Quote binging is sort of like the book "If you give a mouse a cookie." It's also similar to shopping at the Kroger near my house, where the ice cream aisle has toilet paper on it, and when you go looking for other bathroom supplies, you find ice cream toppings right next to the mops 3 aisles away.
Quote binging usually starts off simply enough. I hear something funny or just plain awesome in a movie, and I want to remember the words right, so I look it up.
This time it was a quote from the movie I.Q.
"You both have wonderful hearts. Don't let your mind get in the way of your heart."In the movie, this was said by Albert Einstein. Of course, I was curious to know if this was ever said by the real Einstein (unfortunately, the answer is no, as far as I can tell), so I looked up Einstein quotes. Of course, these quotes were amazing, so I read all through them, and then went searching for similiar quotes.
Before I knew it, I was on a full out binge, reading full websites of famous (and somewhat obscure) quotes and adding them to my Facebook quotes or to my book of quotes in my room. (Yes, I have a journal full of quotes - they're amazing).
You see, quotes are amazing things. There are probably at least 50 quotes that apply to your life at this exact moment, whether you are cooking dinner, breaking up with a jerk, considering a trip to Alaska, or even writing a blog.
See? This one is perfect for me right now.
“People have often described me as a blogger. I generally shy away from the term because, to me, bloggers are boring, self obsessed narcissists who use their website mainly as a means to discuss the inconsequential minutiae of their day to day lives.” - Anonymous.It's perfect because this person's definition of blogger fits me perfectly; it even almost has my name in it. Hey, Boring is closed to Bored, right? I'm not exactly sure why he/she wants to "shy away" from being a blogger, though. Narcissism is fun!
I also really like this quote:
"Breathe. Know that the Internet has no eraser." - Liz Strauss.This quote reminds me to stay away from things like posting blogs when I'm late-night drunk, but it also comforts me with the idea that no matter what I say, no one is ever going to undo it. Once it's online, it's there, and the world can hate it or love it, but no one can erase it.
Quotes can remind us of things we already know, teach us new things, and show us that we're not alone in our endeavors. They can even help us verbalize things we couldn't figure out a way to say on our own.
For instance, if I were looking at sharks and trying to describe them, but couldn't find the right words, I might find some quotes about sharks.
"Sharks are as tough as those football fans who take their shirts off during games in Chicago in January, only more intelligent." - Dave Berry.See? This quote emphasizes the evident strength and intelligence of sharks, while simultaneously insulting football fans who take their shirts off when it's cold, kind of like some guys at my school who like to paint themselves. Perfect!
Of course, I could also go for a quote like this:
"Turns out, I couldn't catch them - or even get close to them. I realized that sharks are amazing, beautiful animals who have absolutely no interest in checking me out. " - Malin Akerman.This would totally be me, trying to flirt with sharks and then realizing that was kinda stupid.
So, anyway, as another person named Anonymous (it's such a common name!) once said:
"There's one thing that a quote does that nothing and no one else can do...it can become a part of you. You may never meet the person who said it, but that person is now a companion. Quotes help you get over pain, feel love, make you smile and laugh, and help you through those tough days when you think that no one else knows what you're going through."I have to move back to school in a week, so I may be away from the blogosphere for a while. In the meanwhile, in order to keep yourself from crying too much at my absence (you know you love me), go on your own quote binge and make yourself a few hundred new best friends that you'll never meet.
And don't say you don't have time, or make the excuse that you shouldn't "waste time" on quotes in case the world ends today or some similarly lame excuse. After all, as Charles Schultz said,
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today...it's already tomorrow in Australia."
