Diarist Quotes

“No one ever was the poorer for giving”

“As long as this exists, this sunshine and this cloudless sky, and as long as I can enjoy it, how can I be sad?”

“What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven't even happened yet.”

“It is becoming a bad dream-- in the daytime as well as at night. I see him nearly all the time and can't get at him, I mustn't show anything, must remain gay while I'm really in despair.”

“Where there is hope...there is life”

“Riches, power and fame last only for a few years! Why do people cling so desperately to these transitory things? Why can't people who have more than they need for themselves give that surplus to their fellow citizens? Why should some people have such a hard time during their few years on this earth?”

“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.”

“Then, without realizing it, you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve quite a lot in the course of time. Anyone can do this, it costs nothing and is certainly very helpful. Whoever doesn't know it must learn and find by experience that a quiet conscience makes one strong.”

“When I write, I can shake off all my cares.”

“leave me in peace, let me sleep one night at least without my pillow being wet with tears, my eyes burning and my head throbbing”

“At any rate, Daddy usually comes to my defence. Without him I wouldn't be able to stick out here.”

“The final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.”

“Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness.”

“I don't want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I've never met. I want to go on living even after my death!”

“I've found that there is always some beauty left -- in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you.”

“I think it's odd that grown-ups quarrel so easily and so often and about such petty matters. Up to now I always thought bickering was just something children did and that they outgrew it.”

“It won't take long before I explode with pent-up rage.”

“One gets on better in life if one is not over modest.”

“When I write I can shake off all my cares. My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived.”

“Although I'm only fourteen, I know quite well what I want. I know who is right and who is wrong. I have my opinions, my own ideas and principles, and although it may sound pretty mad from an adolescent, I feel more of a person than a child. I feel quite independent of anyone.”

“Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction.”

“As long as you're in the food business, why not make sweets?”

“I don't think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains....My advice is: Go outside, to the fields, enjoy nature and the sunshine, go out and try to recapture happiness in yourself and in God. Think of all the beauty that's still left in and around you and be happy!”

“This morning I lay in the bathtub thinking how wonderful it would be if I had a dog like Rin Tin Tin. I'd call him Rin Tin Tin too, and I'd take him to school with me, where he could stay in the janitor's room or by the bicycle racks when the weather was good.”

“My lighter, more superficial side will always steal a march on the deeper side and therefore always win. You can't imagine how often I've tried to push away this Anne, which is only half of what is known as Anne - to beat her down, hide her.”