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I Don't Know If It's Better To Be Close With Your Daughter Or Make Sure That She Has A Better Life Than You Do.
-Stephen Chbosky
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I Don't Know If

Stephen Chbosky
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I Don't Know If It's Better To Be Close With Your Daughter Or Make Sure That She Has A Better Life Than You Do.

Understanding the Quote: "i don't know if it's better to be close with your daughter..."

This quote by Stephen Chbosky reflects deeply on the theme of daughter. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Daughter, Better Life, Knows, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Stephen Chbosky interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Stephen Chbosky

Stephen Chbosky is celebrated for insightful thoughts on daughter and better life. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Daughter
Better Life
Knows
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Soon Enough
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Thinking
Enough
Opening
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School
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Quiet
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Baby
My Sister
Laughed
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Thinking
Photograph
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Thinking
Reason
Reason To Live
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Facts
Perks Of A Wallflower
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Part Of The Reason I Wrote The Book Was I Wanted To Understand For Myself Why Such Good People Let Themselves Get Treated So Badly.
Book
People
Reason
He Was The Boy That Made Mix Tapes With Themes And Hand-colored Covers Until The Day He Hit My Sister And Stopped Crying.
Boys
Hands
Tape
Why Do I And Everyone I Love Pick People Who Treat Us Like We're Nothing"; - "we Accept The Love We Think We Deserve.
Thinking
People
Perks Of A Wallflower
I'm Only Being Cute Here. I Don't Really Mean It. I Just Wanted To Make You Smile.
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Mean
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Thinking
Ideas
People
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Thinking
Giving
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Sunset
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I'm Just Thinking Too Fast-- Much Too Fast.
Thinking
Charlie, You’re One Of The Most Gifted People I’ve Ever Known. And I Don’t Mean In Terms Of My Other Students. I Mean In Terms Of Anyone I’ve Ever Met.
Mean
People
Students
Craig Said The Problem With Things Is That Everyone Is Always Comparing Everyone With Everyone
Problem
Said
Compare
I Just Listened To The Music, And Breathed In The Day, And Remembered Things. Things Like Walking Around The Neighborhood And Looking At The Houses And The Lawns And The Colorful Trees And Having That Be Enough.
House
Tree
Enough
More Like The Movie Where The Guy Meets A Smart Girl Who Wears A Lot Of Sweaters And Drinks Cocoa. They Talk About Books And Issues And Kiss In The Rain.
Girl
Smart
Rain
And How Different Her Face Looked The First Time She Really Liked A Boy Who Was Not On A Poster On Her Wall. And How Her Face Looked When She Realized She Was In Love With That Boy.
Wall
Boys
Different
It's Like Looking At All The Students And Wondering Who's Had Their Heart Broken That Day, And How They Are Able To Cope With Having Three Quizzes And A Book Report On Top Of That.
Book
Heart
Broken
It’s Like When You’re Excited About A Girl And You See A Couple Holding Hands, And You Feel So Happy For Them. And Other Times You See The Same Couple, And They Make You So Mad. And All You Want Is To Feel Happy For Them Because You Know That If You Do, Then It Means You’re Happy, Too.
Girl
Couple
Mean
I Just Laid Around In My Bed, Looking At The Ceiling, And I Smiled Because It Was A Nice Kind Of Quiet.
Nice
Bed
Ceilings
Harold And Maude' Was A Seminal Movie For Me Because It's Not Only A Beautiful Love Story, But It's Also About The Moment When Misfits Find Each Other.
Beautiful
Stories
Love Story
Girls Like Guys To Be A Challenge. It Gives Them Some Mold To Fit In How They Act. Like A Mom. What Would A Mom Do If She Couldn't Fuss Over You And Make You Clean Your Room? And What Would You Do Without Her Fussing And Making You Do It? Everyone Needs A Mom. And A Mom Knowns This. And It Gives Her A Sense Of Purpose. You Get It?
Girl
Mom
Mother
I Think It Was The First Time In My Life I Ever Felt Like I Looked “good”. Do You Know What I Mean? That Nice Feeling When You Look In The Mirror, And Your Hair’s Right For The First Time In Your Life? I Don’t Think We Should Base So Much On Weight, Muscles, And A Good Hair Day, But When It Happens, It’s Nice. It Really Is.
Nice
Mean
Thinking
The Reason I Am Thinking So Far In Advance Is Because School Is Terribly Lonely. I Think I've Said That Before, But It's Getting Harder Every Day.
Lonely
School
Thinking
I Don't Know What I'm Supposed To Do Now. I Know Other People Have It A Lot Worse. I Do Know That, But It's Crashing In Anyway, And I Just Can't Stop Thinking That The Little Kid Eating French Fries With His Mom In The Shopping Mall Is Going To Grow Up And My Sister.
