--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People grow up by living." description: "\"People grow up by living.\" — Alice Sebold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/alice-sebold-999_grow_people-grow-up-by-living-3014489_3014489.jpg" --- # People grow up by living. ![“People grow up by living.” quote by Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/alice-sebold-999_grow_people-grow-up-by-living-3014489_3014489.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/alice-sebold-999_grow_people-grow-up-by-living-3014489_3014489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/alice-sebold-999_grow_people-grow-up-by-living-3014489_3014489.jpg) > “People grow up by living.” [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People mature through lived experiences. **In simple terms:** Growth via experience. Key Takeaway Embrace learning moments. Themes growth experience development life lessons Mood contemplative hopeful Type memoir inspirational When to use this quote - education - career progression - personal crises - travel adventures Key Concepts psychology of development existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What experiences shaped your growth? - How does reflection deepen learning? A Different Perspective The quote may understate the role of reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow/) [Grow Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow-living-4849216/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Grow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-grow/) ## Related quotes > [Age doesn't define maturity. Some people will never grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/age-doesn-t-define-maturity-some-people-will-never-grow-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People grow. It's okay to grow. Some people find that difficult to grasp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-stone/people-grow-it-s-okay-to-grow-some-people-find-that-difficult-to-grasp/) [Joss Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-stone/) > [“Very few people grow up”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/very-few-people-grow-up/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I think many people grow on the job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjaya-baru/i-think-many-people-grow-on-the-job/) [Sanjaya Baru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjaya-baru/) > [It seems like once people grow up, they have no idea what's cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/it-seems-like-once-people-grow-up-they-have-no-idea-what-s-cool/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [People grow everyday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-grow-everyday/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Because some people never grow up, or not in a way that allows them to develop the courage of their convictions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-fesperman/because-some-people-never-grow-up-or-not-in-a-way-that-allows-them-to/) [Dan Fesperman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-fesperman/) > [The only people who grow old were born old to begin with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-sherwood/the-only-people-who-grow-old-were-born-old-to-begin-with/) [Robert E. Sherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-sherwood/) > [In gardens it's not just plants and insects and microbes that grow. People grow too, and the best bit is that they don't realise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/costa-georgiadis/in-gardens-it-s-not-just-plants-and-insects-and-microbes-that-grow/) [Costa Georgiadis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/costa-georgiadis/) > [Being the only man in the household with my mom definitely helped me grow up fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebron-james/being-the-only-man-in-the-household-with-my-mom-definitely-helped-me/) [LeBron James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebron-james/) > [Marriage is our last, best chance to grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-barth/marriage-is-our-last-best-chance-to-grow-up/) [Joseph Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-barth/) > [It seems like the more you grow up the more you fear things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-laurent/it-seems-like-the-more-you-grow-up-the-more-you-fear-things/) [Melanie Laurent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-laurent/) > [I didn't grow up in one of those restrictive Christian households where you couldn't do this or that. We were brought up with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yolanda-adams/i-didn-t-grow-up-in-one-of-those-restrictive-christian-households/) [Yolanda Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yolanda-adams/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Some people they grow wiser as they grow older. Unfortunately, most people just grow older.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/some-people-they-grow-wiser-as-they-grow-older-unfortunately-most/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) ## More by Alice Sebold > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I left my mark on that man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-left-my-mark-on-that-man/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [These things, she felt, were not to be passed around like disingenuous party favors. She kept an honor code with her journals and her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/these-things-she-felt-were-not-to-be-passed-around-like-disingenuous/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I don't think ignorance is a way that you gain distance on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-don-t-think-ignorance-is-a-way-that-you-gain-distance-on-something/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I was like I was in science class: I was curious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-was-like-i-was-in-science-class-i-was-curious/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“There are secret rooms inside us,” I had said to my therapist. “A relatively benign construct,” he said, and so I did not bother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/there-are-secret-rooms-inside-us-i-had-said-to-my-therapist-a/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“This is just a temporary hell, not a permanent one”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/this-is-just-a-temporary-hell-not-a-permanent-one/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“And a soul would run by a living being, touch them softly on the shoulder or cheek, and continue on its way to heaven.