“Yes, is the obvious answer. I do hate you. I hate everything about you. I hate you so much that whenever I’m around you, I can barely think straight. I can barely even breathe.”
―
Ann Liang,
If You Could See the Sun
“I’d rather be the villain who lives to the end than the hero who winds up dead” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“And this, I think, is my ultimate fatal flaw. Missing people who don’t miss me back. Clinging on to strands of string that shouldn’t mean half as much as they do. It takes so little for me to love someone, yet so long for me to move on.” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“And everything about this moment is so lovely and so fragile in its loveliness that I’m almost afraid to hold it. Afraid that the spell will break.” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“Descartes was wrong, you know, when he said, 'To live well, you must live unseen.' To live well, you must learn to see yourself first. Do you understand what I'm saying?” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“When you care about someone, you want to be inconvenienced—you wouldn’t mind beinginconvenienced by them every day for the rest of your life. That’s what love is. That’s all love really is.” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“I didn’t know you had such a praise kink.” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“You're still a kid, you know.” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“It's nothing like the way they describe it in the movies, like all the stars aligning and fireworks exploding across an ink-black sky. It feels both quieter and bigger than that, as simple as coming home and as dizzying and all-encompassing as the wind rushing in around us. It feels like a thousand banished and buried moments have been building up to this - to us alone and untethered and weak with wanting - and maybe they have.” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“There’s something strangely intimate about calling someone in the dark. It’s like listening to your favorite song in the middle of a crowded subway; the world narrows down to just you and this voice in your ear, while everyone else around you goes about their lives, completely oblivious. It feels sacred. Like a secret.” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“Maybe I’ll always be scared. Maybe the fear of getting hurt, of being left alone,will never truly go away. But even if it’s my default setting, I can fight it. So many beautiful things lie on the other side of fear.Like love.Like this.” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“Is it really too much to ask? For people like me to want a bit of that light for ourselves?” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“I think about why I’m doing this. I think about why I want—no, need, always need—the money. More money. I think about how ironic it is, that in order to become the person I’d like to be, I might have to do the last thing others would expect of me. I think about guilt and karma and survival and how being good doesn’t ever promise you anything in this world—only power does that.” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“Because there aren’t thousands of books and poems and movies out there to describe exactly what I’m feeling, or lyrically beautiful songs for me to cry to and sing along with in the car. There’s no guidebook on how to survive this kind of fallout, no prescribed remedy to soothe this particular kind of pain. Romantic breakups are romanticizedconstantly, talked about everywhere by everyone, but platonic breakups areswept to the side, suffered in secret, as if they’re somehow less important.” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“I guess my point is that I do believe in love. Really. I'm just not convinced that kind of love could ever happen to me.” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“And while it's important to know how to fight your way to the top... It's always nice when there are others to help lift us up, don't you think?” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“But aren’t small things exactly what friendships are made up of? Frayed string bracelets and late-night texts and compilations of your favorite songs? When you take those things away, what do you have left?” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“Hope is such a terrible thing. It’s like a bad habit you can’t shake off, a stray dog that keeps showing up outside your door for scraps, even when you have nothing left to give. Every time you think you’re rid of it at last, it manages to sneak its way back in. Takeover.” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“I want to get good grades. Graduate. Get a job in whichever field my strengths lie."His brows furrow, like he doesn't quite believe me. "Not what you're passionate about?" he asks delicately. I lift my chin. "I'm passionate about being good at things." There's a defensive edge in my voice, and Mr. Chen must hear it. He drops the subject."Well, all right then. I suppose I should let you go to lunch..." "Thanks, Mr. Chen."But as I turn to leave, he adds, very quietly, "You're still a kid, you know."I falter. "what?"His eyes are kind, almost sad when he looks at me. "Even if it doesn't feel that way now, you're still only a kid." He shakes his head. "you're too young to be this hardened by the world. You should be free to dream. To hope.” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“I’d rather be the villain who lives to the end than the hero who winds up dead” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“And this, I think, is my ultimate fatal flaw. Missing people who don’t miss me back. Clinging on to strands of string that shouldn’t mean half as much as they do. It takes so little for me to love someone, yet so long for me to move on.” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“And everything about this moment is so lovely and so fragile in its loveliness that I’m almost afraid to hold it. Afraid that the spell will break.” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“Descartes was wrong, you know, when he said, 'To live well, you must live unseen.' To live well, you must learn to see yourself first. Do you understand what I'm saying?” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“When you care about someone, you want to be inconvenienced—you wouldn’t mind beinginconvenienced by them every day for the rest of your life. That’s what love is. That’s all love really is.” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“I didn’t know you had such a praise kink.” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“You're still a kid, you know.” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“It's nothing like the way they describe it in the movies, like all the stars aligning and fireworks exploding across an ink-black sky. It feels both quieter and bigger than that, as simple as coming home and as dizzying and all-encompassing as the wind rushing in around us. It feels like a thousand banished and buried moments have been building up to this - to us alone and untethered and weak with wanting - and maybe they have.” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“There’s something strangely intimate about calling someone in the dark. It’s like listening to your favorite song in the middle of a crowded subway; the world narrows down to just you and this voice in your ear, while everyone else around you goes about their lives, completely oblivious. It feels sacred. Like a secret.” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“Maybe I’ll always be scared. Maybe the fear of getting hurt, of being left alone,will never truly go away. But even if it’s my default setting, I can fight it. So many beautiful things lie on the other side of fear.Like love.Like this.” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“Is it really too much to ask? For people like me to want a bit of that light for ourselves?” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“I think about why I’m doing this. I think about why I want—no, need, always need—the money. More money. I think about how ironic it is, that in order to become the person I’d like to be, I might have to do the last thing others would expect of me. I think about guilt and karma and survival and how being good doesn’t ever promise you anything in this world—only power does that.” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“Because there aren’t thousands of books and poems and movies out there to describe exactly what I’m feeling, or lyrically beautiful songs for me to cry to and sing along with in the car. There’s no guidebook on how to survive this kind of fallout, no prescribed remedy to soothe this particular kind of pain. Romantic breakups are romanticizedconstantly, talked about everywhere by everyone, but platonic breakups areswept to the side, suffered in secret, as if they’re somehow less important.” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“I guess my point is that I do believe in love. Really. I'm just not convinced that kind of love could ever happen to me.” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“And while it's important to know how to fight your way to the top... It's always nice when there are others to help lift us up, don't you think?” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
“But aren’t small things exactly what friendships are made up of? Frayed string bracelets and late-night texts and compilations of your favorite songs? When you take those things away, what do you have left?” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“Hope is such a terrible thing. It’s like a bad habit you can’t shake off, a stray dog that keeps showing up outside your door for scraps, even when you have nothing left to give. Every time you think you’re rid of it at last, it manages to sneak its way back in. Takeover.” ― Ann Liang, This Time It's Real
“I want to get good grades. Graduate. Get a job in whichever field my strengths lie."His brows furrow, like he doesn't quite believe me. "Not what you're passionate about?" he asks delicately. I lift my chin. "I'm passionate about being good at things." There's a defensive edge in my voice, and Mr. Chen must hear it. He drops the subject."Well, all right then. I suppose I should let you go to lunch..." "Thanks, Mr. Chen."But as I turn to leave, he adds, very quietly, "You're still a kid, you know."I falter. "what?"His eyes are kind, almost sad when he looks at me. "Even if it doesn't feel that way now, you're still only a kid." He shakes his head. "you're too young to be this hardened by the world. You should be free to dream. To hope.” ― Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
Read More! Learn More!