--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She was--I keep using the past tense; I…" description: "\"She was--I keep using the past tense; I ought to say she is--one of those people who, at first sight, look plain, are quiet, unassertive, unmemorable e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/aidan-chambers-10534_attractive_she-was-i-keep-using-the-past-tense-i-ou_1306010.jpg" --- # She was--I keep using the past tense; I ought to say she… ![“She was--I keep using the past tense; I ought to say she is--one of those people who, at first sight, look plain, are quiet, unassertive, unmemorable even. But who, when they start to talk and you get to know them, become more and more attractive and impressive, and you see that in fact they are…” quote by Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/aidan-chambers-10534_attractive_she-was-i-keep-using-the-past-tense-i-ou_1306010.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/aidan-chambers-10534_attractive_she-was-i-keep-using-the-past-tense-i-ou_1306010.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/aidan-chambers-10534_attractive_she-was-i-keep-using-the-past-tense-i-ou_1306010.jpg) > “She was--I keep using the past tense; I ought to say she is--one of those people who, at first sight, look plain, are quiet, unassertive, unmemorable even. But who, when they start to talk and you get to know them, become more and more attractive and impressive, and you see that in fact they are beautiful. Not conventionally beautiful, not celebrity beautiful, but beautiful all through.” [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People may appear unremarkable initially, but deeper interaction reveals inner beauty that transcends conventional standards. **In simple terms:** First impressions can hide true beauty. Key Takeaway Look beyond surface. Themes appearance beauty perception Mood thoughtful curious Type reflective insightful When to use this quote - first meetings - dating - team building - friendships Key Concepts inner beauty social perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you discover hidden qualities in others? - What biases affect first impressions? A Different Perspective Surface judgments can be misleading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attractive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attractive/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beautiful Celebrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-celebrity-4304555/) [Beautiful people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-people/) [Celebrity Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebrity-beautiful-4304556/) [Conventionally Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventionally-beautiful-1866856/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [First sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-sight/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Impressive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impressive/) [Know Attractive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-attractive-893003/) [Look Plain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-plain-1042820/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet/) [Sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sight/) [Tense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tense/) ## Related quotes > [I love to be clean. I wear the same things, all of my clothes pretty much look the same. I'm a plain and simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-gates/i-love-to-be-clean-i-wear-the-same-things-all-of-my-clothes-pretty/) [Kevin Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-gates/) > [I just can't stand to look plain, 'cause that don't fit my personality. I may be a very artificial-looking person, but the good news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/i-just-can-t-stand-to-look-plain-cause-that-don-t-fit-my-personality/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [You don't want to be hard to look at. Plain very good, hard to look at bad. The plain shall inherit the earth; time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-norton/you-don-t-want-to-be-hard-to-look-at-plain-very-good-hard-to-look-at/) [Graham Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-norton/) > [It's the things that aren't accepted as conventionally beautiful that I find more attractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/it-s-the-things-that-aren-t-accepted-as-conventionally-beautiful-that/) [Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/) > [I'm not conventionally beautiful, but what is beauty? Beauty is whatever you want it to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-byer/i-m-not-conventionally-beautiful-but-what-is-beauty-beauty-is/) [Nicole Byer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-byer/) > [“I don't want to be thin or conventionally beautiful or straight or brilliant. No, what I really want - and what I never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-don-t-want-to-be-thin-or-conventionally-beautiful-or-straight-or/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [If at times my productions do not express the conventionally beautiful, there is always an effort to express the universal beauty of man's continuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-lawrence/if-at-times-my-productions-do-not-express-the-conventionally/) [Jacob Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-lawrence/) > [I didn't know whether I'd be attractive to anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tig-notaro/i-didn-t-know-whether-i-d-be-attractive-to-anybody/) [Tig Notaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tig-notaro/) > [“Nice girl, dear boy." "Oh . . ." I shrugged. "You know." "Most attractive." "Cheaper than central heating." "I'm sure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/nice-girl-dear-boy-oh-i-shrugged-you-know-most-attractive-cheaper/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Girls think I'm conceited cause I know I'm attractive, don't worry about what I think, why don't you ask him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keri-hilson/girls-think-i-m-conceited-cause-i-know-i-m-attractive-don-t-worry/) [Keri Hilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keri-hilson/) > [Girls know when they're attractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moon-bloodgood/girls-know-when-they-re-attractive/) [Moon Bloodgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moon-bloodgood/) > [I hate people that know they're attractive. Arrogance is the biggest turn off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-people-that-know-they-re-attractive-arrogance-is-the-biggest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dont hate me cause I'm beautiful. Hate me cause your man thinks I am.girls think I'm conceited cause I know I'm attractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uknown/dont-hate-me-cause-i-m-beautiful-hate-me-cause-your-man-thinks-i-am/) [Uknown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uknown/) > [To wrap up the idea of 'Parade's End' in a sentence or two, I would say it's a love story in which we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/to-wrap-up-the-idea-of-parade-s-end-in-a-sentence-or-two-i-would-say/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [You're attractive because you don't know how attractive you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ju-ji-hoon/you-re-attractive-because-you-don-t-know-how-attractive-you-are/) [Ju Ji-hoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ju-ji-hoon/) ## More by Aidan Chambers > [We resent being faced with facts we'd prefer to ignore as much as being wrongly accused of doing something we haven't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/we-resent-being-faced-with-facts-we-d-prefer-to-ignore-as-much-as/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [“Readers are made by readers. