Starfish Lisa Fipps Quotes

She's the first person to smile at me today. The first to make me feel wanted. Understood. I blink back tears. It's unknown how many students' lives librarians have saved by welcoming loners at lunch.

I'm a starfish, taking up all the room I want.

It’s unknown how many students’ lives librarians have saved by welcoming loners at lunch.

The fat on my body never felt as heavy as your words on my heart.

Every kid needs one place they can escape to when life gets to be too much.

Why aren't kids allowed to tell grown-ups when they're wrong? They don't know everything Sometimes it's as if they don't know anything.

DNA doesn't make you family. Love does. Actions do.

every kid who’s ever been told, “You’d be so pretty or handsome, if . . .” You ARE beautiful. Now. Just as you are. You deserve to be seen, to be heard, to take up room, to be noticed. So when the world tries to make you feel small, starfish!

It would be great if people realized that we’re all different, in all kinds of ways, and different is okay.

That’s what the best books do. They make you think, and rethink how you see yourself, others, and the world. Most of all, they make you feel. Feelings toward people who aren’t like you. Feelings you didn’t know you had.

Stereotypes stink. They give people an excuse to hate people who are different instead of taking the time to get to know them.

The universe should warn you when something horrible is about to happen, give you a chance to take a deep breath before your breath gets taken away.

The library is my safe harbor since I dare not go into the cafeteria alone, a whale surrounded by starving sharks.

No matter what others say or do, embrace what makes you, you.

Mom always says, "You'd be so pretty" - and all the big girls in the world can finish this sentence in unison - "if you lost weight.

It's unknown how many students' lives librarians have saved by welcoming loners at lunch" -Ellie

The best way to be understood is to learn and speak someone else's language.

As I walk away, I realize I've been starfishing-starting to claim my right to take up space in this place.

But it's a lot easier to toss into the trash the thoughts others have about you than the ones you have about yourself.

When grown-ups fully understand technology, kids will be in big trouble. Until then, we rule the planet.

I learn big girls, even obese ones, were once seen as normal, preferred, beautiful. I can't imagine a world so... safe. As I flip through the pages, I start thinking that if I'd lived back then, it could have been me in the pictures, as sculptures, as art.

That's what the best books do. They make you think, and rethink how you see yourself, others, and the world. Most of all, they make you feel. Feelings toward people who aren't like you. Feelings you didn't know you had.

At first I think being ignored is better than being humiliated. But then I wonder. Because when people look right through you, it's like you don't even matter. Like you don't exist. And everyone is fine with that." -Ellie

You replay the moment in your mind from every possible angle, trying to understand why. Why the rules exist and who. Who came up with them and how. How does anyone have the right to tell you how to live just because of your weight?

It's not what a mom should do!" I collapse onto the couch. Hug the pillow to my chest, hiding my heart, not my stomach. "Moms shouldn't do that." Tears flow as I rock back and forth. "She's supposed to love me." My voice is a whisper. "Just love me.

Take out the garbage. Stop junking up your mind with stinky things bullies have said to you. Toss them into the trash, then pick up a good thought to replace it.

It's unknown how many students' lives librarians have saved by welcoming loners at lunch.

If eye-rolling were an Olympic sport, she’d be a gold medalist.

Write down the hurtful words people say so you don’t have to carry them around in here.” She taps her head and heart.

Untrue, negative thought: The higher my weight, the lower my value. True, positive thought: A scale does not determine my worth.

DNA doesn’t make you family. Love does. Actions do.

Viv laughs at my tired joke until she cries. I join her, and our tears have nothing to do with laughter.

I included the hurtful stuff I say to me, too. Fat Girl Rule: You need to bully yourself as much as, if not more than, everyone else bullies you.

I’m a poet, so I love music because lyrics are sung poems,” I say.

I'm a poet, so I love music because lyrics are sung poems" -Ellie

I plan to become a storyteller, and a poet, to help people feel what it's like to live in someone else's skin" -Ellie

A friend hears what you say with silence." -Ellie

Dogs listen when people don't" -Ellie

An oyster can turn something irritating into a rare and beautiful pearl. People can do that, too" -Ellie

...I'm not going to try to hide myself or make myself small anymore. How I'm proud to be me and claim my right to take up space. I deserve to be seen. To be noticed. To be heard. To be treated like a human.

make a beeline for the fridge for some fat-free yogurt that’s yet to make me fat-free.

