The best gift you can ever give me is the gift of friendship, followed closely by Chipotle, sheet masks from Sephora and of course, books. Combine all four into one gift and I’m never leaving you, ever.

I celebrated my 25th birthday last month and humbly received, “The Sweet Life” by Dulce Candy Ruiz from my dear friends Katie and Nicole & “Why Not Me” by Mindy Kaling from my lovely co-worker Kathleen. Both were unexpected surprises and were read cover to cover in a matter of a week because when you have a long commute to work, Candy Crush can only entertain you for so long.

Real talk, books make the greatest presents (they actually do!). You REALLY have to love a person to willingly stand in a book store, browse through hundreds of titles, get sidetracked by the Kate Spade stationary and still have the patience to pick a novel you know they are going to love/actually read. You don’t want to spend $35 on a hardcover to find out they only use it as a coaster for their morning coffee. You may as well have gotten them the exceedingly over-priced yet, really cute Kate Spade coasters. Does Kate Spade even sell coasters? ..Upon research, yes she does, and it costs exactly $35 for a set of 4: Happy Hour Coasters. Now you know.

I’m not even in a bookstore and I’m getting distracted by Kate Spade..

Anyway, I read these books (both I highly recommend) and folded down pages of quotes I loved and thought I would share a few of them with you. I’m a sucker for cheesy, inspirational quotes so, love it or leave it.

“When you start to feel discouraged, just remember that every experience you have helps you grow, helps you learn, helps you become better.”

“Because I’m naturally shy, I used to always put up a veneer when meeting new people. I was constantly worried people would see my flaws and decide they didn’t want to associate with me. At my core I am friendly, but not hyper. I am curious but not especially talkative. I am kind but not over complimentary. I have a naturally shy disposition, and it takes a little while for me to ease up and settle in.”

“When you use money to drive all of your decisions, you lose sight of your purpose of who you are. If it’s only money that is driving you, you won’t find much joy in your job. You’ll probably do what you need to do to get by, but wont go above and beyond what’s expected because you just don’t care that much.”

“By staying in my comfort zone, I was denying myself happiness and, more importantly, growth.”

“I am one of the best people you could take to your ex-boyfriend’s birthday party that you were dreading going to. I am always up for a dessert. I am always up for skinny dipping. If you want to talk to any hot guy at any party, I will so be that girl who gets drunk and introduces us, then inches away so you can roll your eyes about me and sell me out so you can bond with him.”

“We forewent seeing any DC museums or national monuments to order cheeseburgers and watch Will & Grace in bed at our hotel, because we are real best friends, not lame fake best friends trying to impress each other with how fascinated we are with culture and learning.”

“If someone really wants to see you, they always find a way. Always. That hurt my heart, but I realized, unlike in past relationships when I was younger, it didn’t need to be dramatic. Spending a lot of time nursing a breakup is just not a good use of my time now.”

“If you believe in yourself and work hard, you have a fighting shot at having your dreams come true.”