Jessica Zafra Quotes & Sayings

Life is a series of random collisions. — Jessica Zafra

My Macbook is my new boyfriend, except that he's dependable and meets all my demands. — Jessica Zafra

The reason men rule is because women let them. — Jessica Zafra

Being good does make a difference. You will not receive praise or payment for it, and other people will mistake your goodness for weakness, but it resonates among people you won't even meet. — Jessica Zafra

Repeat after me: "I am a goddess. I am a goddess. I am a goddess." Make this your mantra. From constant repetition you will start believing it, and if you yourself are convinced of your goddesshood, other people will be convinced. — Jessica Zafra

Food is the best substitute for everything, because it does not put up any resistance, but surrenders instantly. — Jessica Zafra

The one thing that worries me is that with my mother gone, the voice in my head that tells me to be nice to others has been silenced forever. I fear for other people. — Jessica Zafra

The truth is, the more one knows about Art, the more one values Entertainment. — Jessica Zafra

What we call the wisdom that comes with age is usually simple caution. — Jessica Zafra

People will hate you for no apparent reason. — Jessica Zafra

I love humanity. It's people I don't like. — Jessica Zafra

These days when we speak of politics at all it is with indifference, anger, or "Please, could we talk about something that doesn't make us nauseous?" But there was a time when we could discuss government with hope, pride, and trust in our leaders, and that was when Corazon Aquino was president. — Jessica Zafra

The more "normal" the person seems, the sicker she probably is. — Jessica Zafra

The question is not why fools fall in love. It is expected of them. When "smart" people fall in love - that's the problem. — Jessica Zafra

Tolkien tells us that we do not charge into battle because we know we will win. We do so regardless of odds and outcomes, because we have to. — Jessica Zafra

What I'm saying is, where have all the real people gone? Where are the recognizably-human beings? Of course, it's silly of me to look them on TV commercials, no one watches ads for their true-to-life portrayals. If the ads were full of real people, they wouldn't be able to sell anything. Which is the point of this rambling column.
Real people just don't sell. — Jessica Zafra

We are all the same in that we all want to be different. — Jessica Zafra

Beware of those who have never been bored, depressed, or angry. There is something seriously wrong with them. — Jessica Zafra

I cannot write about Venice; I can only write about me, and the sleeping parts of myself that Venice has shocked into wakefulness. — Jessica Zafra

A writer who makes serious money is never taken seriously. Writers and artists are expected to suffer poverty and privation for their art; it's a sign of authenticity. — Jessica Zafra

To live intensely is a basic human necessity. — Jessica Zafra

One of the advantages of having an imaginary boyfriend is that he exists only for you, therefore he can not be stolen. The disadvantage is that you can not introduce him to your friends. — Jessica Zafra

That's really what the mall is all about: money. At the mall the rule is: Credito, ergo sum - I shop, therefore I am. — Jessica Zafra

Everyone declares that love is irrational, and yet everytime this statement is proven correct, they profess amazement. They seem to assume that love will make an exception in their case. It never does. — Jessica Zafra

Sometimes I wonder if, instead of falling madly in love, we should aspire to fall sanely in love. But then, what would be the point? — Jessica Zafra

Whining is a form of manipulation. People will give anything to make you shut up. — Jessica Zafra

There's nothing wrong with self-improvement, as long as you recognize that at some point you're going to have to accept yourself in all your imperfect glory. What's wrong with liking yourself the way you are? — Jessica Zafra

It's not words that fail, it's the people who wield them. We have no power over life and death, we are subject to pain and disease and misery, but we command words. When you think about it, words are all we really have. — Jessica Zafra

Marriage is a contract. Love is non-negotiable. — Jessica Zafra

The expression "madly in love" is apt, for it describes a form of temporary insanity. — Jessica Zafra

As you go through life, you learn many lessons. Unfortunately these lessons only apply to the specific instances in which you learned them. Therefore you can expect to make horrible mistakes no matter how long you live. — Jessica Zafra

To work problems out for yourself, to find you own way out of ignorance, to know the pleasure of knowing - these things improve the quality of life. Unfashionable, even impractical, but true. — Jessica Zafra

We like to think that all people have hidden depths, but the fact is that a lot of people are shallow.
The vast majority don't have an opinion until they tune in to AM radio or read the papers. Then they become social critics. — Jessica Zafra

The book identifies you as part of the tribe. On the opposite extreme, there are people who will walk up to you when you're reading a book because they think you're lonely. — Jessica Zafra

What does not kill you will make you stronger and more cynical. — Jessica Zafra

We often reward mediocrity because it is comforting. If they can do it, anyone can do it. — Jessica Zafra

That's the thing about a great book. Every time you read it, it's different, because you're different. You've changed since the last time you picked it up, things have happened to you. — Jessica Zafra

Screw us once, shame on them; screw us twice, shame on us. — Jessica Zafra

There are certain rules to be observed when writing about our parents. We can only describe them as transparent figures with golden haloes, smiling down at us from heaven, large flag billowing in the breeze optional, just before the end credits roll. — Jessica Zafra

The guilty pleasure defense. In my view if it's guilty, it ain't pleasure. — Jessica Zafra

I find it tiresome when people parade their agonies for public viewing; the last thing I want to evoke is pity. We are all the walking wounded, your pain is no worse than everyone else's. — Jessica Zafra