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/and-a-soul-would-run-by-a-living-being-touch-them-softly-on-the/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [As if in the other side of his kiss there could ve a new life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/as-if-in-the-other-side-of-his-kiss-there-could-ve-a-new-life/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“My little brother's greatest fear was that the one person who meant so much to him would go away. He loved Lindsey and Grandma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/my-little-brother-s-greatest-fear-was-that-the-one-person-who-meant/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“She listened for the pain in my words, not to the narrative itself. She was intuiting what it meant to me, what was most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/she-listened-for-the-pain-in-my-words-not-to-the-narrative-itself-she/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [The relationship with the words someone uses is more intimate and integrated than just a quick read and a blurb can ever be. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/the-relationship-with-the-words-someone-uses-is-more-intimate-and/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Ruth hadn't talked to my sister since before my death, and then it was only to excuse herself in the hallway at school. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/ruth-hadn-t-talked-to-my-sister-since-before-my-death-and-then-it-was/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Since then I've always thought that under rape in the dictionary it should tell the truth. It is not just forcible intercourse; rape means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/since-then-i-ve-always-thought-that-under-rape-in-the-dictionary-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I live in a world where two truths coexist: where both hell and hope lie in the palm of my hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-live-in-a-world-where-two-truths-coexist-where-both-hell-and-hope/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) [Explore all 302 Alice Sebold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## More Grow quotes > [Life is full of change. 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/) > [“Laugh and grow strong”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-loyola/laugh-and-grow-strong/) [Ignatius of Loyola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-loyola/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [I just want to grow spiritually with the Lord,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-durant/i-just-want-to-grow-spiritually-with-the-lord/) [Kevin Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-durant/) > [I've never been one to stay in a complacent place where I just let the grass grow around me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-lawrence/i-ve-never-been-one-to-stay-in-a-complacent-place-where-i-just-let/) [Tracy Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-lawrence/) > [As I grow through love, so grows my joy, ever more present, ever more constant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/as-i-grow-through-love-so-grows-my-joy-ever-more-present-ever-more/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [“It is up to you. How far you want to go and how far you want to grow. Do not let that your worries,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yilda-rivera/it-is-up-to-you-how-far-you-want-to-go-and-how-far-you-want-to-grow/) [Yilda Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yilda-rivera/) > [I had to grow up quite fast, trying to cook for myself, trying to make laundry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jannik-sinner/i-had-to-grow-up-quite-fast-trying-to-cook-for-myself-trying-to-make/) [Jannik Sinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jannik-sinner/) > [“Our first teacher is our own heart. When we begin to tune in and listen to our heart we can bring our thoughts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-l-white/our-first-teacher-is-our-own-heart-when-we-begin-to-tune-in-and/) [Victoria L. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-l-white/) > [The creative strength is good enough and deep enough to bring itself to flower and to grow in spite of this sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/the-creative-strength-is-good-enough-and-deep-enough-to-bring-itself/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [I wish I had more hair on my head. Maybe if I sprinkled fertilizer on it, it would grow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-bax/i-wish-i-had-more-hair-on-my-head-maybe-if-i-sprinkled-fertilizer-on/) [Kylie Bax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-bax/) > [I turned to my mom and said, 'I'm going to be a martial arts movie star.' She didn't believe me, and neither did my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adkins/i-turned-to-my-mom-and-said-i-m-going-to-be-a-martial-arts-movie-star/) [Scott Adkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adkins/) > [The basic idea of retirement income is, to me, to get a check, two checks every month, one from your fixed income and one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-bogle/the-basic-idea-of-retirement-income-is-to-me-to-get-a-check-two/) [John C. Bogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-bogle/) > [I want to keep trying something new all the time. It is the only way to grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akkineni-nagarjuna/i-want-to-keep-trying-something-new-all-the-time-it-is-the-only-way/) [Akkineni Nagarjuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akkineni-nagarjuna/) > [“Could you tell me how to grow--or is it unconveyed--like Melody--or Witchcraft?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/could-you-tell-me-how-to-grow-or-is-it-unconveyed-like-melody-or/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) [Browse all 3,917 Grow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People grow up by living.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alice Sebold" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/people-grow-up-by-living/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grow" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/people-grow-up-by-living/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/alice-sebold-999_grow_people-grow-up-by-living-3014489_3014489.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/alice-sebold-999_grow_people-grow-up-by-living-3014489_3014489.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/alice-sebold-999_grow_people-grow-up-by-living-3014489_3014489.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People grow up by living.” — Alice Sebold", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alice Sebold", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People grow up by living.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/people-grow-up-by-living/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/people-grow-up-by-living/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```