whether it's somebody in a wheelchair or somebody who can't talk. Only, I know that I'm that person to other people, maybe to every single person in that whole auditorium. To me, though, I'm just me. An ordinary kid.

It's so strange how one day you can be on this earth, and the next day not.

You can't blend in when you were born to stand out.

Its not a contest about whose days suck the most. The point is we all have to put up with the bad days.

Greatness... lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength... He is the greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts by the attraction of his own.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. —Ian Maclaren

Her smile hugged me

It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers. —James Thurber

HENRY JOPLIN'S PRECEPT Don't be friends with jerks.

One mistake does not define you.

Shall we make a new rule of life... always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?

It's so weird how that can be, how you could have a night that's the worst in your life, but to everybody else it's just an ordinary night.

...we should be remembered for the things we do. The things we do are the most important things of all. They are more important than what we say or what we look like. The things we do outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people build to honour heroes after they've died. They're like the pyramids that the Egyptians built to honour the Pharaohs. Only instead of being made out of stone, they're made out of the memories people have of you. That's why your deeds are like your monuments. Built with memories instead of with stone.

I mean, I don't want to brag or anything, but I'm actually considered something of a medical wonder, you know.

Listen to the whispers.

I do not like to dwell on the past. Life is ahead of us. If we spend too much time looking backward, we can’t see where we are going!

Your deeds are your monuments.

There's a word like overprotective to describe some parents, but no word that means the opposite. What word do you use to describe parents who don't protect enough? Underprotective? Neglectful? Self-involved? Lame? All of the above.

My name is August, by the way. I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.

There’s no rule book that tells you how to act in every given situation in life, you know? So what I always say is that it’s always better to err on the side of kindness. That’s the secret. If you don’t know what to do, just be kind. You can’t go wrong.

You don’t need your eyes to love, right? You just feel it inside you.

Todo el mundo debería recibir una ovación del público puesto en pie al menos una vez en su vida, porque todos vencemos al mundo.

But I really believe, and Daddy really believes, that there are more good people on this earth than bad people, and the good people watch out for each other and take care of each other.

I wasn't even sure why I was getting this medal, really. No, that's not true. I knew why. It's like people you see sometimes, and you can't imagine what it would be like to be that person, whether it's somebody in a wheelchair or somebody who can't talk. Only, I know that I'm that person to other people, maybe to every single person in that whole auditorium. To me, though, I'm just me. An ordinary kid. But hey, if they want to give me a medal for being me, that's okay. I'll take it. I didn't destroy a Death Star or anything like that, but I did just get through the fifth grade. And that's not easy, even if you're not me.

One of the reasons I grew my hair long last year was that I like how my bangs cover my eyes: it helps me block out the things I don't want to see." -August thinking

Las cosas que hacemos duran más que nuestras vidas.

Jack, sometimes you don't have to mean to hurt someone to hurt someone. You understand?

Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as you ever can. —John Wesley’s Rule

I forgot that I might see So many beautiful things I forgot that I might need To find out what life could bring

I eat like a tortoise eats, if you've ever seen a tortoise eating. Like some prehistoric swamp thing.

What’s cool about really little kids is that they don’t say stuff to try to hurt your feelings, even though sometimes they do say stuff that hurts your feelings. But they don’t actually know what they’re saying. Big kids, though: they know what they’re saying. And that is definitely not fun for me.

I did notice as I walked that Amos had stayed right next to me. And Jack was close on the other side of me. And Miles was in front of us and Henry was in back of us. They were surrounding me as we walked through the crowds of kids. Like I had my own emperor's guard.

But the good thing about life is that we can fix our mistakes sometimes. We learn from them. We get better.

A veces no hace falta que uno quiera hacerle daño a alguien para dañarlo.

Here I was looking for symbolism and metaphors and um . . . sometimes a duck is just a duck!"--Mr. Tushman

In these dark times, it's those small acts of kindness that keep us alive, after all. They remind us of our humanity" -Vivienne

olivia reminds me of a bird sometimes, how her feathers get all ruffled when she's mad. and when she's fragile like this, she's a little lost bird looking for its nest.

... the only reason I’m not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way.

He is the greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts by the attraction of his own.

One should be kinder than needed. What I love that line, that concept, is that it reminds me that we carry with us, as human beings, not just the capacity to be kind, but the very choice of kindess.

It's not up to God to make it end, Pastor. Evil will only be stopped when good people decide to put an end to it. It is our fight, not God's." -Vivienne

You don’t need your eyes to love, right? You just feel it inside you. That’s how it is in heaven. It’s just love, and no one forgets who they love.

I never forgot their many kindnesses to me. You might forget many things in your life, but you never forget kindness. Like love, it stays with you...forever." -Sara (Grandmere)

We carry within us the wonders we seek around us.

You see, it is not just that he saved my life. He saved my very being. My hope. My...light." -Grandmere

Time passes. That is the only thing one can be sure of in life: Time does not stop. Not for anyone. Not for anything. Time marches on, oblivious to all.

Es curioso: a veces te preocupas un montón por algo que al final resulta no ser nada.

The most important precept is to be aware of WHO WE ARE! “Who we are,” he said, underlining each word as he said it. “Who we are! Us! Right? What kind of people are we? What kind of person are you? Isn’t that the most important thing of all? Isn’t that the kind of question we should be asking ourselves all the time? “What kind of person am I? Learning who you are is what your are here to do.

