Home > Author > Akemi Dawn Bowman
41 " I need to figure out where my life is going. I need something that is mine. Otherwise . . .’ Otherwise I’ll never fully break away from what my life has always been. I’ll always be attached to it, like a branch that’s growing farther and farther away but it doesn’t matter because its roots are a part of the tree’s roots. I need to be my own tree. "
― Akemi Dawn Bowman , Starfish
42 " There’s so much earth everywhere. It’s like all the people migrated to these pockets of lights and noise, and they left all these miles and miles of nature completely untouched. "
43 " If you don't know where to look for her, you might not see her at all. "
44 " piece of paper falls out and floats to the ground. I pick it up carefully, studying the handwriting I don’t recognize but know is Mr. Watanabe’s. In neat, swooping letters written with black pen are the words: If you get lost in the darkness, remember to follow the music. Thanks for reminding me to do the same. Even though I’m crying, I’m smiling, too. "
― Akemi Dawn Bowman , Summer Bird Blue
45 " I’m not surprised he decided he wants to take pictures for a living. When we were kids, Jamie was always playing with his dad’s camera. I think one of the reasons we always got along so well was because we both saw the world as a series of moments that needed to be captured—we just captured them in different ways. "
46 " trying to think of a way to change my future so it stops feeling like an empty hallway that stretches forever and ever. "
47 " And the more I think about it, the more frustrated I get by the entire concept of a backup plan. Because it only ever seems to pertain to people who are interested in art, music, theater--and yes, the circus. Nobody would ever dream of going up to someone in medical school and telling them, 'Gee, I really think you should have a backup plan. You know, just in case this doesn't work out for you. "
― Akemi Dawn Bowman , Harley in the Sky
48 " He says it's not good to complain about the things we can't change. "
49 " I have my whole life ahead of me–there isn't room in it for anger about things I don't have the power to change. I've mourned the loss of the mother I imagined could exist. I accept the one I have will never be the one I need.And that's okay–because I will be the person I need. I will be the one I can depend on, the one who has the power to make my life better or worse. "
50 " Your sexuality -- and how you identify -- is nobody else's business. You can change your mind, or not change your mind. Those labels exist for you, and not so that everyone else can try to force you into a box. Especially if that box is their close-minded idea of fucking normal. "
51 " I draw a very small fish swimming in the ocean and realizing it's filled with planets and stars. "
52 " If we're kind to a hundred people and cruel to one, can we really be considered kind? I'm not so sure. I don't think kindness is supposed to have limitations. "
― Akemi Dawn Bowman ,
53 " Normal people don’t need to prepare for social interactions. Normal people don’t panic at the sight of strangers. Normal people don’t want to cry because the plan they’ve processed in their head is suddenly not the plan that’s going to happen. "
54 " It's good to stay motivated, but if you're putting so much pressure on yourself that you're making yourself unhappy, that's not good. Try not to be so hard on yourself, okay? Set a pace you're comfortable with. Enjoy the journey. "
55 " I'm too busy crying myself, thinking of how it must feel to be loved so wholly, so unconditionally. "
56 " You know, if someone is going to be mad at you just because you didn't let them have their way, you're better off without them. "
57 " I love you, Jamie, but I don't want to love you this way. I'm broken in too many places and I can't let you be the one to put me back together. If I'm going to survive in this world, I need to learn how to take care of myself first. I need to heal, so that my heart can be whole again. I need time. A lot of time. "
58 " Don't let (a chance) go to waste because the reality of your dreams isn't as pretty as you'd imagined. "
59 " You can't rush creativity. It's like the rain. You wait and wait and wait, and when it finally comes, it soaks the earth and revives all the plants. "
60 " I draw a little mouse so afraid of the world that he hides in the dark until he goes blind. "