I'd rather be a bitch than a doormat. — Jessica Zafra

My emotional range is limited. I can't do grief, but rage is my friend. For instance, I hate death by sickness. It is nothing like Homer, the Old Testament, and Tolkien led me to expect. It is not noble and awe-inspiring. No one delivers a final soliloquy. It is as abrupt and banal as the flicking of a switch. The squiggly line on the monitor straightens out, the defibrillator doesn't even go whomp, the epinephrine is useless, the nurse doing CPR looks up and even before the doctor pronounces the words, you know. This is not what death should be. Death, the reason for religion, the subject of great literature, the certainty we spend our lives warding off, the giant mystery that looms over everything we do, death should be spectacular, not pity-inducing, a bang and not a whimper. A huge ball of fire, a shower of sparks, a final charge into the ranks of your enemies, a terrific explosion, a backward dive into the fiery pit. Not ... this. — Jessica Zafra

We like to look for patterns and find connections in unrelated events. This way we can explain them to ourselves. Life seems neater, or at least less messy. We need to feel we are in control: it is integral to our self-esteem. We also know, though we deny it, that we are not in control. So we settle for the illusions of control. What if we stopped fooling ourselves? — Jessica Zafra

We read because we are essentially alone. — Jessica Zafra

Never, ever point out that a woman is eating too much. — Jessica Zafra

Jealousy is like wasabe - a little can add excitement to your salmon sashimi but too much can make you cry and trigger facial contortions. I find it very flattering if someone is jealous of me. It is an affirmation that I am hot and spectacular. It is a confirmation of my value and importance. Yes, I am vain. — Jessica Zafra

Few things in life are certain, and one of them is that you can turn on the television at three in the morning and someone will be singing and dancing on the Indian channel. Proof of Nietzsche's theory of eternal recurrence. — Jessica Zafra

Singapore is what your city could become if everyone obeyed the rules, did their jobs diligently, and just shut up. When your city gets to be this paragon of efficiency and discipline, would you still want to live there? Singapore is a model city, which is terrific if you happen to be a model human. — Jessica Zafra

The challenge for all of us in this day and age is to distinguish between the merely surprising and the truly amazing. — Jessica Zafra

People who read books in public places are regarded with suspicion because they appear self-sufficient. When you seem self-sufficient, other people think that you think you're better than them, and they get resentful. — Jessica Zafra

We don't really have a movie industry; we have a trailer industry. The movie guys make five minutes worth of stuff to get people in the theatre, and eighty-five minutes of filler. — Jessica Zafra

I don't hurt other people intentionally. I'm not a bad person. I have a decent job. So I like to put on high heels and a little dress. Does that make me a monster? -Edgar Saturnino, 24 (Lamentations 5:23) — Jessica Zafra

What exactly did we learn in kindergarten? Nothing we wouldn't have learned if we;d stayed home. Okay, we learned that sometimes, by the time you get to the bathroom, it's too late. — Jessica Zafra

We have no control over fate and history, but we can control how we conduct ourselves in this life. — Jessica Zafra

Why do people put off travel until retirement? What are they saving it for? I understand that people want to be financially secure first, and pay off pension plans, but why consign the most active years of your life to drudgery? Why would you sacrifice today's freedom for a future that will always remain uncertain, no matter how carefully you plan for it? I'm not saying that everyone sitting in an office right this minute should drop everything and take off for Central Europe. I'm saying that if you want to see the world, plan for it and do it as soon as possible. The experience will give you the inspiration and fortitude you need to survive being a grown up. — Jessica Zafra

While being madly in love is fun, perhaps one should aspire to be sanely in love. — Jessica Zafra

You can not make someone love you. You can not be thin enough or white enough or famous enough. The choice is entirely the other person's. Then again, you might try hypnosis. — Jessica Zafra

Once you've read too many trashy best-sellers, you begin to look for something with substance, something that attempts to define the universe. — Jessica Zafra

Yes, it's true that you can't learn everything from books. But you do learn something about everything. — Jessica Zafra

I hear what many of you are saying: We don't have the time, we are busy. Well Nobody Has Time, Everyone Is Busy. In the time it took you to read this post, your life just got a minute shorter. That is precisely why we read (and why some of us write): because life is short and finite, we want more, and literature is the distillation of all those lives we will not lead. — Jessica Zafra

There are limits to self-improvement. Inevitably you hit the point where what you are is, well, what you are, and all the teach-yourself videos and easy-to-use equipment on those creatinous home TV shopping things can no longer ward off you confrontation with your self. — Jessica Zafra

If you're on a plane and the person in front of you starts slowly tilting to one side, it means he's letting out a fart. Take cover! — Jessica Zafra

If you are honest with yourself, your life will be so much more pleasant. — Jessica Zafra

In relationships it is best to assume nothing. — Jessica Zafra

Greasy food might not be good for your body, but it does wonders for the soul. A healthy diet may prolong your life, but what would you have to live for? What is the point of living to a hundred if you have to subsist on bland food? One may as well die of boredom. — Jessica Zafra

The reason producers make stupid movies is because there are stupid people who will pay to see them. — Jessica Zafra

Food is the all-purpose comforter, the giver of warmth, the source of the artificial yet deeply appreciated sugar high. — Jessica Zafra

Why should I bring happiness to those I loathe by obliterating myself, when I can make them miserable just by existing? — Jessica Zafra

He made writing look easy and critics hate that. They like evidence of a struggle, of creative agony, wringing the masterpiece out of one's guts. After all, most critics think of themselves as writers, or had attempted to become writers. This leads to the bizarre situation in which failed writers pass judgment on writers who actually write for a living. — Jessica Zafra

Someday you will look back on all the awful stuff that's happening to you, and fondly smile. Doesn't say much about the future, does it? — Jessica Zafra