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/readers-are-made-by-readers/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [I will not compromise on language or content. At 15, people can handle the same language as me, they're just as complicated as me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/i-will-not-compromise-on-language-or-content-at-15-people-can-handle/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [“I don't know, I can't quite get it." "Don't try. It's just words." " Just words?" "Just words! We love them so much, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/i-don-t-know-i-can-t-quite-get-it-don-t-try-it-s-just-words-just/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [You become a reader by reading the literature, not by reading the handbooks about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/you-become-a-reader-by-reading-the-literature-not-by-reading-the/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [I huff and puff and struggle with every sentence, paragraph and page - sometimes every word as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/i-huff-and-puff-and-struggle-with-every-sentence-paragraph-and-page/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [Life is not like a novel, but a novel can be like life. The best ones always are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/life-is-not-like-a-novel-but-a-novel-can-be-like-life-the-best-ones/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [History dies without the present. There is no future without the path made to it by the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/history-dies-without-the-present-there-is-no-future-without-the-path/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [How do I think of you? As someone I want to be with. As someone as young as me, but "older," if that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/how-do-i-think-of-you-as-someone-i-want-to-be-with-as-someone-as/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [I thought how lovely and how strange a river is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/i-thought-how-lovely-and-how-strange-a-river-is/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [However much you love somebody, you should always keep a part of yourself to yourself. Never give it all. You can never be yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/however-much-you-love-somebody-you-should-always-keep-a-part-of/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [All the time I think I can never love you more than I already do. And then you do something or say something, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/all-the-time-i-think-i-can-never-love-you-more-than-i-already-do-and/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [Is it better to go with the flow or let the flow go?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/is-it-better-to-go-with-the-flow-or-let-the-flow-go/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [ “No, but still, the fact is, at least this is how it seems to me, everybody has to learn about it \[love\] from scratch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/no-but-still-the-fact-is-at-least-this-is-how-it-seems-to-me/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [Self pity is a disease which does not kill but corrodes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/self-pity-is-a-disease-which-does-not-kill-but-corrodes/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) [Explore all 60 Aidan Chambers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) ## More Attractive quotes > [Every woman thinks herself attractive; even the plainest is satisfied with the charms she deems that she possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/every-woman-thinks-herself-attractive-even-the-plainest-is-satisfied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [A beautiful woman must expect to be more accountable for her steps, than one less attractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/a-beautiful-woman-must-expect-to-be-more-accountable-for-her-steps/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [We are Bay Aryans from Berkeley: prepare to be reengineered in an attractive range of color schemes for your safety and comfort!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/we-are-bay-aryans-from-berkeley-prepare-to-be-reengineered-in-an/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I was unusual looking - I didn't have the look of that time. If you look at 'Lucas' - and, basically, my first five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/i-was-unusual-looking-i-didn-t-have-the-look-of-that-time-if-you-look/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [Violence is what people do when they run out of good ideas. It's attractive because it's simple, it's direct, it's almost always available as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/violence-is-what-people-do-when-they-run-out-of-good-ideas-it-s/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [I hated grunge. No one’s more feminist than me, but you don’t have to look as if you don’t give a - you know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-zeta-jones/i-hated-grunge-no-one-s-more-feminist-than-me-but-you-don-t-have-to/) [Catherine Zeta-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-zeta-jones/) > [Web users ultimately want to get at data quickly and easily. They don't care as much about attractive sites and pretty design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-users-ultimately-want-to-get-at-data-quickly-and-easily-they-don/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Just be confident. Confidence is the most attractive part of a person. Because if they're not confident enough to show you who they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/just-be-confident-confidence-is-the-most-attractive-part-of-a-person/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [It is very pleasant to scratch an itching ring-worm, but the sensation one gets afterwards is very painful and intolerable. In the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/it-is-very-pleasant-to-scratch-an-itching-ring-worm-but-the-sensation/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [I think it's sort of the hypothetical point where communism and fascism meet. 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