--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I still don't know which way I would…" description: "\"“I still don't know which way I would teach you. I was once so free and innocent. I too laughed for no reason. But later I threw away my foolish innoce..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/amy-tan-730_bad-thing_i-still-don-t-know-which-way-i-would-tea_1656038.jpg" --- # I still don't know which way I would teach you. I was once… ![“I still don't know which way I would teach you. I was once so free and innocent. I too laughed for no reason. But later I threw away my foolish innocence to protect myself. And then I taught my daughter, your mother, to shed her innocence so she would not be hurt as well. Hwai dungsyi, was this…” quote by Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/amy-tan-730_bad-thing_i-still-don-t-know-which-way-i-would-tea_1656038.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/amy-tan-730_bad-thing_i-still-don-t-know-which-way-i-would-tea_1656038.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/amy-tan-730_bad-thing_i-still-don-t-know-which-way-i-would-tea_1656038.jpg) > ““I still don't know which way I would teach you. I was once so free and innocent. I too laughed for no reason. But later I threw away my foolish innocence to protect myself. And then I taught my daughter, your mother, to shed her innocence so she would not be hurt as well. Hwai dungsyi, was this kind of thinking wrong? If I now recognize evil in other people, is it not because I have become evil too? If I see someone has a suspicious nose, have I not smelled the same bad things?...Then you must teach my daughter this same lesson. How to lose your innocence but not your hope. How to laugh forever.”” [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) ## 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 reflects on losing innocence to protect oneself, yet urging the next generation to retain hope and resilience despite recognizing evil. **In simple terms:** Losing innocence but keeping hope. Key Takeaway Teach hope while acknowledging harshness. Themes loss of innocence protective parenting hope resilience generational wisdom Mood reflective hopeful cautious Type advice philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - parenting - personal growth - dealing with betrayal - maintaining optimism Key Concepts psychology moral development cultural expectations Questions to Reflect On - How can one protect oneself without becoming bitter? - What practices preserve hope after trauma? A Different Perspective Innocence loss can lead to cynicism if not balanced with hope. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-things/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Innocence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocence/) ## Related quotes > [Then you must teach my daughter this same lesson. How to lose your innocence but not your hope. How to laugh forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/then-you-must-teach-my-daughter-this-same-lesson-how-to-lose-your/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“A Poem: You, with your way of innocence, would have been hurt; thinking I run from you; that I despise you, but this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brie-edison/a-poem-you-with-your-way-of-innocence-would-have-been-hurt-thinking-i/) [Brie Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brie-edison/) > [“We all have a bit of Adam and Eve in us. Sooner or later we come to a point in our youth when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-ryan/we-all-have-a-bit-of-adam-and-eve-in-us-sooner-or-later-we-come-to-a/) [Tom Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-ryan/) > [“I realize we lose our innocence in many ways, the most painful being when we realize those who are supposed to love us and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/i-realize-we-lose-our-innocence-in-many-ways-the-most-painful-being/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“you will think your parents are shatterproof until one day you find out they aren't. - what it really means to lose your innocence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lovelace/you-will-think-your-parents-are-shatterproof-until-one-day-you-find/) [Amanda Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lovelace/) > [Childhood is all about innocence. Being constantly surrounded by cameras and shutterbugs, makes children lose that innocence. It's terrifying and worrying, to say the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soha-ali-khan/childhood-is-all-about-innocence-being-constantly-surrounded-by/) [Soha Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soha-ali-khan/) > [“Children lose their innocence piece by piece. The layers are carved away until our hearts have been exposed and polished into an unnatural gloss.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/children-lose-their-innocence-piece-by-piece-the-layers-are-carved/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [No, it is not only our fate but our business to lose innocence, and once we have lost that, it is futile to attempt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/no-it-is-not-only-our-fate-but-our-business-to-lose-innocence-and/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Many children fly like birds, guess other people's dreams, and speak with ghosts, but ... they all outgrow it when they lose their innocence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/many-children-fly-like-birds-guess-other-people-s-dreams-and-speak/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [When is the age or even the moment when you go from being kids to being something else? People say that we're growing up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-chable/when-is-the-age-or-even-the-moment-when-you-go-from-being-kids-to/) [Ana Chable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-chable/) > [I think it's so completely bizarre and arrogant for anyone to ever think that they could lose their innocence, because that implies that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-w-k/i-think-it-s-so-completely-bizarre-and-arrogant-for-anyone-to-ever/) [Andrew W.K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-w-k/) > [The great challenge of adulthood is holding on to your idealism after you lose your innocence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/the-great-challenge-of-adulthood-is-holding-on-to-your-idealism-after/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [Once you lose your innocence you can never get it back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-loomis/once-you-lose-your-innocence-you-can-never-get-it-back/) [Karen Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-loomis/) > [I think you lose your innocence when you have kids, because the world suddenly becomes a much more dangerous place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/i-think-you-lose-your-innocence-when-you-have-kids-because-the-world/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [“I'm amazed and disheartened at how quickly adolescents lose their innocence nowadays. Everyone is in such a rush to give themselves over to someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-amanda-hooper/i-m-amazed-and-disheartened-at-how-quickly-adolescents-lose-their/) [Karen Amanda Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-amanda-hooper/) ## More by Amy Tan > [So sad! This is the saddest part when you lose someone you love- that person keeps changing. And later you wonder, Is this the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/so-sad-this-is-the-saddest-part-when-you-lose-someone-you-love-that/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Too many good things all seem the same after a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/too-many-good-things-all-seem-the-same-after-a-while/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“bad, how likely is it to come”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/bad-how-likely-is-it-to-come/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/a-mother-is-always-the-beginning-she-is-how-things-begin/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Shanghainese people are good negotiators, they're very persistent, and you grow up in an atmosphere like that - very competitive. That becomes part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/shanghainese-people-are-good-negotiators-they-re-very-persistent-and/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [But now that I am old, moving every year closer to the end of my life, I also feel closer to the beginning. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/but-now-that-i-am-old-moving-every-year-closer-to-the-end-of-my-life/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [You should think about your character. 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Your tears do not wash away your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/now-you-see-said-the-turtle-drifting-back-into-the-pond-why-it-is/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I hid my deepest feelings so well I forgot where I placed them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-hid-my-deepest-feelings-so-well-i-forgot-where-i-placed-them/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“Lebih baik jadi orang yang TIDAK TERLUPAKAN daripada orang yang MEMBOSANKAN -”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/lebih-baik-jadi-orang-yang-tidak-terlupakan-daripada-orang-yang/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [After all, Bao Bomu says, what is the past but what we choose to remember?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/after-all-bao-bomu-says-what-is-the-past-but-what-we-choose-to/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [We all become different readers in how we respond to books, why we need them, what we take from them. We become different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/we-all-become-different-readers-in-how-we-respond-to-books-why-we/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“I was no longer scared. I could see what was inside me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-was-no-longer-scared-i-could-see-what-was-inside-me/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [When I go back and read my journals or fiction, I am always surprised. I may not remember having those thoughts, but they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/when-i-go-back-and-read-my-journals-or-fiction-i-am-always-surprised/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“I am ashamed she is ashamed. 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