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81 " Look for me under your boot soles.” Olga’s body will turn to dirt, which will grow into trees, and then someone in the future will step on their fallen leaves. There is no heaven. There is only earth, sky, and the transfer of energy. The idea would almost be beautiful if this weren’t such a nightmare. "
― Erika L. Sánchez , I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
82 " I thought our neighborhood was bad, but if I had to live in the suburbs, I think I’d just lie down and die. I don’t care that the houses are big and expensive; everything is exactly the same, and the only restaurants I see are Chili’s and Olive Garden. "
83 " I’ve never been sledding in my life. I’ve heard of it, have seen it on TV, but my parents have never taken me, just like we’ve never been to Disney World or watched The Sound of Music. I assumed it was just something white people did. "
84 " If—when—I become rich, I want a library so big that I’ll need a ladder to reach all my books. "
85 " Sometimes I'm convinced the world wants me to shut up, that I'm better off folding myself into a million pieces. "
86 " What’s surprised me most about seeing my sister dead is the lingering smirk on her face. "
87 " Cuando me vienen estos recuerdos, siento como si alguien me sacara el alma y la pisoteara "
88 " She’d put me in her toy carriage and sing me songs by Cepillín, that scary Mexican clown who looks like a rapist but everyone loves for some reason. "
89 " Tía Fermina whispers the prayers so faintly I can't understand them. After she makes dozens of crosses all over my body, she says it's time to see inside the egg, to understand what's been stewing inside of me. Tía cracks the egg into a glass of water and holds it up to the light.. The waters turns thick and cloudy, and when we looks closer, we see a dot of dark blood in the center of the yolk. "
90 " His name is Juan García, but he goes by Juanga, which is the nickname of Juan Gabriel, Mexico’s most beloved singer, who is flaming but has never officially come out of the closet. How can he compare himself to him? I mean, it’s like calling yourself Jesus Christ or Joan of Arc. "
91 " Even in Kyoto—/ hearing the cuckoo’s cry—/ I long for Kyoto.” I feel like that a lot. I get nostalgic before I have to. "
92 " The only animals we see are pigeons and rats, which are essentially the same thing. "
93 " Amá says I can clean, do my homework, and if she’s feeling generous, she says she’ll let me watch telenovelas with them, but I’d rather poke my eyes out like Oedipus than sit through an episode of that garbage. "
94 " What a waste their journey would be if I just settled for a dull, mediocre life. Maybe one day they’ll realize that. "
95 " It means that you will learn to speak and write in a way that will give you authority. Does that mean that the way you speak in your neighborhood is wrong? That slang is bad? That you can’t say on fleek or whatever you kids are saying these days? Absolutely not. That form of speaking is often fun, inventive, and creative, but would it be helpful to speak that way in a job interview? Unfortunately not. I want you to think about these things. I want you to think about words in a way you’ve never done before. I want you to leave this class with the tools to compete with kids in the suburbs, because you’re just as capable, just as smart. "
96 " It reminds me of the painting Nighthawks, "
97 " There’s a poem I read once, titled “The World Is Too Much with Us,” and I guess that is the best way to describe the feeling—the world is too much with me. "
98 " Huele ligeramente a perfume, que es una mezcla de ropa limpia, peras y lluvia de primavera. "
99 " Starved Rock State Park, "
100 " Todo Cambia" by Mercedes Sosa. I became obsessed the first time I heard it. Everything in the sound is true - everything changes, for better or worse, whether we like it or not, sometimes it's beautiful, and sometimes it fills us with terror. Sometimes both. Cambia el más fino brillanteDe mano en mano su brilloCambia el nido el pajarilloCambia el sentir un amanteCambia el rumbo el caminanteAunque esto le cause dañoY así como todo cambiaQué yo cambie no es extraño "