--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All I know is that growing up hurts too…" description: "\"“All I know is that growing up hurts too much. Growing down is what I'd really like to do. Be little enough again so it would be perfectly natural to b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0eb/bette-greene-18491_adolescence_all-i-know-is-that-growing-up-hurts-too_3131872.jpg" --- # All I know is that growing up hurts too much. Growing down… ![“All I know is that growing up hurts too much. Growing down is what I'd really like to do. Be little enough again so it would be perfectly natural to be protected from the wind and the rain—and the world.” quote by Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0eb/bette-greene-18491_adolescence_all-i-know-is-that-growing-up-hurts-too_3131872.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0eb/bette-greene-18491_adolescence_all-i-know-is-that-growing-up-hurts-too_3131872.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0eb/bette-greene-18491_adolescence_all-i-know-is-that-growing-up-hurts-too_3131872.jpg) > ““All I know is that growing up hurts too much. Growing down is what I'd really like to do. Be little enough again so it would be perfectly natural to be protected from the wind and the rain—and the world.”” [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Growing up can be painful; sometimes one wishes to return to a simpler, more protected state, free from life's harshness. **In simple terms:** Desire to revert to childlike safety when adulthood hurts. Key Takeaway Seek simplicity and self‑care. Themes growth pain nostalgia protection Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - adolescence - career stress - relationship turmoil - health crises Key Concepts identity comfort zones emotional healing Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of childhood do you truly miss? - How can you create protective spaces now? A Different Perspective Idealizing childhood can ignore necessary adult responsibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adolescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescence/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Growing Hurts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-hurts-5043381/) [Hurts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurts/) [Hurts Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurts-growing-5043383/) [Know Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-growing-2663234/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) ## Related quotes > [When babies teeth are growing it hurts them -- well if everything hurts while its growing no wonder ur heart is hearting because its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/when-babies-teeth-are-growing-it-hurts-them-well-if-everything-hurts/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [If you want to feel secure, do what you already know how to do. If you want to be a true professional and continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-hunter/if-you-want-to-feel-secure-do-what-you-already-know-how-to-do-if-you/) [Madeline Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-hunter/) > [You know, growing up in the cattle business, I know a lot about cattle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-waitt/you-know-growing-up-in-the-cattle-business-i-know-a-lot-about-cattle/) [Ted Waitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-waitt/) > [I know who I am. I'm growing and I'm still kidrauhl. Just growing and learning everyday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-bieber/i-know-who-i-am-i-m-growing-and-i-m-still-kidrauhl-just-growing-and/) [Justin Bieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-bieber/) > [If you are becoming more easeful, peaceful & useful then you know you are growing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-satchidananda/if-you-are-becoming-more-easeful-peaceful-useful-then-you-know-you/) [Swami Satchidananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-satchidananda/) > [That's your job as a big man. I don't know. Growing up, that's what you do, set screens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/domantas-sabonis/that-s-your-job-as-a-big-man-i-don-t-know-growing-up-that-s-what-you/) [Domantas Sabonis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/domantas-sabonis/) > [Most adults would not dream of belittling, humiliating, or bullying (verbally or physically) another adult. But many of the same adults think nothing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/most-adults-would-not-dream-of-belittling-humiliating-or-bullying/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [Adolescence is when the very worst and best impulses in the human soul struggle against each other for possession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/adolescence-is-when-the-very-worst-and-best-impulses-in-the-human/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [The donning of the ear buds marks the beginning of teen life, when children set off on their own for the passage through adolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/the-donning-of-the-ear-buds-marks-the-beginning-of-teen-life-when/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [The idols of one's adolescence tend to endure - you never forget how you worshipped them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-idols-of-one-s-adolescence-tend-to-endure-you-never-forget-how/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Teenagers complain there's nothing to do, then stay out all night doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-phillips/teenagers-complain-there-s-nothing-to-do-then-stay-out-all-night/) [Bob Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-phillips/) > [Teenage girls are extremists who see the world in black-and- white terms, missing shades of gray. Life is either marvelous or notworth living. School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pipher/teenage-girls-are-extremists-who-see-the-world-in-black-and-white/) [Mary Pipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pipher/) > [Having children truly ends adolescence. We are all either parents or children: responsibility-takers or those who demand from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/having-children-truly-ends-adolescence-we-are-all-either-parents-or/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [They must move from a psychological state of victimization to a psychological state of accepting responsibility. The Palestinians must leave behind their revolutionary adolescence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-shavit/they-must-move-from-a-psychological-state-of-victimization-to-a/) [Ari Shavit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-shavit/) ## More by Bette Greene > [It seems to me that a man who is incapable of humor is capable of cruelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/it-seems-to-me-that-a-man-who-is-incapable-of-humor-is-capable-of/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [“The secret is in absolutely refusing to let the river beat you down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/the-secret-is-in-absolutely-refusing-to-let-the-river-beat-you-down/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [“But will somebody please tell me what's a person to do when they're too afraid of life to live and too afraid of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/but-will-somebody-please-tell-me-what-s-a-person-to-do-when-they-re/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [What do you know about sooner or later? Is a moment only a moment when you're in pain?