--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Adult life is terrible, Hazel. Never grow…" description: "\"“Adult life is terrible, Hazel. Never grow up. Everything's complicated, and there are too many rules ...”\" — Bryan Lee O'Malley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f80/bryan-lee-o-malley-6525_adult-life_adult-life-is-terrible-hazel-never-grow_460769.jpg" --- # Adult life is terrible, Hazel. Never grow up. Everything's… ![“Adult life is terrible, Hazel. Never grow up. Everything's complicated, and there are too many rules ...” quote by Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f80/bryan-lee-o-malley-6525_adult-life_adult-life-is-terrible-hazel-never-grow_460769.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f80/bryan-lee-o-malley-6525_adult-life_adult-life-is-terrible-hazel-never-grow_460769.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f80/bryan-lee-o-malley-6525_adult-life_adult-life-is-terrible-hazel-never-grow_460769.jpg) > ““Adult life is terrible, Hazel. Never grow up. Everything's complicated, and there are too many rules ...”” [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker laments adult responsibilities, urging a childlike freedom while acknowledging life’s complexity and rules. **In simple terms:** Adult life feels restrictive; stay youthful at heart. Key Takeaway Embrace youthful perspective despite adult duties. Themes youth freedom responsibility complexity Mood melancholic defiant Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - career choices - relationship dynamics - personal growth - social expectations Key Concepts coming of age existential angst Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance youthful joy with adult obligations? - What rules feel most oppressive to you? A Different Perspective May ignore necessary adult responsibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adult life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adult-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“Life is really simple. There are no complicated rules we must follow. There are no external forces, which dictate how we must lead our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-zernoff/life-is-really-simple-there-are-no-complicated-rules-we-must-follow/) [Raphael Zernoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-zernoff/) > [“Life is too short to be complicated by rules, live it big”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yatin-patel/life-is-too-short-to-be-complicated-by-rules-live-it-big/) [Yatin Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yatin-patel/) > [“...just like the affairs of the adult world--complicated rules and a history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/just-like-the-affairs-of-the-adult-world-complicated-rules-and-a/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Here I was in my early twenties and the best part of my life was over. Do you see how terrible that would be?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/here-i-was-in-my-early-twenties-and-the-best-part-of-my-life-was-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Oh, isn't life a terrible thing, thank God?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/oh-isn-t-life-a-terrible-thing-thank-god/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Life is terrible. It rules us, we do not rule it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/life-is-terrible-it-rules-us-we-do-not-rule-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Because it's like taking a vacation from real life, and real life is mostly terrible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-lee-corthron/because-it-s-like-taking-a-vacation-from-real-life-and-real-life-is/) [Kara Lee Corthron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-lee-corthron/) > [Now, son, I'm only telling you this because... life can do terrible things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayday-parade/now-son-i-m-only-telling-you-this-because-life-can-do-terrible-things/) Mayday Parade > [It's very hard when I've seen a couple of people very beloved in my life with terrible degenerative diseases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-viorst/it-s-very-hard-when-i-ve-seen-a-couple-of-people-very-beloved-in-my/) [Judith Viorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-viorst/) > [That is the challenge Companion. To take what has happened to you and learn from it. Nothing is quite so destructive as pity, especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/that-is-the-challenge-companion-to-take-what-has-happened-to-you-and/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [I wasted so much time on you.. So much effort, so many nights, so many opportunities, so many kisses, so much love and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wasted-so-much-time-on-you-so-much-effort-so-many-nights-so-many/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me, Polly Garter, under the washing line, giving the breast in the garden to my bonny new baby. Nothing grows in our garden, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/me-polly-garter-under-the-washing-line-giving-the-breast-in-the/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/my-life-has-been-full-of-terrible-misfortunes-most-of-which-never/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Every loss of life is terrible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/every-loss-of-life-is-terrible/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [“Life was terrible. It was as though they could understand, as though they could read in one another’s eyes, that the power which had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/life-was-terrible-it-was-as-though-they-could-understand-as-though/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) ## More by Bryan Lee O'Malley > [I feel like im in this river just getting swept along... And if I hold on to anyone, if I'm holding on for dear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/i-feel-like-im-in-this-river-just-getting-swept-along-and-if-i-hold/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [Maybe it's important to open up I people- people who are right there with you, not some thousand miles away in another universe. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/maybe-it-s-important-to-open-up-i-people-people-who-are-right-there/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [“Let's be friends based on mutual hate." - Wallace Wells "Listen to this, okay? Just listen. You hear that? That's' market bacon hitting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/let-s-be-friends-based-on-mutual-hate-wallace-wells-listen-to-this/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [“I am leaning back and running with it and staring at the stars and I’m eleven, I’m sixteen, I’m eighteen, I’m a newborn I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/i-am-leaning-back-and-running-with-it-and-staring-at-the-stars-and-i/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [Oh, hey, maybe I should have mentioned that my friends are retarded douchebags.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/oh-hey-maybe-i-should-have-mentioned-that-my-friends-are-retarded/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [When I was a kid, I desperately wanted more background information on especially cartoonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/when-i-was-a-kid-i-desperately-wanted-more-background-information-on/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [I'm too young to have experienced firsthand the '70s rock, but when I was in high school, me and my friends were super into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/i-m-too-young-to-have-experienced-firsthand-the-70s-rock-but-when-i/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [“Do you want to have sex? I think we should have sex. CASUAL sex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/do-you-want-to-have-sex-i-think-we-should-have-sex-casual-sex/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [I just have this thing in my head that I want to do serious stories that are still just way too cute and drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/i-just-have-this-thing-in-my-head-that-i-want-to-do-serious-stories/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [Scott: I don't think I'm ready to be a grown-up. Kim: I don't think you are either, buddy. But hey, you'll get it. