Quotes from Firoozeh Dumas

On our second day, my parents announced that Kauai was boring. "There's nothing to look at, just plants and rainbows," my father declared. "There are no stores," added my mother. Instead of staying for another week, we left the next day. The

Ever since we had arrived in the United States, my classmates kept asking me about magic carpets. - They don't exist-I always said. I was wrong. Magic carpets do exist. But they are called library cards.

The more modest and impractical the kitchen, the more likely one will be invited to stay for a meal. Show me a fancy house with a top-of-the-line gourmet kitchen, and I'll show you a family that eats out a lot.

It's not what we eat or don't eat that makes us good people; it's how we treat one another. As you grow older, you'll find that people of every religion think they're the best, but that's not true. There are good and bad people in every religion. Just because someone is Muslim, Jewish, or Christian doesn't mean a thing. You have to look and see what's in their hearts. That's the only thing that matters, and that's the only detail God cares about.

Any gift from a true friend is valuable, even if it's a hollow walnut shell.

I was a VIP, a Very Iranian Person, and things just take longer for us.

only bookworms get excited over other bookworms

My dad says the dogs and cats in America are luckier than most people in the world.

The bible is foreign to me, but its concepts are not. My father always said that hatred is a waste and never an option. He learned this growing up in Ahwaz, Iran, in a Muslim household. I have tried my best to pass the same message to my children, born and raised in the United States. Ultimately, it doesn't matter where we learn that lesson. It's just important that we do.

to deny someone an education is not just a crime but a sin, because you are denying that person the opportunity to realize who he or she is meant to be.

During his next visit, my father secretly decided that our bathroom needed towel hooks. Using nails that were too long, my father pierced the door, creating towel hooks on one side, medieval blinding devices on the other...No matter how inconvenient a household malfunction might be, Kazem can always make it worse, for free.

It was only when I stopped pretending to be someone else that I found my real friends.

Throughout his job ordeal, my father never complained. He remained an Iranian who loved his native country but who also believed in American ideals. He only said how sad it was that people so easily hate an entire population simply because of the actions of a few. And what a waste it is to hate, he always said. What a waste.

My dad always says that kindness is our religion and if we treat everybody the way we would like to be treated, the world would be a better place.

Who would have ever though that a person could be so powerful, then so completely powerless, all in the same lifetime?

even though we belong to three different religions. We are alike in so many more ways than we are different.

I truly believe that everyone has a story and everyone's story counts.

My Dad says that people like that {ignorant about other countries and cultures} are not truly horrible; they just need a geography class, a passport, and a few foreign friends.

If I had one son and one daughter and could only educate one of them, I would educate my daughter. You know why? A girl without an education has no power; she is always at the mercy of others.

To all the kids who don't belong, for whatever reason. This one's for you.

Perhaps the people we think we know best are the ones who surprise us most.

And what a waste it is to hate, he always said. What a waste.

Swimsuit competitions go against everything that is right and decent in this world. We're told that beauty is on the inside and that who we are matters far more than what we look like. But could you please just put on this bikini and walk around on high heels so I can judge your inner beauty?

The Japanese have a saying that for every new food we try, we gain seven days of life. I may be immortal by now.