--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Eventually I knew what hair wanted; it…" description: "\"Eventually I knew what hair wanted; it wanted to be itself ... to be left alone by anyone, including me, who did not love it as it was.\" — Alice Walker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/alice-walker-347_hair_eventually-i-knew-what-hair-wanted-it-wa_668486.png" --- # Eventually I knew what hair wanted; it wanted to be itself… ![“Eventually I knew what hair wanted; it wanted to be itself ... to be left alone by anyone, including me, who did not love it as it was.” quote by Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/alice-walker-347_hair_eventually-i-knew-what-hair-wanted-it-wa_668486.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/alice-walker-347_hair_eventually-i-knew-what-hair-wanted-it-wa_668486.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/alice-walker-347_hair_eventually-i-knew-what-hair-wanted-it-wa_668486.png) > “Eventually I knew what hair wanted; it wanted to be itself ... to be left alone by anyone, including me, who did not love it as it was.” [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hair symbolizes personal identity; it seeks acceptance and autonomy, not external validation. **In simple terms:** Hair wants to be itself and be accepted. Key Takeaway Respect personal boundaries and authenticity. Themes identity acceptance autonomy Mood reflective empathetic Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - beauty salons - self‑expression - personal relationships - mental health - creative work Key Concepts self‑esteem personal freedom Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor your own identity? - What boundaries protect your authenticity? A Different Perspective People may impose their own standards, limiting true self‑acceptance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eventually Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eventually-knew-895076/) [Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair/) [Hair Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair-wanted-701775/) [Including](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/including/) [Knew Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-hair-2058858/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Left alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-alone/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Wanted Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-left-322228/) [Wanted Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-wanted/) ## Related quotes > [“There was only one thing I wanted: to be left alone, without too many demand upon my person, so that for a few moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/there-was-only-one-thing-i-wanted-to-be-left-alone-without-too-many/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [It was not generally realized that what children mostly wanted was to be left alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-was-not-generally-realized-that-what-children-mostly-wanted-was-to/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [The history of this country was made largely by people who wanted to be left alone. Those who could not thrive when left to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-history-of-this-country-was-made-largely-by-people-who-wanted-to/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [People forgot about us, which was what we wanted. We could be left alone without any pressure to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/people-forgot-about-us-which-was-what-we-wanted-we-could-be-left/) [Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/) > [“That was the problem with good friends. Eventually they knew enough about you to say terrible things for your own good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-thornton/that-was-the-problem-with-good-friends-eventually-they-knew-enough/) [Marshall Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-thornton/) > [“And eventually-though neither of us knew it yet-we'd end up here, in this place, within and without the world of the painting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baker-kline/and-eventually-though-neither-of-us-knew-it-yet-we-d-end-up-here-in/) [Christina Baker Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baker-kline/) > [Because I found myself telling the story of his family to people without the visual aids that I was able to employ by filming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-zwigoff/because-i-found-myself-telling-the-story-of-his-family-to-people/) [Terry Zwigoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-zwigoff/) > [I never really knew what to do with my hair to begin with. When I was fat, I had incredibly long, unkempt hair. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-stoll/i-never-really-knew-what-to-do-with-my-hair-to-begin-with-when-i-was/) [Corey Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-stoll/) > [He knew that hair couldn't feel; he kissed her hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/he-knew-that-hair-couldn-t-feel-he-kissed-her-hair/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [I knew her hair and her coloring and her shapes would be different next time, but the way she wore her body would keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/i-knew-her-hair-and-her-coloring-and-her-shapes-would-be-different/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [The one thing I would like to get across about my whole feeling regarding high school is how I was when I was fifteen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/the-one-thing-i-would-like-to-get-across-about-my-whole-feeling/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [I remember straightening my hair because I wanted to be like everybody else, and now the fact that anybody would emulate what I do?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-remember-straightening-my-hair-because-i-wanted-to-be-like/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [When I shaved my hair, my friends asked me to keep it, maybe make my own wig out of it, but I wanted the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/when-i-shaved-my-hair-my-friends-asked-me-to-keep-it-maybe-make-my/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [In private school, I definitely judged myself against the lighter-skinned girls. I wanted to have different hair. I wanted to fit in. I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adwoa-aboah/in-private-school-i-definitely-judged-myself-against-the-lighter/) [Adwoa Aboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adwoa-aboah/) > [My dad cut my hair once - I wanted a bob and he gave me a bowl cut. That was a tough few years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-chung/my-dad-cut-my-hair-once-i-wanted-a-bob-and-he-gave-me-a-bowl-cut-that/) [Alexa Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-chung/) ## More by Alice Walker > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Just be what it is that you are, and that is just fine. You don't have to be what you're not in any way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/just-be-what-it-is-that-you-are-and-that-is-just-fine-you-don-t-have/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“Remember this-- say it & know it is true: Alice loves me Alice loves me and I am not blamed for this. ... she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/remember-this-say-it-know-it-is-true-alice-loves-me-alice-loves-me/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“Only the sky above us do we hold in common.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/only-the-sky-above-us-do-we-hold-in-common/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“Why aren't you happy in America, if everyone there drives motorcars?