--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All this time. This was what was wrong…" description: "\"“All this time. This was what was wrong with me. All this time I had been trying to figure out the secrets of the universe, the secrets of my own body,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/benjamin-alire-s-enz-1125_dante_all-this-time-this-was-what-was-wrong-wi_907819.jpg" --- # All this time. This was what was wrong with me. All this… ![“All this time. This was what was wrong with me. All this time I had been trying to figure out the secrets of the universe, the secrets of my own body, of my own heart. All of the answers had always been so close and yet I'd always fought them without even knowing it. From the minute I'd met Dante…” quote by Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/benjamin-alire-s-enz-1125_dante_all-this-time-this-was-what-was-wrong-wi_907819.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/benjamin-alire-s-enz-1125_dante_all-this-time-this-was-what-was-wrong-wi_907819.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/benjamin-alire-s-enz-1125_dante_all-this-time-this-was-what-was-wrong-wi_907819.jpg) > ““All this time. This was what was wrong with me. All this time I had been trying to figure out the secrets of the universe, the secrets of my own body, of my own heart. All of the answers had always been so close and yet I'd always fought them without even knowing it. From the minute I'd met Dante, I had fallen in love with him. I just didn't let myself know it, think it, feel it. My father was right. And it was true what my mother said. We all fight our own private wars.”” [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) ## 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 on realizing that personal struggles often stem from unacknowledged feelings and internal conflicts, rather than external mysteries. **In simple terms:** We fight hidden inner battles instead of seeking external answers. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront your inner feelings. Themes self‑discovery inner conflict love family war Mood reflective introspective melancholic Type literary philosophical emotional When to use this quote - romantic relationships - family discussions - therapy sessions - self‑reflection - journaling Key Concepts psychology emotional intelligence identity relationships Questions to Reflect On - What hidden feelings are you avoiding? - How can acknowledging them change your inner war? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex mental health issues by attributing them solely to personal denial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dante/) [Secrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secrets/) [Self discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-discovery/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“All this time I had been trying to figure out the secrets of the universe, the secrets of my own body, of my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/all-this-time-i-had-been-trying-to-figure-out-the-secrets-of-the/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“Who is he?” Eleanor lowered her voice, the name rolling off her tongue like a dark secret. “Dante Berlin.” I laughed. “Dante? 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The problem with trying hard not to think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-guess-i-did-miss-dante-even-though-i-tried-hard-to-not-think-about-2/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“I guess I didn't have it so bad.Maybe everybody didn't love me,but i wasn't one of those kids that everyone hated,either. I was good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-guess-i-didn-t-have-it-so-bad-maybe-everybody-didn-t-love-me-but-i/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“He tried not to laugh, but he wasn't good at controlling all the laughter that lived inside of him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/he-tried-not-to-laugh-but-he-wasn-t-good-at-controlling-all-the/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“And it seemed to me that Dante's face was a map of the world. A world without any darkness. Wow, a world without darkness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/and-it-seemed-to-me-that-dante-s-face-was-a-map-of-the-world-a-world/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“(Dante was) Always so uncensored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/dante-was-always-so-uncensored/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“I wanted to tell them that I'd never had a friend, not ever, not a real one. Until Dante. 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"Chocolate?" "No." "Midol?" "What? No." "Tampons?" "Stop guessing," she says.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-scott/in-this-trunk-she-says-with-a-serious-face-is-god-s-gift-to-women/) [Victoria Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-scott/) > [“Step one: Invade your opponet's mind. This is just like using mind-speak. Try it on me." "That's easy," I said, casting my mental nets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/step-one-invade-your-opponet-s-mind-this-is-just-like-using-mind/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [“Dante's poem, Langdon was now reminded, was not so much about the misery of hell as it was about the power of the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/dante-s-poem-langdon-was-now-reminded-was-not-so-much-about-the/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“I'm not afraid of death…I'm afraid of life without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-woon/i-m-not-afraid-of-death-i-m-afraid-of-life-without-you/) [Yvonne Woon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvonne-woon/) > [“I have this idea that the reason we have dreams is that we're thinking about things that we don't know we're thinking about-and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-have-this-idea-that-the-reason-we-have-dreams-is-that-we-re/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“You don’t know who you’re fucking with, princess. 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You‘re the only somebody I got.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-suede/you-re-my-best-friend-you-re-the-only-somebody-i-got/) [Damon Suede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-suede/) [Browse all 205 Dante quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dante/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All this time. This was what was wrong with me. All this time I had been trying to figure out the secrets of the universe, the secrets of my own body, of my own heart. All of the answers had always been so close and yet I'd always fought them without even knowing it. From the minute I'd met Dante, I had fallen in love with him. I just didn't let myself know it, think it, feel it. My father was right. And it was true what my mother said. 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