Cuando puedas elegir entre tener razón y ser amable, elige ser amable.

I like the sound of science. I like how words you don't understand explain things you can't understand

And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God.

Good friendships are worth a little extra effort!

The things you did, you know they were not right. But that does not mean you are not capable of doing right. It only means that you chose to do wrong.

That’s the thing about being scared, though. You can’t control it.

Whenever there is a conflict between being right and being kind, if possible, choose being kind.

Fortune favors the bold.

Debería de haber una norma que dijese que todo el mundo debiera recibir una ovación del público puesto en pie al menos una vez en su vida.

We’re kind of like Beauty and the Beast.

I think there should be a rule that everyone should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives because they overcometh the world

If every single person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary--the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, . . . someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God. . . . or whatever politically correct spiritual representation of universal goodness you happen to believe in.

If you don't know what to do, just be kind. You can't go wrong.

That’s the thing about being scared, though. You can’t control it. When you’re scared, you’re scared. And when you’re scared, everything seems scarier than it ordinarily would be—even things that aren’t. Everything that scares you kind of mushes together to become this big, terrifying feeling. It’s like you’re covered in this blanket of fear,

Hey, the truth is, if a Wookiee started going to the school all of a sudden, I'd be curious, I'd probably stare a bit! And if I was walking with Jack or Summer, I'd probably whisper to them: Hey, there's the Wookiee. And if the Wookiee caught me saying that, he'd know I wasn't trying to be mean. I was just pointing out the fact that he's a Wookiee.

But in another book by J. M. Barrie called The Little White Bird … he writes …” He started flipping through a small book on the podium until he found the page he was looking for, and then he put on his reading glasses. “ ‘Shall we make a new rule of life … always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?’ ” Here Mr. Tushman looked up at the audience. “Kinder than is necessary,” he repeated. “What a marvelous line, isn’t it? Kinder than is necessary. Because it’s not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed.

I love that feeling when you first open your eyes in the morning and you don’t even know why everything seems different than usual. Then it hits you: Everything is quiet. No cars honking. No buses going down the street. Then you run over to the window, and outside everything is covered in white: the sidewalks, the trees, the cars on the street, your windowpanes. And when that happens on a school day and you find out your school is closed, well, I don’t care how old I get: I’m always going to think that that’s the best feeling in the world. And I’m never going to be one of those grown-ups that use an umbrella when it’s snowing—ever.

so doesn't that make the universe a giant lottery, then? you purchase a ticket when you're born. and it's all just random whether you get a good ticket or a bad ticket. it's all just luck. my head swirls on this, but then softer thoughts soothe, like a flatted third on a major chord. no, no, it's not all random, if it really was all random, the universe would abandon us completely. and the universe doesn't. it takes care of its most fragile creations in ways we can't see. like with the parents who adore you blindly. and the big sister who feels guilty for being human over you. and a little gravelly-voiced kid whose friends have left him over you. and even a pink-haired girl who carries your picture in her wallet. maybe it is a lottery, but the universe makes it all even out in the end. the universe takes care of all of its birds.

You see, Julian, it always takes courage to be kind. But in those days, when such kindness could cost you everything - your freedom, your life - Kindness becomes a miracle. It becomes that light in the darkness that Papa talked about, the very essence of our humanity. It is hope.

You were wearing that helmet all the time. And the real, real, real, real truth is: I missed seeing your face, Auggie. I know you don’t always love it, but you have to understand … I love it. I love this face of yours, Auggie, completely and passionately. And it kind of broke my heart that you were always covering it up.

For me, Halloween is the best holiday in the world. It even beats Christmas. I get to dress up in a costume. I get to wear a mask. I get to go around like every other kid with a mask and nobody thinks I look weird. Nobody takes a second look. Nobody notices me. Nobody knows me. I wish every day could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time. Then we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks.

This precept means that we should be remembered for the things we do. The things we do are the most important things of all. They are more important than what we say or what we look like. The things we do outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people build to honor heroes after they’ve died. They’re like the pyramids that the Egyptians built to honor the pharaohs. Only instead of being made out of stone, they’re made out of the memories people have of you. That’s why your deeds are like your monuments. Built with memories instead of with stone.

It's so weird how that can be, how you could have a night that's the worst in your life, but to everybody else it's just an ordinary night. Like on my calendar at home, I would mark this as being one of the most horrific days of my life. This and the day Daisy died. But for the rest of the world, this was just an ordinary day. Or may be it was even a good day. May be somebody won the lottery today.

What I want you, my students, to take away from your middle-school experience,” he continued, “is the sure knowledge that, in the future you make for yourselves, anything is possible. If every single person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary—the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God.

I try not to think in terms of good and bad. I prefer to think in terms of light and dark. I believe that all people have a light that shines inside of them. This light allows us to see into other people's hearts, to see the beauty there. The love. The sadness. The humanity. Some people, though, have lost this light. They have darkness inside them, so that is all they see in others: darkness. No beauty. No love. Why do they hate us? Because they cannot see our light. Nor can they extinguish it. As long as we shine our light, we win. That is why they hate us. Because they will never take our light from us." -Max (Papa)