Sarah Dessen Quotes

This is the only place that I don't feel out of place, because everyone here is out of place.

You know, you spend your whole life feeling like you don't quite fit in anywhere. And then you walk into a room one day, whether it's at university or an office or some kind of club, and you just go, 'Ah. There they are.' And suddenly you feel at home.

I need to feel like I'm part of something. I need to feel part of the world when I go to sleep.

I'm trying to make a case for those people who don't have a sense of belonging that they should have, that there is something really worthwhile in having a sense of belonging, and recasting and looking at our modern history.

We felt like we just got surrounded by this community of friends.

The essential dilemma of my life is between my deep desire to belong and my suspicion of belonging.

I just always wanted to be part of something where I felt like I belonged.

The best way I could describe it at Notre Dame was that I was accepted as a member of the family.

I want to give people who might not feel included a place to go.

An outsider longing to be on the inside is the same as the soloist longing to work in an ensemble. I get great satisfaction in being a part of the proper - for me - community. I'm uncomfortable with various social groupings and clusterings. But when I'm in the right group, doing the right thing, I get as much satisfaction out of that as anyone who does it all the time.

I don't even remember the season. I just remember walking between them and feeling for the first time that I belonged somewhere.

Every human being has to feel a part of a tribe. It's programmed into us. And you have to feel that you're contributing to something.

I wanted to bring people together, and most importantly not feel threatened when they came to watch me box.

The most basic human desire is to feel like you belong. Fitting in is important.

I have a big thing about needing to know that I belong - in my group of friends, in my family, in my industry.

Belonging has always been a fundamental driver of humankind.

When people come to my gigs, they feel accepted as they are and they feel part of this family.

I think the reason why people loved 'Jem' in the '80s was because it kind of gave them this story of a place to fit in. It's about finding your place.

I need to feel part of something.

Japan took me in as one of their own and treated me like one of their own.

I am so passionate about representation because, growing up, I didn't see myself, and now people can say, 'I see myself there.' We're all trying to find where we are.

Stay strong. Stay true to yourself and to who you are because there is community out there. It may not be in your town or perhaps even in your family, but you are wanted and you are loved and there are places in the world where you will be safe and supported.

For transgender kids who are struggling, I want them to know they're not alone. They shouldn't be afraid to step out of their shadows.

Home is ultimately not about a place to live but about the people with whom you are most fully alive. Home is about love, relationship, community, and belonging, and we are all searching for home.

You always want to be the person who doesn't need to be included, but it feels damn good to be among you people. My first Broadway show was Master Class, and I saw Audra McDonald. The one that sealed the deal was Ragtime, with Marin Mazzie. My first big role was with John Lithgow, and he taught me the ropes. Norm Lewis sang the night I met my husband. It makes me feel like I have a family.