--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason I know what we are to each…" description: "\"The reason I know what we are to each other is because we fight freely and almost constantly, about even the smallest thing. In fact, once we didn't sp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/augusten-burroughs-603_bores_the-reason-i-know-what-we-are-to-each-ot_1674800.jpg" --- # The reason I know what we are to each other is because we… ![“The reason I know what we are to each other is because we fight freely and almost constantly, about even the smallest thing. In fact, once we didn't speak for an entire week because he didn't like the way I loaded his dishwasher...I can't decide if we're exact opposites, or somehow exactly the…” quote by Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/augusten-burroughs-603_bores_the-reason-i-know-what-we-are-to-each-ot_1674800.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/augusten-burroughs-603_bores_the-reason-i-know-what-we-are-to-each-ot_1674800.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/augusten-burroughs-603_bores_the-reason-i-know-what-we-are-to-each-ot_1674800.jpg) > “The reason I know what we are to each other is because we fight freely and almost constantly, about even the smallest thing. In fact, once we didn't speak for an entire week because he didn't like the way I loaded his dishwasher...I can't decide if we're exact opposites, or somehow exactly the same except for minor cosmetic differences. I do know that all of his friends hate me and all of my friends hate him. We drive each other crazy in ways that nobody else can even touch. We never bore each other. And we both realize what a rare thing this is.” [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. The quote reflects how intense, frequent conflict can signal deep connection and mutual understanding. **In simple terms:** Conflict can show closeness. Key Takeaway Embrace conflict as a sign of intimacy. Themes relationships conflict intimacy Mood introspective thoughtful Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - friendships - romantic partnerships - family - teamwork Key Concepts interpersonal dynamics emotional honesty Questions to Reflect On - Do you value conflict as connection? - How can you balance disagreement with harmony? A Different Perspective Constant conflict can be exhausting and harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends/) [Friends hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-hate/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) ## Related quotes > [ “General \[De Gaulle\], you must not hate your friends more than you hate your enemies” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clementine-churchill/general-de-gaulle-you-must-not-hate-your-friends-more-than-you-hate/) Clementine Churchill > [I believe we should all know each other, we human carriers of so many pleasurable differences. To not know is to doubt, to shrink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/i-believe-we-should-all-know-each-other-we-human-carriers-of-so-many/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [I know there is strength in the differences between us. I know there is comfort where we overlap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-know-there-is-strength-in-the-differences-between-us-i-know-there/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [We go on and on about our differences. But, you know, our differences are less important than our similarities. People have a lot in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hall/we-go-on-and-on-about-our-differences-but-you-know-our-differences/) William Hall > [Differences, we know, are never so effectually laid asleep as by some common calamity; an enemy unites all to whom he threatens danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/differences-we-know-are-never-so-effectually-laid-asleep-as-by-some/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Can't we be friends?' I hate your guts, Frankovitch' Can't our guts be friends?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-park/can-t-we-be-friends-i-hate-your-guts-frankovitch-can-t-our-guts-be/) [Barbara Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-park/) > [It is not necessary to have enemies if you go out of your way to make friends hate you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-dane/it-is-not-necessary-to-have-enemies-if-you-go-out-of-your-way-to-make/) [Frank Dane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-dane/) > [“Use your energy to love your friends rather than hate your enemies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/use-your-energy-to-love-your-friends-rather-than-hate-your-enemies/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“We're strangers, we're not friends. I hate this, and I hate them.And I found out that you're angry, and you're sorry you ever met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tegan-quin/we-re-strangers-we-re-not-friends-i-hate-this-and-i-hate-them-and-i/) [Tegan Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tegan-quin/) > [“Still never had any friends because I hate everyone for they were so phony.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/still-never-had-any-friends-because-i-hate-everyone-for-they-were-so/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [As long as I'm in this city, I'm a lightning rod, ... People don't like me for a lot of reasons and I create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chaney/as-long-as-i-m-in-this-city-i-m-a-lightning-rod-people-don-t-like-me/) [John Chaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chaney/) > [In New York all the young people know me... I have a lot of friends... but I hate New York.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico/in-new-york-all-the-young-people-know-me-i-have-a-lot-of-friends-but/) [Nico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico/) > [“We hate old friends: we hate old books: we hate old opinions; and at last we come to hate ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-hate-old-friends-we-hate-old-books-we-hate-old-opinions-and-at/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [I love my best friends because we hate the same things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-love-my-best-friends-because-we-hate-the-same-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [They used to be buddies, I thought, they used to be friends, and now they hate each other because one has to work for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-used-to-be-buddies-i-thought-they-used-to-be-friends-and-now/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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 Bores quotes > [It's a bore - B-O-R-E - when you find you've begun to rot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/it-s-a-bore-b-o-r-e-when-you-find-you-ve-begun-to-rot/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [Redtail was a brave warrior. His loyalty to ThunderClan could never be doubted. I always relied on his judgment, for it bore witness to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-hunter/redtail-was-a-brave-warrior-his-loyalty-to-thunderclan-could-never-be/) [Erin Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-hunter/) > [We are almost always wearied in the company of persons with whom we are not permitted to be weary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/we-are-almost-always-wearied-in-the-company-of-persons-with-whom-we/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [The poet's first rule must be never to bore his readers; and his best way of keeping this rule is never to bore himself-which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/the-poet-s-first-rule-must-be-never-to-bore-his-readers-and-his-best/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [Attractive Etonians who go straight onto the Stock Exchange missing University on their fathers advice: the raw material of the great bores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-madan/attractive-etonians-who-go-straight-onto-the-stock-exchange-missing/) [Geoffrey Madan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-madan/) > [Life in this society being, at best, an utter bore and no aspect of society being at all relevant to women, there remains to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-solanas/life-in-this-society-being-at-best-an-utter-bore-and-no-aspect-of/) [Valerie Solanas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-solanas/) > [All politicians are bores and liars and fakes. I talk to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellhorn/all-politicians-are-bores-and-liars-and-fakes-i-talk-to-people/) [Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/) > [And I am quite serious when I say that I do not believe there are, on the whole earth besides, so many intensified bores…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/and-i-am-quite-serious-when-i-say-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are-on/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Mr. Presley has no discernible singing ability. His specialty is rhythm songs which he renders in an undistinguished whine; his phrasing, if it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gould/mr-presley-has-no-discernible-singing-ability-his-specialty-is-rhythm/) [Jack Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gould/) > [Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man-yesterday in embryo, tomorrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hairsbreadth of time assigned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/mark-how-fleeting-and-paltry-is-the-estate-of-man-yesterday-in-embryo/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [It is an occupational hazard of devout folk to become stuffy bores. This should not be. Of all people, we should be the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/it-is-an-occupational-hazard-of-devout-folk-to-become-stuffy-bores/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [There still remains one effort of magnanimity, one sacrifice of prejudice and passion, to be made by the individuals throughout the nation who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/there-still-remains-one-effort-of-magnanimity-one-sacrifice-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [Men will pay large sums to whores for telling them they are not bores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/men-will-pay-large-sums-to-whores-for-telling-them-they-are-not-bores/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [The cross of Christ is the sweetest burden that I ever bore; it is such a burden as wings are to a bird, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-rutherford/the-cross-of-christ-is-the-sweetest-burden-that-i-ever-bore-it-is/) [Samuel Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-rutherford/) > [It is a sin to bore a child with the Word of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-g-hendricks/it-is-a-sin-to-bore-a-child-with-the-word-of-god/) [Howard G. Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-g-hendricks/) Browse all 653 Bores quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The reason I know what we are to each other is because we fight freely and almost constantly, about even the smallest thing. 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