Mom
Growing Up
Kids
I Am Writing To You Because She Said You Listen And Understand And Didn't Try To Sleep With That Person At That Party Even Though You Could Have.
Party
Writing
Sleep
I Don't Know If You've Ever Felt Like That. That You Wanted To Sleep For Thousands Of Years. Or Just Not Exist.
Sleep
Years
Perks Of A Wallflower
It's Kind Of Like When You Look At Yourself In The Mirror And You Say Your Name. And It Gets To A Point Where None Of It Seems Real. Well, Sometimes I Can Do That, But I Don't Need An Hour In Front Of A Mirror. It Just Happens Very Fast, And Things Start To Slip Away. And I Just Open My Eyes, And I See Nothing. And Then I Start To Breathe Really Hard Trying To See Something, But I Can't. It Doesn't Happen All The Time, But When It Does, It Scares Me.
Real
Eye
Names
If It Meant That I Would Never Get To Think Of You That Way, As Long As You Were Happy, It Was Okay.
Thinking
Long
Way
I Think On My Next Birthday, I'm Going To Buy Her A Present. I Think That Should Be The Tradition. The Kid Gets Gifts From Everybody, And He Buys One Present For His Mom Since She Was There, Too. I Think That Would Be Nice.
Mom
Nice
Kids
I Would Die For You. But I Won't Live For You.
Love
Perks Of A Wallflower
Dies
It's Nice To Have Things To Look Forward To.
Nice
Looks
And I Closed My Eyes Because I Wanted To Know Nothing But Her Arms.
Eye
Arms
Wanted
So, Tomorrow, I’m Leaving. And I’m Not Going To Let That Happen Again With Anyone Else. I’m Going To Do What I Want To Do. I’m Going To Be Who I Really Am. And I’m Going To Figure Out What That Is.
Leaving
Want
Tomorrow
Downtown. Lights On Buildings And Everything That Makes You Wonder. And In That Moment, I Swear We Were Infinite.
Light
Downtown
Wonder
Everyone Else Is Either Asleep Or Having Sex. I’ve Been Watching Cable Television And Eating Jello.
Sex
Television
Jello
Do You Know What 'masturbation' Is? I Think You Probably Do Because You Are Older Than Me. But Just In Case, I Will Tell You. Masturbation Is When You Rub Your Genitals Until You Have An Orgasm. Wow!
Thinking
Wow
Masturbation
All I Could Do Is Lie There And Think About How Much Her Voice Changed When She Asked Me If She Was Pretty, And How Much She Changed When I Answered.
Lying
Thinking
Voice
But Mary Elizabeth Felt Different. She Kept Saying It Was An "articulate" Film. So "articulate." And I Guess It Was. The Thing Is, I Didn't Know What It Said Even If It Said It Very Well.
Different
Film
Said
I Know That I Brought This All On Myself. I Know That I Deserve This. I'd Do Anything Not To Be This Way. I'd Do Anything To Make It Up To Everyone. And To Not Have To See A Psychiatrist, Who Explains To Me About Being "passive Aggressive.
Way
Passive Aggressive
Psychiatrist
Those Writers That Have Zero Say In Their Movie Adaptations Have Zero Say Because They Sell It. If You Don't Sell It, And You Do It Yourself, And You Wait Until The Screenplay Is Ready, You Don't Have To Worry About That.
Zero
Worry
Waiting
Maybe He Didn’t Really Encourage Me To Do Things, But He Didn’t Prevent Me From Doing Them Either. But After A While, I Didn’t Do Things Because I Didn’t Want Him To Think Different About Me. But The Thing Is, I Wasn’t Being Honest. So, Why Would I Care Whether Or Not He Loved Me When He Didn’t Really Even Know Me?
Thinking
Different
Care
It's Okay To Feel Things. And Be Who You Are About Them.
Be Who You Are
Okay
Feels
I Don't Even Remember The Season. I Just Remember Walking Between Them And Feeling For The First Time That I Belonged Somewhere.
Feelings
Firsts
Remember
Patrick Actually Used To Be Popular Before Sam Bought Him Some Good Music.
Funny
Music
Used
Sometimes, I Look Outside, And I Think That A Lot Of Other People Have Seen This Snow Before. Just Like I Think That A Lot Of Other People Have Read Those Books Before. And Listened To Those Songs. I Wonder How They Feel Tonight.
Song
Book
Thinking
You Know . . . A Lot Of Kids At School Hate Their Parents. Some Of Them Got Hit. And Some Of Them Got Caught In The Middle Of Wrong Lives. Some Of Them Were Trophies For Their Parents To Show The Neighbors Like Ribbons Or Gold Stars. And Some Of Them Just Wanted To Drink In Peace.
