And What I Am Still Learning
by Mark Twain
I have learned -
you cannot make someone love you.
All you can do is be someone who can be loved.
The rest is up to them.
I have learned -
no matter how much I care,
some people just do not care back.
I have learned -
it takes years to build up trust,
and only seconds to destroy it.
I have learned -
its not what you have in your life
but who you have in your life that counts.
I have learned -
you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes.
After that, you had better know something.
I have learned -
you should not compare yourself
to the best others can do.
I have learned -
you can do something in an instant
which will give you heartache for life.
I have learned -
it is taking me a long time
to become the person I want to be.
I have learned -
you should always leave loved ones with loving words.
It may be the last time you see them.
I have learned -
you can keep going long after you think you can not.
I have learned -
we are responsible for what we do,
no matter how we feel.
I have learned -
either you control your attitude
or it controls you.
I have learned -
regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first,
the passion fades,
and there had better be something else to take its place.
I have learned -
heroes are the people who do what has to be done
when it needs to be done,
regardless of the consequences.
I have learned -
money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I have learned -
my best friend and I can do anything or nothing
and have the best time.
I have learned -
sometimes, the people you expect to kick you
when you are down
will be the ones to help you get back up.
I have learned -
when I have the right to be angry,
it does not give me the right to be cruel.
I have learned -
true friendship continues to grow,
even over the longest distance.
The same is true for true love.
I have learned -
just because someone does not love you
the way you want them to
does not mean they do not love you with all they have.
I have learned -
maturity has more to do with what types of experiences
you have had
and what you have learned from them
and less to do with how many birthdays you have celebrated.
I have learned -
you should never tell a child their dreams
are unlikely or outlandish.
Few things are more humiliating,
and what a tragedy it would be if the child believed it.
I have learned -
your family will not always be there for you.
It may seem funny, but people you are not related to
can take care of you and love you
and teach you to trust people again.
[Families are not biological.]
I have learned -
no matter how good a friend is,
they are going to hurt you every once in a while
and you must forgive them for that.
I have learned -
it is not always enough to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I have learned -
no matter how bad your heart is broken
the world does not stop for your grief.
I have learned -
our background and circumstances may have
influenced who we are,
but we are responsible for who we become.
I have learned -
just because two people argue,
it does not mean they do not love each other;
and just because they do not argue,
it does not mean they do love each other.
I have learned -
we do not have to change friends
if we understand that friends change.
I have learned -
you should not be so eager to find out a secret.
It could change your life forever.
I have learned -
two people can look at the exact same thing
and see something totally different.
I have learned -
no matter how you try to protect your children,
they will eventually get hurt, and you will hurt in the process.
I have learned -
your life can be changed in a matter of hours
by people who do not even know you.
I have learned -
even when you think you have no more to give,
when a friend cries out to you,
you will find the strength to help.
I have learned -
credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I have learned -
the people you care most about in life
are taken from you too soon.
I have learned -
it is hard to determine where to draw the line
between being nice and not hurting people's feelings
and standing up for what you believe.
"Life does not consist mainly, or even largely,
of facts and happenings.
It consists mainly of the storm of thought
that is forever flowing through one's head."