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/scott-i-don-t-think-i-m-ready-to-be-a-grown-up-kim-i-don-t-think-you/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [In my teens and university and stuff, video games became more realistic, or they started to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/in-my-teens-and-university-and-stuff-video-games-became-more/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [“(door slams open at 2:30am) "Guess who's DRUAAAHUUUNK!" said Wilson. "I guess Wilson, now get out," moaned Scott”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/door-slams-open-at-2-30am-guess-who-s-druaaahuuunk-said-wilson-i/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [I'm sometimes sort of in touch with the readership, and they seem to have perceptive questions, for the most part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/i-m-sometimes-sort-of-in-touch-with-the-readership-and-they-seem-to/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [“She's his kid sister, but... I guess it's like she got sucked into this alternate dimension when she was little? And this demon guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/she-s-his-kid-sister-but-i-guess-it-s-like-she-got-sucked-into-this/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) > [I really like the look of old '70s and '80s Japanese comics, so I think that style is something I will continue to draw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/i-really-like-the-look-of-old-70s-and-80s-japanese-comics-so-i-think/) [Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) [Explore all 99 Bryan Lee O'Malley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/) ## More Adult life quotes > [“Not very long ago I was driving with my husband on the back roads of Grey County, which is to the north and east…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/not-very-long-ago-i-was-driving-with-my-husband-on-the-back-roads-of/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have spent my entire adult life trying to make Liberty University the world-class Christian university that was envisioned at its founding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-falwell-jr/i-have-spent-my-entire-adult-life-trying-to-make-liberty-university/) [Jerry Falwell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-falwell-jr/) > [I spent close to a decade as an undercover officer in the CIA and have spent most of my adult life collecting intelligence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hurd/i-spent-close-to-a-decade-as-an-undercover-officer-in-the-cia-and/) [Will Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hurd/) > [I have been in relatively high-risk businesses all of my adult life. Few of the others, however, had the possibility of direct gains in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/i-have-been-in-relatively-high-risk-businesses-all-of-my-adult-life/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [“I have spent most of my adult life in a ghetto among countless other outsiders who have also learned how to talk through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/i-have-spent-most-of-my-adult-life-in-a-ghetto-among-countless-other/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [Mike Bloomberg may be a Republican these days. But he has been a Democrat for most of his adult life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randi-weingarten/mike-bloomberg-may-be-a-republican-these-days-but-he-has-been-a/) [Randi Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randi-weingarten/) > [“She could not remember ever being truly happy in her adult life; her years with her mother had been built up devotedly around small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/she-could-not-remember-ever-being-truly-happy-in-her-adult-life-her/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“So, I begin each day with a gesture of cynicism, and close it with a gesture of faith; or, if you prefer, begin it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/so-i-begin-each-day-with-a-gesture-of-cynicism-and-close-it-with-a/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [I was pretty poor for a long time. Not \*poor\* poor. But college student poor. I lived for most of my adult life living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-was-pretty-poor-for-a-long-time-not-poor-poor-but-college-student/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Hillary Clinton is tough, clever, and formidably well briefed, and has been politically ambitious all her adult life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/hillary-clinton-is-tough-clever-and-formidably-well-briefed-and-has/) [Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/) > [I was really poor for most of my adult life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-leonard/i-was-really-poor-for-most-of-my-adult-life/) [Zoe Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-leonard/) > [“When I heard Zizek’s statement, I have to admit that I reacted strongly against it. For the first twenty-five years of my adult life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaddhaka-linn/when-i-heard-zizek-s-statement-i-have-to-admit-that-i-reacted/) [Vaddhaka Linn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaddhaka-linn/) > [“Someone once asked Gandhi for a sermon, and his reply was, “My life is my sermon.” In the same way, we see how Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-l-corey/someone-once-asked-gandhi-for-a-sermon-and-his-reply-was-my-life-is/) [Benjamin L. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-l-corey/) > [“In his commencement address at Kenyon College, the novelist and social critic David Foster Wallace eloquently said, “In the day-to-day trenches of adult life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mark-comer/in-his-commencement-address-at-kenyon-college-the-novelist-and-social/) [John Mark Comer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mark-comer/) > [“We are all, of course, wayfaring strangers on this earth. But coming out of the rainbow tunnel, the liminal portal between Marin and San…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-hutchins/we-are-all-of-course-wayfaring-strangers-on-this-earth-but-coming-out/) [Scott Hutchins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-hutchins/) [Browse all 431 Adult life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adult-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Adult life is terrible, Hazel. Never grow up. Everything's complicated, and there are too many rules ...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bryan Lee O'Malley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/adult-life-is-terrible-hazel-never-grow-up-everything-s-complicated/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adult life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/adult-life-is-terrible-hazel-never-grow-up-everything-s-complicated/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f80/bryan-lee-o-malley-6525_adult-life_adult-life-is-terrible-hazel-never-grow_460769.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f80/bryan-lee-o-malley-6525_adult-life_adult-life-is-terrible-hazel-never-grow_460769.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f80/bryan-lee-o-malley-6525_adult-life_adult-life-is-terrible-hazel-never-grow_460769.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Adult life is terrible, Hazel. Never grow up. Everything's complicated, and there are too many rules ...” — Bryan Lee O'Malley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bryan Lee O'Malley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Adult life is terrible, Hazel. Never...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/adult-life-is-terrible-hazel-never-grow-up-everything-s-complicated/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/adult-life-is-terrible-hazel-never-grow-up-everything-s-complicated/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```