--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was a question I wanted answered…" description: "\"“There was a question I wanted answered more than I wanted anything else, and it could take my life to answer it. This question was What could I be? Th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/029/alexander-chee-16129_life_there-was-a-question-i-wanted-answered-m_2372186.png" --- # There was a question I wanted answered more than I wanted… ![“There was a question I wanted answered more than I wanted anything else, and it could take my life to answer it. This question was What could I be? This was what I wanted to know.” quote by Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/029/alexander-chee-16129_life_there-was-a-question-i-wanted-answered-m_2372186.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/029/alexander-chee-16129_life_there-was-a-question-i-wanted-answered-m_2372186.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/029/alexander-chee-16129_life_there-was-a-question-i-wanted-answered-m_2372186.png) > ““There was a question I wanted answered more than I wanted anything else, and it could take my life to answer it. This question was What could I be? This was what I wanted to know.”” [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker is driven by an existential question about personal potential, willing to risk everything to discover their true self. **In simple terms:** A deep desire to know one's purpose, even at great cost. Key Takeaway Pursue self‑knowledge despite fear. Themes identity purpose risk determination Mood introspective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career decisions - artistic pursuits - life‑changing choices - spiritual quests Key Concepts existentialism self‑actualization psychology Questions to Reflect On - What core belief fuels your quest? - How do you balance risk with everyday life? 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I was six, I was worry-free,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-levy/i-remember-quite-clearly-a-time-when-i-knew-exactly-what-i-wanted-to/) [Dan Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-levy/) > [I really wanted there to be something in my life that I enjoy just for the beauty of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/i-really-wanted-there-to-be-something-in-my-life-that-i-enjoy-just/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [I messed around with the guitar from the age of about eight, but when I hit 13, it was the only thing I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-fender/i-messed-around-with-the-guitar-from-the-age-of-about-eight-but-when/) [Sam Fender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-fender/) ## More by Alexander Chee > [Writers aren't born, they're made - from practice, reading, and a lot of caffeine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/writers-aren-t-born-they-re-made-from-practice-reading-and-a-lot-of/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [I had a naiveté that I would remember the things that I had written already, but I was getting lost in the forest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/i-had-a-naivet-that-i-would-remember-the-things-that-i-had-written/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [“None of the young women who wanted her position knew what her position was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/none-of-the-young-women-who-wanted-her-position-knew-what-her/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [“Sappho isn't really meant to be read. 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No one should have gone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/you-ought-to-know-you-were-my-best-friend-you-were-i-know-you-loved/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [Each source that I read, I would look through the bibliography and the footnotes, and use that as a map for the next thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/each-source-that-i-read-i-would-look-through-the-bibliography-and-the/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [“Writers aren't born, they're made--from practice, reading, and a lot of caffeine. And sometimes tutelage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/writers-aren-t-born-they-re-made-from-practice-reading-and-a-lot-of-2/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [One of my big inspirations was Céleste Mogador. She was a courtesan who wrote her memoirs in order to pay off her debts, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/one-of-my-big-inspirations-was-c-leste-mogador-she-was-a-courtesan/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [Throughout my reading life, I've enjoyed many memorable meals-if only fictionally. The oysters at dinner near the beginning of Anna Karenina, the dinner Nana…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/throughout-my-reading-life-i-ve-enjoyed-many-memorable-meals-if-only/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [I knew it was a risk but what I was after was a novel that is about the feeling that comes with a coincidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/i-knew-it-was-a-risk-but-what-i-was-after-was-a-novel-that-is-about/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [“The storm is a glazier. Then fog passes through, touches the cold trees to add to the ice already there. Here the wind spins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/the-storm-is-a-glazier-then-fog-passes-through-touches-the-cold-trees/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) [Explore all 41 Alexander Chee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. 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That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. 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