Quotes About Authenticity

when you're lying, it's best to stick as close to the truth as you can.

Everyone wanted to be rich and beautiful, but the truly rich and beautiful had to pretend they were just the same as everyone else.

He got Alice, the way we did, or maybe even more so than us. He made her more confident, funnier, smarter. He brought out all the things that were there already and let her be fully herself, so she seemed to shine with this inner light.

If she packaged the perfect Facebook life, maybe she would start to believe it herself.

Today would be perfect in every way. The Facebook photos wouldn't lie. So much joy. Her life had so much so joy. That was an actual verifiable fact.

He made her more confident, funnier, smarter. He brought out all the things that were there already and let her be fully herself, so she seemed to shine with this inner light. He loved her so much, he made her seem even more lovable.

Perhaps all grown-ups were just children carefully putting on their grown-up disguises each day and then acting accordingly.

Their uptight concerns about what other people thought seemed like such a waste. Why had they been so careful and contained with their love?

It was strange, because she always felt that she hid herself from Erika, that she was more 'herself' with her 'true' friends, where the friendship flowed in an ordinary, uncomplicated, grown-up fashion (emails, phone calls, drinks, dinners, banter and jokes that everyone got), but right now it felt like none of those friends knew her the raw, ugly, childish, basic way that Erika did.

Was she ever grumpy? Did she ever yell? Fall about laughing? Eat too much? Drink too much? Call out for someone to bring her toilet paper? Lose her car keys? Was she ever just a human being?

But maybe every life looked wonderful if all you saw was the photo albums. People always obediently smiled and tilted their heads when a camera was put in front of them. Perhaps seconds after the shutter clicked, she and Nick sprang apart, avoiding each other's eyes, their smiles replaced by snarls. She

in times of crisis a person's face is somehow stripped back to something essential and universally human: all those labels like "beautiful," "sexy," "plain" became irrelevant.

Supposedly, the truth was always the best option.

She couldn't shake the feeling that if she didn't record this moment on her phone then it wasn't really happening, it didn't count

All that shiny love stuff doesn't seem relevant anymore. That's for other younger, thinner, happier people, and besides which, it's not actually possible for a dried apricot to shine.)

Masha smiled. "Good. At first it will feel strange. You will have to fake it. But then you will remember. You will think, 'Oh, that's right, this is how I talk, this is how I walk. This is me, Carmel.'" She knocked her closed fist against her heart. "This is who I am.

Of course they danced together; how could Callum resist dancing with a real live woman instead of a cardboard cut-out?

Bugger niceness. It was overrated.

Breathe in. She didn't give a fig what other people thought! Breathe out. Rubbish. She gave a whole fig tree.

It was embarrassing just how much genuine happiness she was gaining from something so superficial.

Show me your original face, the one you had before your parents were born.

We're not all beautiful , just like we're not all musical, and that's fine. And don't give me that inner beauty shining through crap either

He made her more confident, funnier, smarter. He brought out all the things that were there already and let her be fully herself, so she seemed to shine with this inner light.

Sometimes when talking to somebody she was suddenly revolted by herself, aware of how eagerly she was leaning forward, chin jutting, mimicking the other person's gestures, moving with them, nodding and smiling, gently nudging their conversation along with a constant stream of appreciative chuckles, soothing 'hmmms' and surprised exclamations. 'Really!' 'Did he?' 'You're kidding!' Love me, love me!