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/what-do-you-know-about-sooner-or-later-is-a-moment-only-a-moment-when/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [A person's got to think, otherwise that person's no better than a trained seal balancing a ball on his nose. If only that seal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/a-person-s-got-to-think-otherwise-that-person-s-no-better-than-a/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [The world is not a rational place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/the-world-is-not-a-rational-place/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [And marking off time struck me as something like counting empty spaces—spaces you know can't ever be filled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/and-marking-off-time-struck-me-as-something-like-counting-empty/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [“Sometimes when a person be thinking about one thing it don't mean they is mad about another thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/sometimes-when-a-person-be-thinking-about-one-thing-it-don-t-mean/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [“That's when I saw—cleary saw—that there was more than one mountain in my life. Some could be seen and some couldn't be, but just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/that-s-when-i-saw-cleary-saw-that-there-was-more-than-one-mountain-in/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [“My deception was believed because it was built on a foundation of truth … Hitler's first layer is an undeniable truth, such as: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/my-deception-was-believed-because-it-was-built-on-a-foundation-of/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [I love Arkansas but I think Arkansas has its share of unlit minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/i-love-arkansas-but-i-think-arkansas-has-its-share-of-unlit-minds/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [Experiencing life through a book can help you learn without all the pain of going through the experiences first hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/experiencing-life-through-a-book-can-help-you-learn-without-all-the/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [Look inside yourself and you'll find a world of things (a world of your own experiences)worth writing about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/look-inside-yourself-and-you-ll-find-a-world-of-things-a-world-of/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [Longevity can't be the only test of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/longevity-can-t-be-the-only-test-of-love/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) > [Why is it I'm always so quick to believe that people are thinking...believing the worst about me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-greene/why-is-it-i-m-always-so-quick-to-believe-that-people-are-thinking/) [Bette Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) [Explore all 34 Bette Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-greene/) ## More Adolescence quotes > [They must move from a psychological state of victimization to a psychological state of accepting responsibility. The Palestinians must leave behind their revolutionary adolescence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-shavit/they-must-move-from-a-psychological-state-of-victimization-to-a/) [Ari Shavit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-shavit/) > [Having children truly ends adolescence. We are all either parents or children: responsibility-takers or those who demand from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/having-children-truly-ends-adolescence-we-are-all-either-parents-or/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [Teenage girls are extremists who see the world in black-and- white terms, missing shades of gray. Life is either marvelous or notworth living. School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pipher/teenage-girls-are-extremists-who-see-the-world-in-black-and-white/) [Mary Pipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pipher/) > [Teenagers complain there's nothing to do, then stay out all night doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-phillips/teenagers-complain-there-s-nothing-to-do-then-stay-out-all-night/) [Bob Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-phillips/) > [The idols of one's adolescence tend to endure - you never forget how you worshipped them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-idols-of-one-s-adolescence-tend-to-endure-you-never-forget-how/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [The donning of the ear buds marks the beginning of teen life, when children set off on their own for the passage through adolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/the-donning-of-the-ear-buds-marks-the-beginning-of-teen-life-when/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [Adolescence is when the very worst and best impulses in the human soul struggle against each other for possession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/adolescence-is-when-the-very-worst-and-best-impulses-in-the-human/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Most adults would not dream of belittling, humiliating, or bullying (verbally or physically) another adult. But many of the same adults think nothing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/most-adults-would-not-dream-of-belittling-humiliating-or-bullying/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“He'd possessed all the key elements of a school shooter: hormones, misery, ammunition. People wondered how something like Columbine could happen. Jude wondered why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/he-d-possessed-all-the-key-elements-of-a-school-shooter-hormones/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [ I remember realizing, when I did Little Women \[1994\], that that was the only time girls that age were being written about. It was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/i-remember-realizing-when-i-did-little-women-1994-that-that-was-the/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [Content without style is propaganda or adolescence. Style without content is decadence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/content-without-style-is-propaganda-or-adolescence-style-without/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Adolescence is interesting. I mean, all of life is interesting and all of life is transitionary. But I think there is an exponential growth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-henson/adolescence-is-interesting-i-mean-all-of-life-is-interesting-and-all/) [Bill Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-henson/) > [“Yet GenX'er teens didn't slow down--they were just as likely to drive, drink alcohol, and date as their Boomer peers and more likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-twenge/yet-genx-er-teens-didn-t-slow-down-they-were-just-as-likely-to-drive/) [Jean M. Twenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-twenge/) [Browse all 787 Adolescence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All I know is that growing up hurts too much. Growing down is what I'd really like to do. 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