--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like cubic zirconia, I only look real…" description: "\"“Like cubic zirconia, I only look real. I'm an imposter.”\" — Augusten Burroughs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/augusten-burroughs-603_imposter_like-cubic-zirconia-i-only-look-real-i-m_313011.png" --- # Like cubic zirconia, I only look real. I'm an imposter. ![“Like cubic zirconia, I only look real. I'm an imposter.” quote by Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/augusten-burroughs-603_imposter_like-cubic-zirconia-i-only-look-real-i-m_313011.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/augusten-burroughs-603_imposter_like-cubic-zirconia-i-only-look-real-i-m_313011.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/augusten-burroughs-603_imposter_like-cubic-zirconia-i-only-look-real-i-m_313011.png) > ““Like cubic zirconia, I only look real. I'm an imposter.”” [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He admits feeling fake and superficial, comparing himself to a cheap gemstone. **In simple terms:** He feels like an imposter. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and confront feelings of inauthenticity. Themes identity self‑perception authenticity Mood reflective vulnerable Type self‑reflection inspirational When to use this quote - job interviews - social gatherings - creative work Key Concepts impostor syndrome self‑image social masks Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your imposter feelings? - How can you cultivate genuine self‑acceptance? A Different Perspective Self‑labeling as fake can reinforce insecurity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cubic Zirconia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cubic-zirconia-2966023/) [Imposter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imposter/) [Look Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-real-798080/) [Real Imposter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-imposter-2966021/) [Zirconia Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zirconia-look-2966022/) ## Related quotes > [Like cubic zirconia, I only look real. I'm an imposter. The fact is, I am not like other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/like-cubic-zirconia-i-only-look-real-i-m-an-imposter-the-fact-is-i-am/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“i realize you cant just throw real gems at ppl...because they think cubic zirconia is the real thing lol”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fee-scott/i-realize-you-cant-just-throw-real-gems-at-ppl-because-they-think/) [Fee Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fee-scott/) > [Quick, someone's coming! Look real!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/quick-someone-s-coming-look-real/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Bitch you make a barbie doll look real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/bitch-you-make-a-barbie-doll-look-real/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some people are so fake they make Nicki Minaj look real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theunknown/some-people-are-so-fake-they-make-nicki-minaj-look-real/) [TheUnknown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theunknown/) > [At the end of the day, whatever you're doing in the ring, you want it to look real, and genuine, and authentic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-undertaker/at-the-end-of-the-day-whatever-you-re-doing-in-the-ring-you-want-it/) [The Undertaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-undertaker/) > [More than ever now, I believe it's so important to look as real and true to life as possible, because nobody's perfect. I seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/more-than-ever-now-i-believe-it-s-so-important-to-look-as-real-and/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > ['I look real good in my drivers license pic.' Said no one ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-look-real-good-in-my-drivers-license-pic-said-no-one-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Actually, I look the same in real life as I do in the movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-lau/actually-i-look-the-same-in-real-life-as-i-do-in-the-movies/) [Andy Lau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-lau/) > [I believed in making it look real. I was probably hard to work with because I wanted it to make real, and I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-orndorff/i-believed-in-making-it-look-real-i-was-probably-hard-to-work-with/) [Paul Orndorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-orndorff/) > [You're so fake, you make barbie look real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-name/you-re-so-fake-you-make-barbie-look-real/) [Author Name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/author-name/) > [If you want to get your children's attention, just look real comfortable, talk on the phone,or try to have a conversation with an adult.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-want-to-get-your-children-s-attention-just-look-real/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you watch stuff that is YA, it looks like it's been made YA. It doesn't look real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-langford/when-you-watch-stuff-that-is-ya-it-looks-like-it-s-been-made-ya-it/) [Katherine Langford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-langford/) > [Look at the real prodigies, and I look like nothing compared to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/look-at-the-real-prodigies-and-i-look-like-nothing-compared-to-them/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [God made the Illusion look Real and the Real an Illusion !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/god-made-the-illusion-look-real-and-the-real-an-illusion/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## More by Augusten Burroughs > [There is nothing about myself that I wouldn't reveal or write about. I don't care how horrendous or ridiculous I may appear in person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/there-is-nothing-about-myself-that-i-wouldn-t-reveal-or-write-about-i/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“We were alone together, we were an us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/we-were-alone-together-we-were-an-us/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [Like every child, I adored her. Until I formed a brain and got to know her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/like-every-child-i-adored-her-until-i-formed-a-brain-and-got-to-know/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“You must hang onto the scraps of the bucking moment as if your sanity and life depended on it - because actually they do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/you-must-hang-onto-the-scraps-of-the-bucking-moment-as-if-your-sanity/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [Real optimism is not the pep talk you give yourself. It is earned through the labor involved in emotional housekeeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/real-optimism-is-not-the-pep-talk-you-give-yourself-it-is-earned/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [If you hate your life, you haven't' seen enough of