--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I moved, I unearthed the diaries I…" description: "\"“When I moved, I unearthed the diaries I kept for ten years. I sat and went through them and they were a worthless burden to own. People will say it's ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/bill-callahan-10685_diaries_when-i-moved-i-unearthed-the-diaries-i-k_2231791.jpg" --- # When I moved, I unearthed the diaries I kept for ten… ![“When I moved, I unearthed the diaries I kept for ten years. I sat and went through them and they were a worthless burden to own. People will say it's tragic I threw them out, but I know it isn't.” quote by Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/bill-callahan-10685_diaries_when-i-moved-i-unearthed-the-diaries-i-k_2231791.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/bill-callahan-10685_diaries_when-i-moved-i-unearthed-the-diaries-i-k_2231791.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/bill-callahan-10685_diaries_when-i-moved-i-unearthed-the-diaries-i-k_2231791.jpg) > ““When I moved, I unearthed the diaries I kept for ten years. I sat and went through them and they were a worthless burden to own. People will say it's tragic I threw them out, but I know it isn't.”” [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Discarding old personal diaries was a liberating act, shedding a burdensome past that others might deem tragic. **In simple terms:** Throwing away old diaries freed me. Key Takeaway Release weight of past records. Themes memory closure self‑reflection Mood reflective liberating Type personal emotional When to use this quote - moving house - mental health - creative writing - self‑discovery Key Concepts journaling burden personal history Questions to Reflect On - What does letting go teach you? - How do you preserve valuable memories? A Different Perspective Some may view loss of history as harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diaries/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) ## Related quotes > [Goals are like diaries if kept secreted they can last decades until discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-stanley/goals-are-like-diaries-if-kept-secreted-they-can-last-decades-until/) Noah Stanley > [“At night, after the exhausting games of canasta, we would look out over the immense sea, full of white-flecked and green reflections, the two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernesto-che-guevara/at-night-after-the-exhausting-games-of-canasta-we-would-look-out-over/) [Ernesto Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernesto-che-guevara/) > [Music was never just a hobby for me. 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But punk was happening everywhere, even in little towns in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/to-see-classic-rock-you-had-to-go-to-an-arena-but-punk-was-happening/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [I was late to the Internet. I didn't really understand what it was. I didn't know what an email was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/i-was-late-to-the-internet-i-didn-t-really-understand-what-it-was-i/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [James Cain was saddled with being called the father of hardboiled fiction. Apparently, he didn't like this saddle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/james-cain-was-saddled-with-being-called-the-father-of-hardboiled/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [“And I hope each morning you wake like a bird in a nest and fly without a thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/and-i-hope-each-morning-you-wake-like-a-bird-in-a-nest-and-fly/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [I have long begged off the question of my albums reflecting where I am 'at' personally. There is more inaccuracy in that approach than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/i-have-long-begged-off-the-question-of-my-albums-reflecting-where-i/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [“Love is the king of the beasts And when it gets hungry it must kill to eat Love is the king of the beasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/love-is-the-king-of-the-beasts-and-when-it-gets-hungry-it-must-kill/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [“I look forward to sleeping each night. The air is cool and it often starts to rain around 2:00 A.M., breaking the heat and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/i-look-forward-to-sleeping-each-night-the-air-is-cool-and-it-often/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [I've never detected a correlation between where I am and what I write. I think there could be something subconscious, though. And I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/i-ve-never-detected-a-correlation-between-where-i-am-and-what-i-write/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [“I was trained to turn loneliness into laziness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/i-was-trained-to-turn-loneliness-into-laziness/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [I didn't think I'd ever eat pork; it just does not appeal to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/i-didn-t-think-i-d-ever-eat-pork-it-just-does-not-appeal-to-me/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [I cross things out more than I write them. And if I try to sing a line, and I know that it's written incorrectly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/i-cross-things-out-more-than-i-write-them-and-if-i-try-to-sing-a-line/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [“The only words I've said today are "beer" and "thank you".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/the-only-words-i-ve-said-today-are-beer-and-thank-you/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [“You are the reason I get out of bed. To tell you that I have gotten out of bed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/you-are-the-reason-i-get-out-of-bed-to-tell-you-that-i-have-gotten/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [Prose is like this big block - you write big paragraphs. I feel that when I'm reading and writing, that a prose book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/prose-is-like-this-big-block-you-write-big-paragraphs-i-feel-that/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [From the first time you can look in the paper and you accept that you're the entertainment for some people that night, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/from-the-first-time-you-can-look-in-the-paper-and-you-accept-that-you/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) [Explore all 64 Bill Callahan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) ## More Diaries quotes > [My life always came first. When I got nominated for Diary of a Mad Housewife, I didn't think, 'Aah, now I'll get more money.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-snodgress/my-life-always-came-first-when-i-got-nominated-for-diary-of-a-mad/) [Carrie Snodgress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-snodgress/) > ['Dirt Road Diaries,' in my mind, is a perfect country guy song. It speaks to the hard-working guy, and I'm excited for the fans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/dirt-road-diaries-in-my-mind-is-a-perfect-country-guy-song-it-speaks/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [I don't want to be singing my diary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-jones/i-don-t-want-to-be-singing-my-diary/) [Norah Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-jones/) > [Experience is the only real teacher and if you keep a diary you get three bites at educating yourself - when it happens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/experience-is-the-only-real-teacher-and-if-you-keep-a-diary-you-get/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [ I went to NYU graduate film school and met Pam \[Romanowsky\], and after doing a few things with her I thought she had the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/i-went-to-nyu-graduate-film-school-and-met-pam-romanowsky-and-after/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [After Princess Diaries, I was labeled a good girl, and for the first eight years of my career I had to fight to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/after-princess-diaries-i-was-labeled-a-good-girl-and-for-the-first/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) > [I've found myself moved by letters and diaries in archives as well as trashy, summer blockbusters. It's possible to make a connection with any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/i-ve-found-myself-moved-by-letters-and-diaries-in-archives-as-well-as/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [A man's diary is a record in youth of his sentiments, in middle age of his actions, in old age of his reflections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/a-man-s-diary-is-a-record-in-youth-of-his-sentiments-in-middle-age-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [There are two types of encryption: one that will prevent your sister from reading your diary and one that will prevent your government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-schneier/there-are-two-types-of-encryption-one-that-will-prevent-your-sister/) [Bruce Schneier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-schneier/) > [I keep a diary - one for each film and foreign land I travel to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/i-keep-a-diary-one-for-each-film-and-foreign-land-i-travel-to/) [Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/) > [Don't read my diary when I'm gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/don-t-read-my-diary-when-i-m-gone/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [Memory is the diary that chronicles things that never happened or couldn't possibly have happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/memory-is-the-diary-that-chronicles-things-that-never-happened-or/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I need a moment of time for myself every day, like a child playing with his things. When I travel, I routinely find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-need-a-moment-of-time-for-myself-every-day-like-a-child-playing/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I don't keep diaries anymore; They're quite incriminating. 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