---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: it seem like he was training for the…"
description: "\"“it seem like he was training for the Olympics and I was the gold medal. No one had ever acted like I was the gold medal before, or not so I’d noticed...."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/anna-quindlen-467_gold-medal_it-seem-like-he-was-training-for-the-oly_788459.png"
---

#  it seem like he was training for the Olympics and I was…

![“it seem like he was training for the Olympics and I was the gold medal. No one had ever acted like I was the gold medal before, or not so I’d noticed. But” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/anna-quindlen-467_gold-medal_it-seem-like-he-was-training-for-the-oly_788459.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/anna-quindlen-467_gold-medal_it-seem-like-he-was-training-for-the-oly_788459.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/anna-quindlen-467_gold-medal_it-seem-like-he-was-training-for-the-oly_788459.png)

> ““it seem like he was training for the Olympics and I was the gold medal. No one had ever acted like I was the gold medal before, or not so I’d noticed. But””

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

## 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 feels out of place, comparing themselves to a gold medal while others act differently, indicating feelings of alienation.

**In simple terms:** I feel like a gold medal among ordinary people.

Key Takeaway

Acknowledge feelings of being different.

Themes

alienation identity comparison

Mood

conflicted thoughtful

Type

narrative reflective

When to use this quote

- social gatherings
- workplace
- family events
- public speaking

Key Concepts

social dynamics self‑esteem

Questions to Reflect On

- How does feeling unique affect your interactions?
- What can you do to bridge the gap between self‑perception and others’ behavior?

A Different Perspective

Feeling unique can cause isolation or resentment.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Gold medal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold-medal/) [Olympics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/olympics/)

## Related quotes

> [I will try to win the Olympics gold in London.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryoko-tani/i-will-try-to-win-the-olympics-gold-in-london/)

Ryoko Tani

> [If beer pong was one of the event in the Olympics, I would get gold for sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/if-beer-pong-was-one-of-the-event-in-the-olympics-i-would-get-gold/)

[Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/)

> [I never realized how many holidays encroached on the collegiate training schedule. When I was training for the Olympics, only one holiday interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-alan-lewis/i-never-realized-how-many-holidays-encroached-on-the-collegiate/)

[Brad Alan Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-alan-lewis/)

> [Training for the Olympics was a lifelong endeavor and took many years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristi-yamaguchi/training-for-the-olympics-was-a-lifelong-endeavor-and-took-many-years/)

[Kristi Yamaguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristi-yamaguchi/)

> [I was trying to manage school and training for the Olympics and ended up not doing well at either. That was a big lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-wang/i-was-trying-to-manage-school-and-training-for-the-olympics-and-ended/)

[Vera Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-wang/)

> [Ever since the Evil Empire turned out to be a collection of third-world countries, Americans aligned on the far right have tried to cast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/ever-since-the-evil-empire-turned-out-to-be-a-collection-of-third/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [If I would have won that Olympic gold medal, I would have gotten a job somewhere coaching at a university, and I would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-cormier/if-i-would-have-won-that-olympic-gold-medal-i-would-have-gotten-a-job/)

[Daniel Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-cormier/)

> [“If you bake a cupcake, the world has one more cupcake. If you become a circus clown, the world has one more squirt of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-e-landsburg/if-you-bake-a-cupcake-the-world-has-one-more-cupcake-if-you-become-a/)

[Steven E. Landsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-e-landsburg/)

> [I don't know what the point of life is, but I'm certain that five gold medals is not it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikaela-shiffrin/i-don-t-know-what-the-point-of-life-is-but-i-m-certain-that-five-gold/)

[Mikaela Shiffrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikaela-shiffrin/)

> [Skiing is my favorite sport, because, that's the only sport that is actually better to watch the worst the person is at it. "That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/skiing-is-my-favorite-sport-because-that-s-the-only-sport-that-is/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [When Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bruce Jenner asked a roomful of Olympic hopefuls if they had a list of written goals, every one raised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/when-olympic-decathlon-gold-medalist-bruce-jenner-asked-a-roomful-of/)

[Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/)

> [I want to win a gold medal in London.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-walsh/i-want-to-win-a-gold-medal-in-london/)

[Kerri Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-walsh/)

> [If there were a category in the Olympics for laundry, my mother would have been a gold-medal winner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/if-there-were-a-category-in-the-olympics-for-laundry-my-mother-would/)

[Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/)

> [All the people in Korea are cheering me like I'm a gold medalist or something, so I have a responsibility to my country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psy/all-the-people-in-korea-are-cheering-me-like-i-m-a-gold-medalist-or/)

[PSY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psy/)

> [No matter what. Wherever your mind wanders, it seems to turn up at the same Field of Dreams. It's the vision you wake up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/no-matter-what-wherever-your-mind-wanders-it-seems-to-turn-up-at-the/)

[James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/)