it. If you hate your life, it's because your life is too small and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/if-you-hate-your-life-you-haven-t-seen-enough-of-it-if-you-hate-your/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [I think writers tend to be experience junkies, and I think they also tend to want to be on the outside looking in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-think-writers-tend-to-be-experience-junkies-and-i-think-they-also/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [I think part of the reason I'm attracted to Foster is because he's such a mess. I mean, the people I have loved in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-think-part-of-the-reason-i-m-attracted-to-foster-is-because-he-s/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“On typical days, (dust) is simply irritating. On Roid Rage days, it made me want to stomp down to the highway, pull drivers out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/on-typical-days-dust-is-simply-irritating-on-roid-rage-days-it-made/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [I'm like the guy who prepares your taxes or a dentist. I'm very conservative and boring in a lot of ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-m-like-the-guy-who-prepares-your-taxes-or-a-dentist-i-m-very/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“Nothing surprises me now," I tell him. I am stoic. I am Joan of Arc, with liver damage and an unused penis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/nothing-surprises-me-now-i-tell-him-i-am-stoic-i-am-joan-of-arc-with/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“It's not that I was an outright nitwit of a child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/it-s-not-that-i-was-an-outright-nitwit-of-a-child/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [What I really want is to sit next to someone under an L.L. bean blanket on the beach in the fall and drink coffee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/what-i-really-want-is-to-sit-next-to-someone-under-an-l-l-bean/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“My worth depended on where exactly the decimal was placed among the zeroes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/my-worth-depended-on-where-exactly-the-decimal-was-placed-among-the/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“Bookman isn't a stable man. He has a lot of problems that run very, very deep." But he was really good at giving head.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/bookman-isn-t-a-stable-man-he-has-a-lot-of-problems-that-run-very/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) [Explore all 448 Augusten Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) ## More Imposter quotes > [There are lots of imposters in this earth, and to very first there always comes a second, to every reality there always come a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-tosh/there-are-lots-of-imposters-in-this-earth-and-to-very-first-there/) [Peter Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-tosh/) > [The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-first-person-who-having-enclosed-a-plot-of-land-took-it-into-his/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Who are the slumlords in the Black community? The so-called Jews. … Who is it sucking our blood in the Black community? A white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/who-are-the-slumlords-in-the-black-community-the-so-called-jews-who/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [It will not bother me in the hour of death to reflect that I have been "had for a sucker" by any number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/it-will-not-bother-me-in-the-hour-of-death-to-reflect-that-i-have/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [He's just cool and he likes my style. That ain't a crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/he-s-just-cool-and-he-likes-my-style-that-ain-t-a-crime/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [God really doesnt reside in any temple, he is just an imposter who stays outside it for sometime and meanwhile we fail to recognise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/god-really-doesnt-reside-in-any-temple-he-is-just-an-imposter-who/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [I've always viewed my career with some suspicion, like I don't want to count on it to be the only thing I do. Partly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/i-ve-always-viewed-my-career-with-some-suspicion-like-i-don-t-want-to/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [I feel a bit of an imposter talking about the science. I'm not a scientist, you may be aware. I read English Literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-delingpole/i-feel-a-bit-of-an-imposter-talking-about-the-science-i-m-not-a/) [James Delingpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-delingpole/) > [All I've really been working on since I was a kid is music, but sometimes I feel like I'm an imposter or something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-spielberg/all-i-ve-really-been-working-on-since-i-was-a-kid-is-music-but/) [Sasha Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-spielberg/) > [Keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/keep-your-head-when-all-about-you-are-losing-theirs-and-blaming-it-on/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Sooner mayest thou trust thy pocket to a pickpocket than give loyal friendship to the man who boasts of eyes to the heart never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/sooner-mayest-thou-trust-thy-pocket-to-a-pickpocket-than-give-loyal/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [If we could believe that Jesus...countenanced the follies, falsehoods and charlatanisms which his biographers father on him, ...the conclusion would be irresistible...that he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/if-we-could-believe-that-jesus-countenanced-the-follies-falsehoods/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“... I succeeded at math, at least by the usual evaluation criteria: grades. Yet while I might have earned top marks in geometry and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ouellette/i-succeeded-at-math-at-least-by-the-usual-evaluation-criteria-grades/) [Jennifer Ouellette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ouellette/) > [If you always feel like an imposter, you work harder, and that makes you better at your job. You've got to keep a level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edie-campbell/if-you-always-feel-like-an-imposter-you-work-harder-and-that-makes/) [Edie Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edie-campbell/) > [How long have we got to talk about women of colour and imposter syndrome. It's a real thing, and many people have it. It's,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zawe-ashton/how-long-have-we-got-to-talk-about-women-of-colour-and-imposter/) [Zawe Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zawe-ashton/) [Browse all 81 Imposter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imposter/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Like cubic zirconia, I only look real. 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