I'm gonna find my place in this world, count on it. And this, this school has been a miracle for me, but not because of you, because somebody, Mr Hoffman, finally saw me.

Socrates wasn't afraid of anything. They were men. Why are you the headmaster and I'm the student? Do you understand? I have to earn your respect but you don't have to earn mine? What is that? It's you that wants the A before you even start. But when I say the same thing, I'm nuts, right?

I've who I am and you want me to change? That's crazy! You tell me I'm bad before I even get to be anything.
What the hell is that? Original sin or something. I've read Plato. I read him on a park bench in the Bronx and let me tell you something. Plato wasn't afraid. Diogenes wasn't afraid.