43 pages

I have this file on my computer. It’s 43 pages long and contains 22,420 words made up of 102,092 characters (124,238 characters if you include the spaces). And I didn’t write a single word of it.

The file, simply (but aptly) saved as “quotes,” is nothing more than my own dictionary of quotations, my Quotationary, if you will. It includes poems, lyrics, one-liners and full paragraphs from novels. The authors and speakers range from Ernest Hemmingway and Albert Einstein to best friends and ex-boyfriends. It is quite the mélange of wisdom.

And beauty. I started writing quotes down (on napkins, math worksheets, even tables at times) because I was in awe of the way someone else’s words could so perfectly and beautifully describe my emotions. I respect the authors and speakers and envy their ability to link words into sentiment and opinion

I started my quote file when I was a junior in high school and have added to it with varying vigor over the past four years. Those 43 pages are the closest thing I have to a timeline of my life – with each quote I can pinpoint the mood and developmental stage I was in upon its addition. Quotes are a big part of my life, one that I want to share.

This blog is based on quotations and synthesizing them with daily occurrences. Each post will include a quote and an application of its meaning (or the meaning I understand) to a current event. Sometimes the event will be a national news story, other times it might come from my own life.

You don’t have to agree with anything I say and attempt to connect. Chances are, you won’t. My objective, however, is to convey how wonderfully and easily quotable wisdom applies and occurs in everyday life. After all,

“Life itself is a quotation.”
-Jorge Luis Borges