“I stopped speaking. There was no point trying to argue. There was no way she was going to even attempt to listen to me. They never do, do they? They never even try to listen to you.” SchoolGrowing UpPressureMisunderstandingTeenagersRadio Silence Book:Radio Silence Source: Radio Silence
“It was not random that I was the one who was falling behind. Everything that had happened that night was a sign that I needed to try harder, or I would be alone for the rest of my life. 'I don't feel like a real teenager,' I said. 'I think I failed at it.” Growing UpComing Of AgeTeenagersAsexual Book:Loveless Source: Loveless
“It was something adults said all the time. "You'll change your mind when you're older. You never know what might happen. You'll feel differently one day." As if we teenagers knew so little about ourselves that we could wake up one day a completely different person. As if the person we are right now doesn't matter at all.” Growing UpTeenagers Book:Loveless Source: Loveless
“He knew I was gay for ages," he said, his voice soft. "We both did. Since we were, like, ten or eleven, maybe. As soon as we understood what gay was, we knew that's what I was. We... We used to kiss sometimes, when we were kids. When we were alone. Just little childish kisses, little pecks on the lips because we thought it was fun. We were always... really affectionate with each other. We'd cuddle and... we were kind to each other, rather than nasty like most children. I think we were so caught up in each other that we just... missed all the heteronormative propaganda that's thrust at you when you're that age. We didn't really realize it was weird until - yeah, until we were ten or eleven. But that didn't really stop us. I guess... I guess I always felt like it was more romantic than Aled did. Aled always just treated it like it was something that friends did rather than boyfriends. Aled... he's always been weird. He doesn't care what people think. He doesn't even, like, register the social norms... he's just caught up in his own little world.” LoveFriendshipGayLgbtTeensLgbtqTeenagersRadio SilenceAlice Oseman Book:Radio Silence Source: Radio Silence