There’s plenty of room for each and every one of us in the world.

As soon as I slip into the pool, I am weightless. Limitless. For just a while.

gym (noun) \´jim\ : school-approved body-shaming session.

mon ∙ ster (noun) \´män(t)-st´r\ 1 : a human grotesquely deviating from the normal shape. 2 : one who inspires horror or disgust. 3 : me.

Will there ever be world peace when families can't even agree on what to have for dinner?

DNA doesn't make you family. Love does. Actions do.

I realized sometimes you need someone who understands what it's liked to be bound to show you how to be free.

I deserve to be seen. To be noticed. To be heard. To be treated like a human.

History books are full of horrible things happening because people sit back and do and say nothing.

Patience is a virtue, Doc, but impatience is a gift. And I'm gifted.

That's a perfect example of what happens when you bottle up anger. Whenever you do release it, it's going to make a huge mess.

Bruises are purple. Anger is red Sadness is blue. And the black? ... That's how you feel inside When you've been bullied.

I realized sometimes you need someone who understands what it's like to be bound to show you how to be free.

The place I feel weightless in today's fat obsessed world.

Sharks usually attack when a whale is alone or distressed.

How does anyone have the right to tell you how to live just because of your weight?

But it’s a lot easier to toss into the trash the thoughts others have about you than the ones you have about yourself.

Why aren’t kids allowed to tell grown-ups when they’re wrong? They don’t know everything. Sometimes it’s as if they don’t know anything.

I don’t know what happened to you or why people are so mean, Ellie, but I do know whatever someone did is a reflection of them. Not you.

Speak up, buttercup, or I can’t help you.

Reading should be like dining at a buffet. You have a lot to choose from: fiction, poetry, graphic novels, and more. There are books galore! Eat them all up!" -Mrs. Boardman

You're good with words. Just be careful to use them as tools, not weapons" -Mom

Well, a lot of people blindly follow others instead of thinking for themselves, ... ... It's okay to be different. We're all different. Inside, everyone just wants to be accepted for who they are, but then they act like other people to fit in.

The pool’s always been my escape. The place i feel weightless in today’s fat-obsessed world. I swim each morning and try to hold on to that religan throughout the day. But by the time school’s over, i feel every pound, plus the added weight of shame from all the comments.

Tell me more about the Fat Girl Rules," Doc says as she flips through them. "So these are rules you live by?" "There sure are a lot of them, Ellie." "And I add new ones all the time. I used to think if I could just follow the rules, then people would stop being mean to me. But, duh, that didn't happen.

The whale ‘didn’t need to be fixed. He was the one who sang his own song.’ That really hit home. That’s what the best books do. They make you think, and rethink, how you see yourself, others, the world. Most of all, they make you feel. Feelings toward people who aren’t like you. Feelings you didn’t know you had.

Everyone in my family plays the piano —except me. Years ago, I asked Mom for lessons as a Christmas gift. I remember joining her on the piano bench, sliding my fingers over the slick, shiny keys. “You really want to learn?” Mom asked. “More than anything,” I told her. “Fine,” she told me, and stood up and shut the lid. “When you lose weight.

Of course, if I had to choose which parent to live with, I know it’d be Dad, not because I love him more, but because I’m not sure Mom loves me at all.

That’s what the best books do. They make you think, and rethink how you see yourself, others, and the world. Most of all, they make you feel. Feelings toward people who aren’t like you. Feelings you didn’t know you had.” Mrs.

The secret to surviving childhood so far has been knowing when to keep my mouth shut. But I am not a child anymore. I have feelings. have thoughts. have the right to express them both.

Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy.

As I float, I spread out my arms And my legs. I’m a starfish, Taking up all the room I want. —Lisa Fipps, Starfish (2021)

I'm a starfish, taking p all the room I want.

librarians have saved by welcoming loners at lunch.

I also eat slowly because I keep thinking about stereotypes. People stereotype me all the time, too. They think fat people are dumb. I’m at the top of my class. They think we’re slobs. My room is spotless. They think we’re unhappy. That’s true. But they think I’m unhappy because I’m fat. The truth is, I’m unhappy because they bully me about being fat.

I say nothing. Instead, I play a silent game of I spy, trying to figure out the therapist. Dr. Woodn’t-You-Like-to-Know shelves books based on color, not alphabetically, so I think she obviously can’t be trusted. But then I spy picture frames scattered about showing her friends of all shapes. Maybe I can trust her—a little.