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/why-aren-t-you-happy-in-america-if-everyone-there-drives-motorcars/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“She saw poetry where other writers merely saw failure to cope with English.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/she-saw-poetry-where-other-writers-merely-saw-failure-to-cope-with/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [My mother had handed down respect for the possibilities...and the will to grasp them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/my-mother-had-handed-down-respect-for-the-possibilities-and-the-will/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Helped are those who are content to be themselves; they will never lack mystery in their lives and the joys of self-discovery will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/helped-are-those-who-are-content-to-be-themselves-they-will-never/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“As others might prepare for an exam whose subject matter is unknown to them, so I must study, cram, for every conversation with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/as-others-might-prepare-for-an-exam-whose-subject-matter-is-unknown/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [The original crime of niggers and lesbians is that they prefer themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-original-crime-of-niggers-and-lesbians-is-that-they-prefer/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [My mother was very strong. Once, she picked up a coconut and smashed it against my father's head. It taught me about women defending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/my-mother-was-very-strong-once-she-picked-up-a-coconut-and-smashed-it/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Many readers fail to realize this, but 'The Color Purple' is a theological text. It is about the reclamation of one's original God: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/many-readers-fail-to-realize-this-but-the-color-purple-is-a/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [The good news may be that Nature is phasing out the white man, but the bad news is that's who She thinks we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-good-news-may-be-that-nature-is-phasing-out-the-white-man-but-the/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Humans - whatever billions we are - we don't have the control. We are considered expendable, basically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/humans-whatever-billions-we-are-we-don-t-have-the-control-we-are/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my uncles. I had to fight my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/all-my-life-i-had-to-fight-i-had-to-fight-my-daddy-i-had-to-fight-my/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) [Explore all 654 Alice Walker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) ## More Hair quotes > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [I think hair gel was invented to make it easier to identify assholes from a distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-think-hair-gel-was-invented-to-make-it-easier-to-identify-assholes/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [Being blonde, for me, means never having to say: 'I'll have the honey-striped half-head of highlights for £200,' to a bored colourist in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-johnson/being-blonde-for-me-means-never-having-to-say-i-ll-have-the-honey/) [Rachel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-johnson/) > [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [The color of somebody's skin or the way he wears his hair or clothes has nothing to do with anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-color-of-somebody-s-skin-or-the-way-he-wears-his-hair-or-clothes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This challenge turned out to be brunette. Feisty. Just the way I like them. But innocent. Too innocent for me. Too innocent to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandra-torre/this-challenge-turned-out-to-be-brunette-feisty-just-the-way-i-like/) [Alessandra Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandra-torre/) > [I shot for French and British Vogue. The British Vogue one featured clothes by Chloe and was shot at Highgate and the John Soane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-goldin/i-shot-for-french-and-british-vogue-the-british-vogue-one-featured/) [Nan Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-goldin/) > [I've tried to have a regular haircut, but it just pops back up again, so this is the way it's going to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-stewart/i-ve-tried-to-have-a-regular-haircut-but-it-just-pops-back-up-again/) [Rod Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-stewart/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I've got the long hair and kind of androgynous look. It's love-hate; it's sexy, but not sexy. So it's either you get it or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrot-top/i-ve-got-the-long-hair-and-kind-of-androgynous-look-it-s-love-hate-it/) [Carrot Top](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrot-top/) > [I've always grown different types of facial hair like goofy type deals, but you know it really took off at Washington State when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gardner-minshew/i-ve-always-grown-different-types-of-facial-hair-like-goofy-type/) [Gardner Minshew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gardner-minshew/) > [The greatest charity you can contribute to is yourself. Instead of spending a dollar to help feed hungry children, why not spend that dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-greatest-charity-you-can-contribute-to-is-yourself-instead-of/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [I know my hair is out of the '60's, my clothes are '50's and the shoes I wear are from the '40's. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/i-know-my-hair-is-out-of-the-60-s-my-clothes-are-50-s-and-the-shoes-i/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [I worked in a barbershop. I used to make the waves in the brother's hair, you know? Like, Nat King Cole, Sugar Ray Robinson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clinton/i-worked-in-a-barbershop-i-used-to-make-the-waves-in-the-brother-s/) [George Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clinton/) [Browse all 7,334 Hair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Eventually I knew what hair wanted; it wanted to be itself ... to be left alone by anyone, including me, who did not love it as it was.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alice Walker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/eventually-i-knew-what-hair-wanted-it-wanted-to-be-itself-to-be-left/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hair" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/eventually-i-knew-what-hair-wanted-it-wanted-to-be-itself-to-be-left/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/alice-walker-347_hair_eventually-i-knew-what-hair-wanted-it-wa_668486.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/alice-walker-347_hair_eventually-i-knew-what-hair-wanted-it-wa_668486.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/alice-walker-347_hair_eventually-i-knew-what-hair-wanted-it-wa_668486.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Eventually I knew what hair wanted; it wanted to be itself ... to be left alone by anyone, including me, who…” — Alice Walker", "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 Walker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Eventually I knew what hair wanted;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/eventually-i-knew-what-hair-wanted-it-wanted-to-be-itself-to-be-left/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/eventually-i-knew-what-hair-wanted-it-wanted-to-be-itself-to-be-left/#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 } } ] } ```