--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How I wished I had shoulders like his…" description: "\"“How I wished I had shoulders like his. Maybe I wouldn’t long for them if I had them?”\" — André Aciman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/andre-aciman-459_shoulders_how-i-wished-i-had-shoulders-like-his-ma_1729901.png" --- # How I wished I had shoulders like his. Maybe I wouldn’t… ![“How I wished I had shoulders like his. Maybe I wouldn’t long for them if I had them?” quote by André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/andre-aciman-459_shoulders_how-i-wished-i-had-shoulders-like-his-ma_1729901.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/andre-aciman-459_shoulders_how-i-wished-i-had-shoulders-like-his-ma_1729901.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/andre-aciman-459_shoulders_how-i-wished-i-had-shoulders-like-his-ma_1729901.png) > ““How I wished I had shoulders like his. Maybe I wouldn’t long for them if I had them?”” [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. Desire for traits we admire can create longing and self‑comparison, highlighting personal insecurities. **In simple terms:** Wanting what we lack can cause yearning. Key Takeaway Recognize and accept your own qualities. Themes desire insecurity self‑comparison Mood introspective nostalgic Type literary emotional When to use this quote - romantic longing - self‑esteem - personal growth - artistic inspiration Key Concepts psychology identity Questions to Reflect On - What qualities do you admire in others? - How can you cultivate similar traits in yourself? A Different Perspective Idealizing others may overlook their flaws and lead to dissatisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Shoulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoulders/) [Shoulders Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoulders-like-339379/) [Wished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wished/) [Wished Shoulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wished-shoulders-1421266/) [Wouldn Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wouldn-long-1157645/) ## Related quotes > [“No matter the pain, I could take it, because it wouldn’t last very long. Not more than an hour, anyway. And Brock seemed keen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-shen/no-matter-the-pain-i-could-take-it-because-it-wouldn-t-last-very-long/) [L.J. Shen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-shen/) > [Britney Spears has shoulders like a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/britney-spears-has-shoulders-like-a-man/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [I want to have wide shoulders like Jin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-tae-hyung/i-want-to-have-wide-shoulders-like-jin/) [Kim Tae-hyung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-tae-hyung/) > [You take everything onto your shoulders like that guy who holds up the world, and you shouldn’t. You’re not nearly as muscular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/you-take-everything-onto-your-shoulders-like-that-guy-who-holds-up/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [“He shrugged his shoulders, like he had no idea what I was talking about. I loved that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/he-shrugged-his-shoulders-like-he-had-no-idea-what-i-was-talking/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Though February lay about her shoulders like a cloak of lead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/though-february-lay-about-her-shoulders-like-a-cloak-of-lead/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Strike One!" "You never even saw it did you? She wolf with shoulders like man?" "He is so fast that one. But not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-laurenston/strike-one-you-never-even-saw-it-did-you-she-wolf-with-shoulders-like/) [Shelly Laurenston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-laurenston/) > [“She hated the predictability of herself, but knew life probably wouldn't be long enough for her to grow out of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/she-hated-the-predictability-of-herself-but-knew-life-probably-wouldn/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [Certainly, when you have shoulder pads on that go up to your ears, you hold yourself a certain way. You speak with authority when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendi-mclendon-covey/certainly-when-you-have-shoulder-pads-on-that-go-up-to-your-ears-you/) [Wendi McLendon-Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendi-mclendon-covey/) > [“I couldn’t let myself depend on him getting me all hot and bothered so I could sing to the throb between my legs. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-d-reiss/i-couldn-t-let-myself-depend-on-him-getting-me-all-hot-and-bothered/) [C.D. Reiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-d-reiss/) > [I got some weight on my shoulders, to me its like feathers All hail Weezy, call it bad weather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/i-got-some-weight-on-my-shoulders-to-me-its-like-feathers-all-hail/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [I wouldn't keep him around long if I didn't feed him well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/i-wouldn-t-keep-him-around-long-if-i-didn-t-feed-him-well/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [Of course, if there should be war, it wouldn't last long - not in the twentieth century; and no one wants it. There would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-van-vorst/of-course-if-there-should-be-war-it-wouldn-t-last-long-not-in-the/) [Marie Van Vorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-van-vorst/) > [I'm tall with broad shoulders, and therefore, I like clothes with a bit of a swagger - mannish clothes that you can wear with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-lumley/i-m-tall-with-broad-shoulders-and-therefore-i-like-clothes-with-a-bit/) [Joanna Lumley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-lumley/) > [If I got some weight on my shoulders, to me it's like feathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agidis234/if-i-got-some-weight-on-my-shoulders-to-me-it-s-like-feathers/) [Agidis234](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agidis234/) ## 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 Shoulders quotes > [His fingertips slid down from my face, lightly stroking the line of my neck, down toward my shoulder. Everywhere he touched, a trail of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/his-fingertips-slid-down-from-my-face-lightly-stroking-the-line-of-my/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Music is almost like a therapy for me. It helps keep me centered and think straight. Before I discovered it, I was walking around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/music-is-almost-like-a-therapy-for-me-it-helps-keep-me-centered-and/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her full on the mouth. His skin was wet with rain. When she didn't pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/he-put-his-hands-on-her-shoulders-and-kissed-her-full-on-the-mouth/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [You can wait forever for the muse to sit on your shoulder, but most of the time you know what has to be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-wait-forever-for-the-muse-to-sit-on-your-shoulder-but-most-of/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > ['I am insecure' means: I can't cope on my own. The odds are overwhelming. I can't resist them on my own. I need us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/i-am-insecure-means-i-can-t-cope-on-my-own-the-odds-are-overwhelming/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [You should climb around inside my brain, Dan. It's like this dark room surrounded by quicksand." "I know what you mean," her brother said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lerangis/you-should-climb-around-inside-my-brain-dan-it-s-like-this-dark-room/) [Peter Lerangis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lerangis/) > [“I was informed by my viscera that now was the time to put my arm around her shoulders. I ignored them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-was-informed-by-my-viscera-that-now-was-the-time-to-put-my-arm/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Letters crossing in the post, unfamiliar tunes heard three times in one day, the way that blows of fate descend upon the same bowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/letters-crossing-in-the-post-unfamiliar-tunes-heard-three-times-in/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Yelena.” I halted in the doorway, looking back over my shoulder. “You once said I wasn’t ready to believe your reason for killing Reyad.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/yelena-i-halted-in-the-doorway-looking-back-over-my-shoulder-you-once/) [Maria V. 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