I remember my first diet. I was four. On Thanksgiving, after I gobbled down turkey and all the fixings and reached for one of Nana’s oatmeal raisin cookies, Mom slapped my hand. “That does it. I’m putting you on a diet tomorrow. You. Are. Fat.” Technically, Mom used fat as an adjective to describe me, but with her tone, she made it a noun to define me. Until that moment, I had never thought about my body being big and big being bad, something to be ashamed of, to hide, to hate. But since then, I haven’t stopped thinking about it.

What made you think it was okay to take a photo of me without my permission just because I don’t look like you? What if someone took photos of you, showing everyone what makes you different? What part of you would you want to hide? Do you think it’s funny to make another person feel like less of a human? PS You must feel kind of bad about yourself if you feel good when you hurt someone else.

As I walk away, I realize I’ve been starfishing— starting to claim my right to take up space in this place.

For a while your mom’s pushed for you to have surgery, but I think you’re way too young. I’ve pushed for therapy because I see the hurt in your eyes from what people say and do to you.” Tears well up in my eyes. Dad’s noticed. He cares. Why hasn’t Mom? “It breaks my heart, Ellie. I just think it’d be good for you to have someone to talk to about it all.” “But if therapy doesn’t help me lose the weight, then—” “No surgery. I promise. If I’m lyin’, may Oklahoma beat Texas in every Red River Showdown until I die.” Ever since the first time Mom said the word surgery, it’s as if fear-filled balloons have been lodged in my lungs, keeping me from taking a full breath. With Dad’s promise, they pop. I can breathe again.

I write in my journal. Fat Girl Rule my mom taught me: If you’re fat, there are things you can’t have.

Now I want the pool to be something more, not only a place to escape, but also a place to express myself. As I float, I spread out my arms and my legs. I’m a starfish, taking up all the room I want.

You’ll like this one,” she says. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you so you could check it out.” She’s the first person to smile at me today. The first to make me feel wanted. Understood. I blink back tears. It’s unknown how many students’ lives librarians have saved by welcoming loners at lunch.

Just don’t forget El’s first appointment with the therapist.” Down I go. Fast. Hard. Like when the other person jumps off the teeter-totter and throws everything off-balance. “Huh? Wait. What?” Mom’s shoulders droop as one hand freezes on the doorknob. “You said you’d tell her.” She shoots eye daggers at Dad.

I chose both religions. It’s part of my self-imposed peacekeeping mission, since I already cause a whale-sized rift between my parents.

You’re a psychiatrist, Dad. I talk to you all the time.” Dad straddles the chair next to me. “It’s not the same thing. Your mom and I agree Dr. Wood could help you.” Translation? Mom nagged, and Dad caved.

Remember, the devil you do know is better than the devil you don’t!

Mine has a list of Fat Girl Rules. You find out what these unspoken rules are when you break them— and suffer the consequences. Fat Girl Rules I learned at five: No cannonballs. No splashing. No making waves. You don’t deserve to be seen or heard, to take up room, to be noticed. Make yourself small.

Studies show a family’s comments about an overweight child add to a negative self-image. Studies show it’s not just kids and teachers at school who make fun of overweight kids; parents also bully them. Kids don’t need parents’ judgment; the world gives them plenty of that.

I feel so small looking up at them. They swim. They’re smart. They have huge hearts. And they have a voice. I’ve always hated being called a whale, but it’s actually a compliment. They’re big. They’re amazing creatures. And they’re beautiful.

How I’m proud to be me and to claim my right to take up space. I deserve to be seen. To be noticed. To be heard. To be treated like a human. I starfish. There’s plenty of room for each and every one of us in the world.

We’re mismatched in all kinds of ways, yet we found each other in the ocean of people on the planet and became friends.

At first I think being ignored is better than being humiliated. But then I wonder. Because when people look right through you, it’s like you don’t even matter. Like you don’t exist. And everyone is fine with that.

For history class, we’re supposed to write a report about a way in which society’s changed over the years. I’m writing about how the world’s view of beauty based on size has changed. With the help of our librarian, Mrs. Pochon, I find reliable sources on the internet and books of photos of paintings and sculptures from a hundred to a thousand years ago. They’re from cultures around the world and show girls with rolls and curves. Girls like me. I learn big girls, even obese ones, were once seen as normal, preferred, beautiful.