Elisabeth Rank

„So, I looked up, and we were in this giant dome like a glass snowball, and Mark said that the amazing white stars were really only holes in the black glass of the dome, and when you went to heaven, the glass broke away, and there was nothing but a whole sheet of star white, which is brighter than anything but doesn’t hurt your eyes.“
(p. 95)

„There was this one part where the main character, who is this architect, is sitting on a boat with his best friend, who is a newspaper tycoon. And the newspaper tycoon says that the architect is a very cold man. The architect replies that if the boat were singing, and there was only room in the lifeboat for one person, he would gladly give up his life for the newspaper tycoon. And then he says something like this… ‚I would die for you but I won’t live for you.'“
(p.169)

„There is something about that tunnel that leads to downtown. It’s glorious at night. Just glorious. You start on one side of the mountain, and it’s dark, and the radio is loud. As you enter the tunnel, the wind gets sucked away, and you squint from the lights overhead. When you adjust to the lights, you can see the other side in the distance just as the sound of the radio fades to nothing because the waves can’t reach. Then, you’re in the middle of the tunnel, and everything becomes a calm dream. As you see the opening get closer, you just can’t get there fast enough. And finally, just when you think you’ll never get there, you see the opening right in front of you. And the radio comes back even louder that you remember it. And the wind is waiting. And you fly out of the tunnel onto the bridge. And there it is. The city. A million lights and buildings and everything seems as exciting as the first time you saw it. It really is a grand entrance.“
(p. 191)

„She wasn’t bitter. She was sad, though. But it was a hopeful kind of sad. The kind of sad that just takes time.“
(p. 198)

„It’s just that I don’t want to be somebody’s crush. If somebody likes me, I want them to like the real me, not what they think I am. And I don’t want them to carry it around inside. I want them to show me, so I can feel it, too. I want them to be able to do whatever they want around me.“
(p. 201)

„So I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we’ll never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.“
(p. 211)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower was written by Stephen Chbosky.

Abends manchmal, liegst du da im Sterben? Was denkst du morgens als Erstes? Und wie lange siehst du im Spiegel dir selbst wirklich in die Augen? Singst du unter der Dusche? Sind wir eine fixe Idee oder ein Plan, eine Karte oder ein Puzzle? Wann hast du Fieber? Kannst du hören, wenn ich vor der Tür stehe? Wärmflasche oder Kühlakku? Wie schnell ist deine Atemfrequenz? Und weißt du noch, wann du gewusst hast, wer du bist? Würfelst du lieber mit einem Würfel oder mit zweien? Welche Namen tragen deine Kinder? Und wann wachst du nachts auf? Stehst du manchmal einfach und gehst? Wann gibst du Applaus? Wie lange kämpfst du schon und wie lange hältst du noch durch? Was war dein erstes Lied? Bettdeckenränder unter den Körper oder lose darüber wie ein Blatt Papier? Kannst du gewinnen? Wie alt wirst du einmal werden und wie alt wirst du immer sein? Ja oder nein oder vielleicht? Und was machst du morgen? Wie hoch liegt dein Staub? Kannst du mit den Ohren wackeln? Wen vermisst du am liebsten? Wann bist du leise? Wie nennst du den Zeh neben dem großen? Merkst du, wenn du weinst? Welche Erinnerung willst du zurück? Und wo liegt dein Schatten? Winkst du manchmal, wenn niemand es sieht? Wann sind wir da? Und glaubst du das wirklich?

(Photo: Frau Grau)

I don’t need a watch, I do have my pace. The only meeting I have to remember is the one with the waves. And I bet the seagulls remind me of someone but this is not the case. This is not the case in so many ways. I am here and I don’t need time. Because there’s water beside me and the sea is mine.