Stars
Hate
School
When You Think Back To Your First Kiss, Your Hair Is Perfect And She Was Wearing A Cool Outfit. We Remember It With Restraint And We Remember It With Style. We Remember It As Idealistically As You Can Think.
Kissing
Thinking
Hair
Standing On The Fringes Of Life... Offers A Unique Perspective. But There Comes A Time To See What It Looks Like From The Dance Floor.
Unique
Perspective
Looks
I Really Do Love My Sister. Especially When She's Nice.
Nice
My Sister
I'm Not Saying She Was Lying To Me, But She Just Acted So Different Before I Got To Know Her, And If She Really Isn't Like What She Was At The Beginning, I Wish She Could Have Just Said So.
Lying
Wish
Different
It's Like He Would Take A Photograph Of Sam, And The Photograph Would Be Beautiful. And He Would Think That The Reason The Photograph Was Beautiful Was Because Of How He Took It. If I Took It, I Would Know That The Only Reason It's Beautiful Is Because Of Sam. I Just Think It's Bad When A Boy Looks At A Girl And Thinks That The Way He Sees The Girl Is Better Then The Girl Actually Is. And I Think It's Bad When The Most Honest Way A Boy Can Look At A Girl Is Through A Camera. It's Very Hard For Me To See Sam Feel Better About Herself Just Because A Boy Sees Her That Way.
Beautiful
Girl
Feel Better
She Said That By Introducing Me To All These Great Things, Mary Elizabeth Gained A “superior Position” That She Wouldn’t Need If She Was Confident About Herself. She Also Said That People Who Try To Control Situations All The Time Are Afraid That If They Don’t, Nothing Will Work Out The Way They Want.
Work Out
People
Trying
Sam Dropped Me Off. When She Was Too Far Away To See Me, I Started To Cry Again. Because She Was My Friend Again. And That Was Enough For Me.
Cry
Far Away
Enough
People Who Try To Control Situations All The Time Are Afraid That If They Don't, Nothing Will Work Out The Way They Want.
People
Work Out
Trying
It Was The Kind Of Kiss That Made Me Know That I Was Never So Happy In My Whole Life.
Kissing
Kind
Perks Of A Wallflower
I Hate You." I Love You." You're A Freak, You Know That? Everyone Says So. They Always Have." I'm Trying Not To Be.
Hate
Love You
Trying
When The Police Came, They Found My Brother Asleep On The Roof. Nobody Knows How He Got There.
Brother
Police
Found
The Truth Is, When It Gets Really Quiet, When The Silence Gets Too Loud, I Really Start To Miss Everyone.
Silence
Missing
Quiet
Everyone Is Special In Their Own Way.
Special
Way
Perks Of A Wallflower
He’s My Whole World.” “don’t Ever Say That About Anyone Again. Not Even Me.
World
Whole
Whole World
I Was Suddenly Very Aware Of The Fact It Was Me Standing Up In That Tunnel With The Wind Over My Face. Not Caring If I Saw Downtown. Not Even Thinking About It. Because I Was Standing In The Tunnel. And I Was Really There. And That Was Enough To Make Me Feel Infinite.
Caring
Thinking
Tunnels
I Couldn't Believe Sam Actually Got Me A Present Because I Honestly Thought The "i Love You" Was It.
Believe
Love You
Honestly
As We All Know, When You're An Athlete Things Are A Little Bit Easier For You. It Didn't Mean That What Was Going On Inside My Heart Wasn't A Bit Of A Thunderstorm, But Outwardly I Got Along Ok. I Was Really Shy In Seventh Grade.
Heart
Athlete
Mean
The Outside Lights Were On, And It Was Snowing, And It Looked Like Magic. Like We Were Somewhere Else. Like We Were Someplace Better.
Light
Somewhere Else
Snow
I Know That Things Get Worse Before They Get Better Because That’s What My Psychiatrist Says, But This Is A Worse That Feels Too Big.
Get Better
Bigs
Psychiatrist
I Want To Be An Author/director And I'm Writing My Second Book Now And I Want To Make A Movie Of It, And I Hope I Get To Do This For The Rest Of My Life.
Book
Writing
Directors
The Movie Itself Was Very Interesting, But I Didn't Think It Was Very Good Because I Didn't Really Feel Different When It Was Over.
Thinking
Interesting
Different
Bridget Who Is Crazy Said That Sometimes She Thought About Suicide When Commercials Come On During Tv. She Was Sincere And This Puzzled The Guidance Counselors.
Suicide
Crazy
Tvs
It's Too Bad You're Not Gay. Then Again, If You Were Gay, I Would Never Date You. You're A Mess." You Know, Patrick? If I Were Gay, I'd Want To Date You." Of Course.
Gay
Want
Mess
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