Food for thought from "The Life all around me by Ellen Foster" by Kaye Gibbons:

When I told her I needed to lie there and feel like dirt a few more minutes, she said, I know you do.

Laura asked for nothing but the honor of having a girl like me, to look after and hold her daily conversations and customs with.

You can't make people behave, she said, by force of will, and you should try harder not to panic when things feel a little out of place.

He stopped walking and blurted out, If you think you're better than people like Mrs. Thumb, can you try to hide it harder so I can have a good time?

Then Laura said, The truth is not so bad, Ellen, that you need to create a story and worry yourself with it.

I've pulled myself out of many blue days just by saying I must be all right, there must be something right about me, if a person this rare and good chose me.