--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She had to reach. She had to want it more…" description: "\"“She had to reach. She had to want it more than she’d ever wanted anything. She had to grab like a drowning girl for every good thing that came her way..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/strayed-cheryl-181928_bad-thing_she-had-to-reach-she-had-to-want-it-more_1123772.jpg" --- # She had to reach. She had to want it more than she’d ever… ![“She had to reach. She had to want it more than she’d ever wanted anything. She had to grab like a drowning girl for every good thing that came her way and she had to swim like fuck away from every bad thing. She had to count the years and let them roll by, to grow up and then run as far as she…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/strayed-cheryl-181928_bad-thing_she-had-to-reach-she-had-to-want-it-more_1123772.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/strayed-cheryl-181928_bad-thing_she-had-to-reach-she-had-to-want-it-more_1123772.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d20/strayed-cheryl-181928_bad-thing_she-had-to-reach-she-had-to-want-it-more_1123772.jpg) > ““She had to reach. She had to want it more than she’d ever wanted anything. She had to grab like a drowning girl for every good thing that came her way and she had to swim like fuck away from every bad thing. She had to count the years and let them roll by, to grow up and then run as far as she could in the direction of her best and happiest dreams across the bridge that was built by her own desire to heal.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A relentless drive to pursue desires and escape negativity, using personal will as a bridge to healing and fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Pursue desires, escape negativity, heal through will. Key Takeaway Cultivate strong desire and proactive action. Themes determination healing dreams Mood intense hopeful Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - career ambition - personal relationships - creative projects - overcoming trauma Key Concepts willpower self‑actualization resilience Questions to Reflect On - What desires motivate you most? - How can you balance pursuit with self‑care? A Different Perspective May lead to burnout if desire becomes obsessive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-thing/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Drowning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowning/) [Drowning Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowning-girl-3054098/) [Good thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-thing/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Like Drowning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-drowning/) [Reach Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reach-want-315377/) [Swim Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swim-like-1586566/) ## Related quotes > [I feel like I'm drowning and everyone is swimming above me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-feel-like-i-m-drowning-and-everyone-is-swimming-above-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I was like a whirlpool of tragedy, and anybody who dared to get too close to me could get sucked in and drown. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-laurie/i-was-like-a-whirlpool-of-tragedy-and-anybody-who-dared-to-get-too/) [Victoria Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-laurie/) > [“Although when there were too many people around- which there certainly were today- it was hard even to remember to say thank you: all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/although-when-there-were-too-many-people-around-which-there-certainly/) [Robin Mckinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [He kissed me desperately, like a drowning man and I was his oxygen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/he-kissed-me-desperately-like-a-drowning-man-and-i-was-his-oxygen/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [“Like walking through water. Like drowning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-revis/like-walking-through-water-like-drowning/) [Beth Revis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-revis/) > [“You make me feel like I'm drowning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-duke/you-make-me-feel-like-i-m-drowning/) [Megan Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-duke/) > [“Some eyes are as deep as the sea! And you only feel like drowning in them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/some-eyes-are-as-deep-as-the-sea-and-you-only-feel-like-drowning-in/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [“And we clung to each other like we were drowning because, in a way, we were.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-r-kling/and-we-clung-to-each-other-like-we-were-drowning-because-in-a-way-we/) [Heidi R. Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-r-kling/) > [I used to feel like I was drowning. So I stopped trying to swim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sykes/i-used-to-feel-like-i-was-drowning-so-i-stopped-trying-to-swim/) [Oliver Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sykes/) > [When you feel like your drowning in your own problems, dont worry. Your life guards walk on water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blondie/when-you-feel-like-your-drowning-in-your-own-problems-dont-worry-your/) [Blondie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blondie/) > [She was like a drowning person, flailing, reaching for anything that might save her. Her life was an urgent, desperate struggle to justify her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/she-was-like-a-drowning-person-flailing-reaching-for-anything-that/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Everybody breaks sooner or later, Bob. Anyone can drown. Sometimes you see it. Most often, you don’t because the body protects and the skin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilsa-j-bick/everybody-breaks-sooner-or-later-bob-anyone-can-drown-sometimes-you/) [Ilsa J. Bick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilsa-j-bick/) > [It kinda feels like I'm drowning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-figueroa/it-kinda-feels-like-i-m-drowning/) [Jay Figueroa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-figueroa/) > [He sighed and then focused his eyes right on me. It was like drowning, drowning in seas of green. There was nothing in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/he-sighed-and-then-focused-his-eyes-right-on-me-it-was-like-drowning/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [I got to a point where I had no self-esteem and I just felt like I was drowning, and I had no way out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-anderson/i-got-to-a-point-where-i-had-no-self-esteem-and-i-just-felt-like-i/) [Megan Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-anderson/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Bad thing quotes > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. 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I want Hartley in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-watt/i-don-t-know-why-i-latched-onto-the-idea-of-being-friends-but-it-sits/) [Erin Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-watt/) > [I'm just grateful to people who are willing to admit how bad things feel for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-m-just-grateful-to-people-who-are-willing-to-admit-how-bad-things/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [I love it when television is shot in a cinematic way and I think to aspire to that is no bad thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rhys/i-love-it-when-television-is-shot-in-a-cinematic-way-and-i-think-to/) [Matthew Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rhys/) > [“Dear Delphine, When you are older I want you to find Chinua Achebe. I want you to read Things Fall Apart. 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Sometimes I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/in-life-we-don-t-know-why-things-happen-i-believe-god-is-not/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) [Browse all 2,889 Bad thing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-thing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She had to reach. She had to want it more than she’d ever wanted anything. She had to grab like a drowning girl for every good thing that came her way and she had to swim like fuck away from every bad thing. 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