--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But it might have started way later than…" description: "\"“But it might have started way later than I think without my noticing anything at all. You see someone, but you don’t really see him, he’s in the wings..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b86/andre-aciman-459_weeks_but-it-might-have-started-way-later-than_1756605.jpg" --- # But it might have started way later than I think without… ![“But it might have started way later than I think without my noticing anything at all. You see someone, but you don’t really see him, he’s in the wings. Or you notice him, but nothing clicks, nothing “catches,” and before you’re even aware of a presence, or of something troubling you, the six weeks…” quote by André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b86/andre-aciman-459_weeks_but-it-might-have-started-way-later-than_1756605.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b86/andre-aciman-459_weeks_but-it-might-have-started-way-later-than_1756605.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b86/andre-aciman-459_weeks_but-it-might-have-started-way-later-than_1756605.jpg) > ““But it might have started way later than I think without my noticing anything at all. You see someone, but you don’t really see him, he’s in the wings. Or you notice him, but nothing clicks, nothing “catches,” and before you’re even aware of a presence, or of something troubling you, the six weeks that were offered you have almost passed and he’s either already gone or just about to leave, and you’re basically scrambling to come to terms with something, which, unbeknownst to you, has been brewing for weeks under your very nose and bears all the symptoms of what you’re forced to call I want.”” [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unseen emotional turmoil can build unnoticed until it erupts, often leaving little time to process it. **In simple terms:** Hidden feelings grow unnoticed until they surface. Key Takeaway Recognize early signs of emotional distress. Themes emotions time awareness Mood reflective melancholic Type literary personal When to use this quote - relationships - mental health - self‑reflection - early intervention Key Concepts psychology anticipation denial Questions to Reflect On - How can I become more attuned to subtle emotional changes? - What habits help notice early signs of distress? A Different Perspective People may ignore subtle cues, worsening the impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Presence Troubling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presence-troubling-1653298/) [Symptoms Forced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symptoms-forced-1653299/) [Think Noticing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-noticing-1653300/) [Troubling Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/troubling-weeks-1653297/) [Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weeks/) ## Related quotes > [I'm always astonished to see how badly people can behave when they think no one is noticing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-mott-davidson/i-m-always-astonished-to-see-how-badly-people-can-behave-when-they/) [Diane Mott Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-mott-davidson/) > [In college, I probably lost a total of about 11 games, and then I came to the Celtics and in my first three weeks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-pierce/in-college-i-probably-lost-a-total-of-about-11-games-and-then-i-came/) [Paul Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-pierce/) > [“In the coming weeks, he would spend a lot of time trying to unpack that moment, not understanding himself how years of commitment and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-d-aprix-sweeney/in-the-coming-weeks-he-would-spend-a-lot-of-time-trying-to-unpack/) [Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-d-aprix-sweeney/) > [Don't get me wrong, some of the mis-informed articles I have read over the last few weeks have been incredibly frustrating, but for my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rickitt/don-t-get-me-wrong-some-of-the-mis-informed-articles-i-have-read-over/) [Adam Rickitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rickitt/) > [You can wake me up now - these last four weeks in America have been incredible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-clijsters/you-can-wake-me-up-now-these-last-four-weeks-in-america-have-been/) [Kim Clijsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-clijsters/) > [We have held forums here at the White House on workplace flexibility, and the first major bill signed into law by President Obama was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-jarrett/we-have-held-forums-here-at-the-white-house-on-workplace-flexibility/) [Valerie Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-jarrett/) > [If I stop working and publishing, and TV, and film and all that, I would be dead within a couple of weeks. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/if-i-stop-working-and-publishing-and-tv-and-film-and-all-that-i-would/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [At least a couple of weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faithless/at-least-a-couple-of-weeks/) [Faithless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faithless/) > [“the previous weeks – a combination of being”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-previous-weeks-a-combination-of-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Underpants, self-initiation, and night/nap dryness all sort of blend into the recipe at around three weeks after your start date.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-glowacki/underpants-self-initiation-and-night-nap-dryness-all-sort-of-blend/) [Jamie Glowacki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-glowacki/) > [I was eight when we came to Australia. It was five amazing weeks onboard this ship - it was the Northern Star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-base/i-was-eight-when-we-came-to-australia-it-was-five-amazing-weeks/) [Graeme Base](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graeme-base/) > [“GIVE A NEW SKILL A MINIMUM OF EIGHT WEEKS”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-coyle/give-a-new-skill-a-minimum-of-eight-weeks/) [Daniel Coyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-coyle/) > [Normally, I spend a week on the outline and take two weeks to write the book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-stine/normally-i-spend-a-week-on-the-outline-and-take-two-weeks-to-write/) [R. L. Stine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-l-stine/) > [Without food, man at most can live but a few weeks; without it all other components of social justice are meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-borlaug/without-food-man-at-most-can-live-but-a-few-weeks-without-it-all/) [Norman Borlaug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-borlaug/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More by André Aciman > [Don't all writers have a hidden nerve, call it a secret chamber, something irreducibly theirs, which stirs their prose and makes it tick and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/don-t-all-writers-have-a-hidden-nerve-call-it-a-secret-chamber/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I wanted him to remember the morning on Monet's berm when I'd kissed him not the first but the second time and given him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-wanted-him-to-remember-the-morning-on-monet-s-berm-when-i-d-kissed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Rituals are how we step into our private field of dreams, a small Elysium all our own. Rituals are made not just for us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/rituals-are-how-we-step-into-our-private-field-of-dreams-a-small/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I desperately wanted to give him something. By contrast, taking seemed so bland, so facile, so mechanical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-desperately-wanted-to-give-him-something-by-contrast-taking-seemed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“The man who'll lay the last stone here isn't even born yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/the-man-who-ll-lay-the-last-stone-here-isn-t-even-born-yet/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Proust is interested in minutiae because life, as he sees it, is seldom ever about things but about our impression of