Alexandra Petri

The difference between face-to-face conversation and any other medium of communication is simple: No distractions are permitted. ”

Awkward is a state of being. ”

The biggest way to be productive is if you're procrastinating on another more important project. ”

Once you start worrying, it's hard to stop. ”

Almost nothing anyone told me about Harvard has been accurate. ”

Anything you loved, however intensely, becomes mortifying the moment you cease to love it. ”

I would say 'competence' actually might be slightly more important than passion. I understand that it is important to feel strongly about things, but give me a competent dentist over a passionate dentist any day, if only because something about the phrase 'passionate dentist' is deeply unnerving. ”

If you're doing what you do because you love it, you have room to be happy for others. And that's a lot of fun, when you get down to it. ”

I love Gene Weingarten's feature writing with the passion of a thousand suns. ”

Worst case scenario, nothing I do has any value or purpose, but if I can make someone laugh, I'm at least as useful as a piece of quiche would be. ”