--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With him I couldn’t be anything but…" description: "\"“With him I couldn’t be anything but myself and that scared the crap out of me, because I had never existed like that before.”\" — Carlyle Labuschagne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/carlyle-labuschagne-36770_fantasy-fiction_with-him-i-couldn-t-be-anything-but-myse_2016820.jpg" --- # With him I couldn’t be anything but myself and that scared… ![“With him I couldn’t be anything but myself and that scared the crap out of me, because I had never existed like that before.” quote by Carlyle Labuschagne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/carlyle-labuschagne-36770_fantasy-fiction_with-him-i-couldn-t-be-anything-but-myse_2016820.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/carlyle-labuschagne-36770_fantasy-fiction_with-him-i-couldn-t-be-anything-but-myse_2016820.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/carlyle-labuschagne-36770_fantasy-fiction_with-him-i-couldn-t-be-anything-but-myse_2016820.jpg) > ““With him I couldn’t be anything but myself and that scared the crap out of me, because I had never existed like that before.”” [Carlyle Labuschagne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlyle-labuschagne/) ## 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 feels vulnerable when truly seen, exposing a self they never knew existed. **In simple terms:** Being seen makes the speaker feel vulnerable Key Takeaway .Embrace authentic connection. Themes vulnerability self‑discovery authenticity Mood anxious reflective Type personal psychological When to use this quote - intimate conversations - therapy sessions - new friendships Key Concepts identity psychology relationship dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does being truly seen change you? - What fears arise when you stop pretending? A Different Perspective Fear of authenticity can hinder deep relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fantasy-fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy-fiction/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Urban-fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urban-fantasy/) ## Related quotes > [“It stopped when we tried to prove it existed, like a secret that doesn’t want to be believed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arabella-sveinsdottir/it-stopped-when-we-tried-to-prove-it-existed-like-a-secret-that-doesn/) [Arabella Sveinsdottir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arabella-sveinsdottir/) > [Then I realized what separated us: what I thought about him could not reach him; it was psychology, the kind they write about in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/then-i-realized-what-separated-us-what-i-thought-about-him-could-not/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [As a teenager and into my early twenties I lived in a geodesic dome on a mountain. 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I knew exactly what he meant, because I too saw myself for the first time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlyle-labuschagne/i-see-you-he-said-ever-so-softly-i-knew-exactly-what-he-meant-because/) [Carlyle Labuschagne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlyle-labuschagne/) > [“You cannot know what light is if you have not experienced darkness. How could you know what happiness feels like if you know not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlyle-labuschagne/you-cannot-know-what-light-is-if-you-have-not-experienced-darkness/) [Carlyle Labuschagne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlyle-labuschagne/) > [“I was on a lit path, a raging firestorm for him – all of him. My body ached for it. I had found the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlyle-labuschagne/i-was-on-a-lit-path-a-raging-firestorm-for-him-all-of-him-my-body/) [Carlyle Labuschagne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlyle-labuschagne/) > [“In this life, all is Evanescent. Live for the now”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlyle-labuschagne/in-this-life-all-is-evanescent-live-for-the-now/) [Carlyle Labuschagne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlyle-labuschagne/) [Explore all 12 Carlyle Labuschagne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlyle-labuschagne/) ## More Existed quotes > [“For a long while I have lived with the notion that I was the most normal being that ever existed. This notion gave me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/for-a-long-while-i-have-lived-with-the-notion-that-i-was-the-most/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) > [“The air felt different in my lungs. The world no longer looked the same. You change and then you change again. 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I was happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-gonzalez-torres/above-all-else-it-is-about-leaving-a-mark-that-i-existed-i-was-here-i/) Felix Gonzalez-Torres > [“If Erik existed and lived life in despair, We wish him to know we are here and we care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/if-erik-existed-and-lived-life-in-despair-we-wish-him-to-know-we-are/) [E.A. 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From the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mackey/at-a-lot-of-companies-founded-on-principles-the-notion-of-making/) [John Mackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mackey/) Browse all 439 Existed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“With him I couldn’t be anything but myself and that scared the crap out of me, because I had never existed like that before.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carlyle Labuschagne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlyle-labuschagne/with-him-i-couldn-t-be-anything-but-myself-and-that-scared-the-crap/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Existed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlyle-labuschagne/with-him-i-couldn-t-be-anything-but-myself-and-that-scared-the-crap/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/carlyle-labuschagne-36770_fantasy-fiction_with-him-i-couldn-t-be-anything-but-myse_2016820.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/carlyle-labuschagne-36770_fantasy-fiction_with-him-i-couldn-t-be-anything-but-myse_2016820.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/carlyle-labuschagne-36770_fantasy-fiction_with-him-i-couldn-t-be-anything-but-myse_2016820.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“With him I couldn’t be anything but myself and that scared the crap out of me, because I had never existed…” — Carlyle Labuschagne", "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": "Carlyle Labuschagne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlyle-labuschagne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“With him I couldn’t be anything...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlyle-labuschagne/with-him-i-couldn-t-be-anything-but-myself-and-that-scared-the-crap/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlyle-labuschagne/with-him-i-couldn-t-be-anything-but-myself-and-that-scared-the-crap/#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 } } ] } ```