words of wisdom from the wonder years.

some of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite TV shows of all time, the wonder years. even though the show was made in the 80s & 90s and set in the 60s & 70s (or maybe because of that), i think the emotions, situations, music, and words of the show transcend all generations and represent something that is inarguably human, young, and wonderful.

the following quotes are what i like to call the world according to kevin arnold. enjoy. and pay attention.



"there's no pretty way to put this - i grew up in the suburbs. i guess people think of the suburbs as a place with all the disadvantages of the city and none of the advantages of the country, and vice versa. but in a way, those really were the wonder years for us there in the suburbs. it was kind of a golden age for kids." (pilot)

(winnie's brother has just been killed in vietnam; kevin goes for a walk and finds her and comforts her, and they share their first kiss)
"it was the first kiss for both of us. we never really talked about it afterward. but i think about the events of that day again and again, and somehow i know that winnie does too, whenever some blowhard starts talking about the anonymity of the suburbs or the mindlessness of the TV generation. because we know that inside each one of those identical boxes with its dodge parked out front and its white bread on the table and its TV set glowing blue in the falling dusk, there were people with stories. there were families bound together in the pain and the struggle of love. there were moments that made us cry with laughter. and there were moments, like that one, of sorrow and wonder." (pilot)

"maybe we both realized that growing up doesn't have to be so much a straight line as a series of advances and retreats. maybe we just felt like swinging. but whatever it was, winnie and i made an unspoken pact that day to stay kids for a little while longer." (swingers)

"and then sometimes, you knew you shouldn't do it, but you just couldn't help yourself. you gave him lip. i guess we really didn't understand why he was so hard on us sometimes. because sometimes, and i remember these times so distinctly, my dad could be great. he could be so much fun. you never wanted that feeling to end." (my father's office)

"there are very few things in life as purely terrifying as calling a twelve-year-old girl on the telephone. especially a really cute twelve-year-old girl." (the phone call)

"i never knew until that moment what it was like to lose something i never really had." (the st. valentine's massacre)

"love can tear and rip you apart. it can kill you. but if you're lucky, it can put you back together."

"change is never easy - you fight to hold on, you fight to let go."

"growing up happens in a heartbeat. one day you’re in diapers, next you’re gone. but the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul."

"all our young lives we search for someone to love. someone who makes us complete. we choose partners and change partners. we dance to a song of heartbreak and hope, all the while wondering if somewhere and somehow, there is someone perfect searching for us."

"things in life can get lost without any certainty of finding them again."

"in your life you meet people. some you never think about again. some you wonder what happened to them. there are some that you wonder if they ever think about you. and then there are some you wish you never had to think about again - but you do."

"the friends who grew up with you deserve a special respect. the ones who stuck by you shoulder to shoulder, in a time where nothing was certain, all life lay ahead, and every road led home."

"i'm not sure how i did it. my memories begin with the crack of the bat, and the sight of the ball rising. maybe that's not exactly what happened. but that's the way it should h ave happened, and that's the way i like to remember. and if dreams and memories sometimes get confused, oh well... that is as it should be, because every kid deserves to be a hero... every kid already is..."

"we think the stars are fixed in the sky, but they are not. i think sometimes we have to learn to give in to change, to the new things."

"all we could do was close our eyes and wish that the slow song would never end."

"growing up is full of big moments. some of them you can see coming from a mile away and some you can't see at all."

"in love there’s no simple fix. sometimes you have to just hang on... and lead with your heart."

"i guess sometimes the ground can shift between your feet. sometimes your footing slips. you stumble. and sometimes you grab what's close to you and hold on as tight as you can."

"over the course of an average lifetime you meet a lot of people. some of them stick with you through thick and thin. some weave their way through your life and disappear forever. but once in a while someone comes along who earns a permanent place in your heart."

"once upon a time there was a girl i knew, who lived across the street. brown hair, brown eyes. when she smiled, i smiled. when she cried, i cried. every single thing that ever happened to me that mattered, in some way had to do with her. that day winnie and i promised each other that, no matter what, we'd always be together. it was a promise full of passion and truth and wisdom. it was the kind of promise that can only come from the hearts of the very young."

"when you're a little kid you're a bit of everything - scientist, philosopher, artist. sometimes it seems like growing up is giving these things up one at a time."

"i remember a place... a town, a house like a lot of other houses ... a yard like a lot of other yards... a street like a lot of other streets. and the thing is... after all these years, i still look back... with wonder."