This Book Is Not Yet Rated

Winning things is overrated. <...> When you win, you don’t get to be an underdog anymore. What happens at the end of every movie where the good guys win? They all smile and congratulate themselves and then the story is over. There’s nothing left to do except sit around feeling good about yourself forever, or until someone dreams up a sequel. Who wants to do that? At least when you lose, you still have something to care about.

...I came to the conclusion that no matter how noble the cause, your mother will never be happy about picking you up from juvie.

If you only see the same movies that everyone else does, if you only watch the same shows and read the same books, and listen to the same music that everyone else does, then you’re only ever going to have the same ideas as everyone else. You’re only going to see the world the way everyone else does.

Life, it seemed to me, was mostly trouble. Sacred movie theaters got eviction notices from guys with tight shirts. Friendships ended as quickly as they began. People died when you didn’t want them to die. It was, so often, a lowdown, disappointing business as far as I could tell. Which is why I spent most of my time watching movies.