Words to Live By
Writer: Izzy Patrizio
Editor: Sarah Lindquist
Photo taken by: Izzy Patrizio
Above my bed I have a pinboard with photos, some ribbons, my sunglasses, and five or six sticky notes with quotes and reminders on them. I started doing this at the beginning of my freshman year of college, and it has become one of my favorite corners of my room. Scrolling on TikTok, I get lots of videos of people posting movie or book quotes and for some reason, I can’t skip them. While I am a realist in some regard, I am a complete romantic when it comes to most aspects of my life. Why not be a little hopeful?
These audios are cheesy or at times unrealistic, but that doesn't mean that their messages are any less important. It takes a certain amount of “cheesiness” to make a hard truth sound poetic.
The first quote I finally decided to write down is from the movie Call Me by Your Name, where Mr. Perlman says,
“We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty and have less to offer each time we start with someone new, but to make yourself feel nothing so as not to feel anything - what a waste.”
If you catch me in the right mood in the right circumstance, a message like this is all I would need to hear to get up and go change my own life. I have been known to be somewhat influenceable, sometimes to a fault. I am inclined to buy a product an influencer I like uses, or order a sandwich my friend recommends to me, even if I know I wouldn't like it.
While my trustingness in others has caused some issues in the past, I don’t think I would want to become someone who is constantly questioning someone and never believing in the benefit of the doubt. I think these quotes partially remind me to live my life the way I want and treat people with that same regard.
Some other quotes I have over my bed include:
“If you see something beautiful in someone, say it.”
“Be the love.”
“Sometimes the wait is so long because the blessing is so big.”
“Spend time with people who don't let you forget the world is better because you’re in it.”
“When you focus on the good, the good gets better.”
This one is my personal favorite:
“Someday you will look back and know exactly why it had to happen.”
I am a big believer in the idea that everything happens for a reason, but I am well aware that that is a hard thing to remember when a hard thing happens. It is more than normal to feel disappointed or frustrated because that is what it means to put effort into something. It is a lot easier to say these quotes are “cheesy” than you actually sit with them and let the message impact you. I know I will be taking these quotes to my new apartment next year, and beyond, but who knows, one day is all you need to make them come true!
P. S. Quotes make great room decor!