things, not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/proust-is-interested-in-minutiae-because-life-as-he-sees-it-is-seldom/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Well, since you're not going to do anything with me—can you at least read me a story? I'd settle for that. I wanted him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/well-since-you-re-not-going-to-do-anything-with-me-can-you-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“This is heaven.” And I wouldn’t hear him say another word for at least an hour. There was nothing I loved more in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/this-is-heaven-and-i-wouldn-t-hear-him-say-another-word-for-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“He loved the sticky taste. What had I done? I told him and pointed to the bruised evidence sitting on my desk. “Let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/he-loved-the-sticky-taste-what-had-i-done-i-told-him-and-pointed-to/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“When had they separated us, you and me, Oliver? And why did I know it, and why didn't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/when-had-they-separated-us-you-and-me-oliver-and-why-did-i-know-it/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“As we were swimming back, he asked as though it were an afterthought, “Are you going to hold last night against me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/as-we-were-swimming-back-he-asked-as-though-it-were-an-afterthought/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“To be with you. To be with you, Oliver. With or without my bathing suit. To be with you on my bed. In your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/to-be-with-you-to-be-with-you-oliver-with-or-without-my-bathing-suit/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I thought I could ever want another living soul, gently, softly, and, with the kindness one Jew extends to another, work his way into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-thought-i-could-ever-want-another-living-soul-gently-softly-and/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Oliver: But there's the catch: you're still twenty years younger than those gathered around you, which is why I can be twenty-four in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/oliver-but-there-s-the-catch-you-re-still-twenty-years-younger-than/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [I cannot write if there is a sense of plenitude. I have to hypothesize that there is a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-cannot-write-if-there-is-a-sense-of-plenitude-i-have-to-hypothesize/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) [Explore all 527 André Aciman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More Weeks quotes > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Without food, man at most can live but a few weeks; without it all other components of social justice are meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-borlaug/without-food-man-at-most-can-live-but-a-few-weeks-without-it-all/) [Norman Borlaug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-borlaug/) > [Normally, I spend a week on the outline and take two weeks to write the book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-stine/normally-i-spend-a-week-on-the-outline-and-take-two-weeks-to-write/) [R. L. Stine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-l-stine/) > [“GIVE A NEW SKILL A MINIMUM OF EIGHT WEEKS”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-coyle/give-a-new-skill-a-minimum-of-eight-weeks/) [Daniel Coyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-coyle/) > [I was eight when we came to Australia. It was five amazing weeks onboard this ship - it was the Northern Star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-base/i-was-eight-when-we-came-to-australia-it-was-five-amazing-weeks/) [Graeme Base](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graeme-base/) > [“Underpants, self-initiation, and night/nap dryness all sort of blend into the recipe at around three weeks after your start date.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-glowacki/underpants-self-initiation-and-night-nap-dryness-all-sort-of-blend/) [Jamie Glowacki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-glowacki/) > [“the previous weeks – a combination of being”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-previous-weeks-a-combination-of-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At least a couple of weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faithless/at-least-a-couple-of-weeks/) [Faithless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faithless/) > [If I stop working and publishing, and TV, and film and all that, I would be dead within a couple of weeks. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/if-i-stop-working-and-publishing-and-tv-and-film-and-all-that-i-would/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [We have held forums here at the White House on workplace flexibility, and the first major bill signed into law by President Obama was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-jarrett/we-have-held-forums-here-at-the-white-house-on-workplace-flexibility/) [Valerie Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-jarrett/) > [You can wake me up now - these last four weeks in America have been incredible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-clijsters/you-can-wake-me-up-now-these-last-four-weeks-in-america-have-been/) [Kim Clijsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-clijsters/) > [Don't get me wrong, some of the mis-informed articles I have read over the last few weeks have been incredibly frustrating, but for my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rickitt/don-t-get-me-wrong-some-of-the-mis-informed-articles-i-have-read-over/) [Adam Rickitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rickitt/) > [“In the coming weeks, he would spend a lot of time trying to unpack that moment, not understanding himself how years of commitment and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-d-aprix-sweeney/in-the-coming-weeks-he-would-spend-a-lot-of-time-trying-to-unpack/) [Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-d-aprix-sweeney/) > [In college, I probably lost a total of about 11 games, and then I came to the Celtics and in my first three weeks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-pierce/in-college-i-probably-lost-a-total-of-about-11-games-and-then-i-came/) [Paul Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-pierce/) > [Once you been listening to the same CD for, like, two weeks, three weeks, it get old to you. You need something new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-dolph/once-you-been-listening-to-the-same-cd-for-like-two-weeks-three-weeks/) [Young Dolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-dolph/) [Browse all 670 Weeks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weeks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But it might have started way later than I think without my noticing anything at all. You see someone, but you don’t really see him, he’s in the wings. Or you notice him, but nothing clicks, nothing “catches,” and before you’re even aware of a presence, or of something troubling you, the six weeks that were offered you have almost passed and he’s either already gone or just about to leave, and you’re basically scrambling to come to terms with something, which, unbeknownst to you, has been brewing for weeks under your very nose and bears all the symptoms of what you’re forced to call I want.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "André Aciman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/but-it-might-have-started-way-later-than-i-think-without-my-noticing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Weeks" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/but-it-might-have-started-way-later-than-i-think-without-my-noticing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b86/andre-aciman-459_weeks_but-it-might-have-started-way-later-than_1756605.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b86/andre-aciman-459_weeks_but-it-might-have-started-way-later-than_1756605.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b86/andre-aciman-459_weeks_but-it-might-have-started-way-later-than_1756605.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But it might have started way later than I think without my noticing anything at all. 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