## More by Anna Quindlen

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [You teach your 16-year-old with your heart in your mouth to be a good driver and none of that makes any difference when some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-teach-your-16-year-old-with-your-heart-in-your-mouth-to-be-a-good/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-reader-i-suspect-has-a-book-like-this-somewhere-in-his-or-her/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [“I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-ve-finally-recognized-my-body-for-what-it-is-a-personality-delivery/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

[Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

## More Gold medal quotes

> [“I’m so stressed that a weird Olympic-style commentary starts up in my head. And here we have Zelah Green, the fourteen-year-old champion of rituals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-curtis/i-m-so-stressed-that-a-weird-olympic-style-commentary-starts-up-in-my/)

Vanessa Curtis

> [No matter what. Wherever your mind wanders, it seems to turn up at the same Field of Dreams. It's the vision you wake up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/no-matter-what-wherever-your-mind-wanders-it-seems-to-turn-up-at-the/)

[James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/)

> [All the people in Korea are cheering me like I'm a gold medalist or something, so I have a responsibility to my country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psy/all-the-people-in-korea-are-cheering-me-like-i-m-a-gold-medalist-or/)

[PSY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psy/)

> [If there were a category in the Olympics for laundry, my mother would have been a gold-medal winner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/if-there-were-a-category-in-the-olympics-for-laundry-my-mother-would/)

[Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/)

> [I want to win a gold medal in London.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-walsh/i-want-to-win-a-gold-medal-in-london/)

[Kerri Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-walsh/)

> [When Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bruce Jenner asked a roomful of Olympic hopefuls if they had a list of written goals, every one raised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/when-olympic-decathlon-gold-medalist-bruce-jenner-asked-a-roomful-of/)

[Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/)

> [You don't do a play to compete for an award. This was the argument I always had over the Oscars. I didn't win them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenda-jackson/you-don-t-do-a-play-to-compete-for-an-award-this-was-the-argument-i/)

[Glenda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenda-jackson/)

> [Skiing is my favorite sport, because, that's the only sport that is actually better to watch the worst the person is at it. "That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/skiing-is-my-favorite-sport-because-that-s-the-only-sport-that-is/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [I don't know what the point of life is, but I'm certain that five gold medals is not it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikaela-shiffrin/i-don-t-know-what-the-point-of-life-is-but-i-m-certain-that-five-gold/)

[Mikaela Shiffrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikaela-shiffrin/)

> [“If you bake a cupcake, the world has one more cupcake. If you become a circus clown, the world has one more squirt of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-e-landsburg/if-you-bake-a-cupcake-the-world-has-one-more-cupcake-if-you-become-a/)

[Steven E. Landsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-e-landsburg/)

> [If I would have won that Olympic gold medal, I would have gotten a job somewhere coaching at a university, and I would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-cormier/if-i-would-have-won-that-olympic-gold-medal-i-would-have-gotten-a-job/)

[Daniel Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-cormier/)

> [But probably this is helps to win, to win, to gold, more gold medals, and to win most my important medal, heart of people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-korbut/but-probably-this-is-helps-to-win-to-win-to-gold-more-gold-medals-and/)

[Olga Korbut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-korbut/)

> [Going to the Olympics as a Maasai I want to make them proud because, after the warm welcome they gave me when I went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rudisha/going-to-the-olympics-as-a-maasai-i-want-to-make-them-proud-because/)

[David Rudisha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rudisha/)

> [“More experimenting. Kicking back with him settled on my lap. Figuring out if I just liked nurturing my oral fixation or if I wouldn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santino-hassell/more-experimenting-kicking-back-with-him-settled-on-my-lap-figuring/)

[Santino Hassell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santino-hassell/)

> [When you see athletes like me win gold medals, you only see the finished product, you dont see the real effort that the likes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linford-christie/when-you-see-athletes-like-me-win-gold-medals-you-only-see-the/)

[Linford Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linford-christie/)

[Browse all 468 Gold medal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold-medal/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“it seem like he was training for the Olympics and I was the gold medal. No one had ever acted like I was the gold medal before, or not so I’d noticed. But”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Anna Quindlen"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-seem-like-he-was-training-for-the-olympics-and-i-was-the-gold/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Gold medal"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-seem-like-he-was-training-for-the-olympics-and-i-was-the-gold/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/anna-quindlen-467_gold-medal_it-seem-like-he-was-training-for-the-oly_788459.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/anna-quindlen-467_gold-medal_it-seem-like-he-was-training-for-the-oly_788459.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/anna-quindlen-467_gold-medal_it-seem-like-he-was-training-for-the-oly_788459.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“it seem like he was training for the Olympics and I was the gold medal. No one had ever acted like I was the…” — Anna Quindlen",
                "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": "Anna Quindlen",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“it seem like he was training...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-seem-like-he-was-training-for-the-olympics-and-i-was-the-gold/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-seem-like-he-was-training-for-the-olympics-and-i-was-the-gold/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
