--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For some reason, I believed that I had…" description: "\"“For some reason, I believed that I had above all else an obligation to protect everyone-- my teachers, my family-- from the knowledge of my cutting. W..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/caroline-kettlewell-33205_cutting_for-some-reason-i-believed-that-i-had-ab_1196298.jpg" --- # For some reason, I believed that I had above all else an… ![“For some reason, I believed that I had above all else an obligation to protect everyone-- my teachers, my family-- from the knowledge of my cutting. What they did not know would not cause them pain.” quote by Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/caroline-kettlewell-33205_cutting_for-some-reason-i-believed-that-i-had-ab_1196298.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/caroline-kettlewell-33205_cutting_for-some-reason-i-believed-that-i-had-ab_1196298.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/caroline-kettlewell-33205_cutting_for-some-reason-i-believed-that-i-had-ab_1196298.jpg) > ““For some reason, I believed that I had above all else an obligation to protect everyone-- my teachers, my family-- from the knowledge of my cutting. What they did not know would not cause them pain.”” [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator hides painful truths to protect loved ones, believing ignorance shields them from suffering. **In simple terms:** Keeping secrets to protect others. Key Takeaway Consider the impact of withholding truth on relationships. Themes family secrets protection psychology ethics Mood reflective conflicted thoughtful Type literary philosophical ethical When to use this quote - family gatherings - therapy sessions - conflict resolution - personal reflection Key Concepts knowledge pain relationship dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Is it kinder to hide truth or reveal it? - What are the risks of protecting others through secrecy? A Different Perspective Truth may eventually surface, causing greater harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“Somehow I believed it was my obligation to try to do the right thing by her because she had given birth to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-g-kaye/somehow-i-believed-it-was-my-obligation-to-try-to-do-the-right-thing/) D.G. Kaye > [Look at the evils of the world around you and protect yourself from them. 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Jayachandran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-jayachandran/) > [I view receiving the COVID-19 vaccine as part of my obligation to protect myself, members of my administration, and my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-lamont/i-view-receiving-the-covid-19-vaccine-as-part-of-my-obligation-to/) [Ned Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-lamont/) > [Discrimination isn't welcome in Louisiana, but as is the case often, folks running for office seem to forget that we have an obligation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bel-edwards/discrimination-isn-t-welcome-in-louisiana-but-as-is-the-case-often/) [John Bel Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bel-edwards/) > [Water, stories, the body, all the things we do, are mediums that hid and show what's hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/water-stories-the-body-all-the-things-we-do-are-mediums-that-hid-and/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“He never saw these dresses, was not the least aware of their presence under the manteau, but she insisted on wearing them. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sahar-delijani/he-never-saw-these-dresses-was-not-the-least-aware-of-their-presence/) [Sahar Delijani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sahar-delijani/) > [Don't all writers have a hidden nerve, call it a secret chamber, something irreducibly theirs, which stirs their prose and makes it tick and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/don-t-all-writers-have-a-hidden-nerve-call-it-a-secret-chamber/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Everyone tries to decipher what I write as if there's a hidden message and I'm like, 'There's no hidden message.' I don't even put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-morrone/everyone-tries-to-decipher-what-i-write-as-if-there-s-a-hidden/) [Camila Morrone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-morrone/) > [The hidden child wants to be able to participate and to co-create in art, rather than being simply an admiring viewer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-morgenstern/the-hidden-child-wants-to-be-able-to-participate-and-to-co-create-in/) [Christian Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-morgenstern/) > [I can look around a room and tell you if there are hidden cameras or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-ash/i-can-look-around-a-room-and-tell-you-if-there-are-hidden-cameras-or/) [Lauren Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-ash/) ## More by Caroline Kettlewell > [“I have drawn the line, and I am still on this side of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/i-have-drawn-the-line-and-i-am-still-on-this-side-of-it/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [“My unhappiness precluded all else; unhappiness is a kind of narcissism, in which nothing that does not resonate with your unhappiness can interest you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/my-unhappiness-precluded-all-else-unhappiness-is-a-kind-of-narcissism/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [“Why can't I remember our family Christmas, or a warm spring day, or anything that might have been pleasant? It is as though the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/why-can-t-i-remember-our-family-christmas-or-a-warm-spring-day-or/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [“I needed cutting now the way a diabetic needs insulin. It was a bulwark, steady and unyielding, I could throw up against the insidious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/i-needed-cutting-now-the-way-a-diabetic-needs-insulin-it-was-a/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [“You might imagine that a person would resort to self-mutilation only under extremes of duress, but once I'd crossed that line the first time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/you-might-imagine-that-a-person-would-resort-to-self-mutilation-only/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [“The chaos in my head spun itself into a silk of silence. I had distilled myself to the immediacy of hand, blade, blood, flesh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/the-chaos-in-my-head-spun-itself-into-a-silk-of-silence-i-had/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [“It didn’t occur to me that there was something decidedly odd in finding a box of razor blades aesthetically appealing. I wonder if a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/it-didn-t-occur-to-me-that-there-was-something-decidedly-odd-in/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [“How gratifying it is to amuse. How easy it gets to toss off a witticism to ease any awkwardness, to sidestep any solemnity. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/how-gratifying-it-is-to-amuse-how-easy-it-gets-to-toss-off-a/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [“Once you take to the habit of deception, every new lie comes that much easier. Though to me it wasn't so much lies as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/once-you-take-to-the-habit-of-deception-every-new-lie-comes-that-much/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [Anorexia isn't about being fat, it's about having fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/anorexia-isn-t-about-being-fat-it-s-about-having-fat/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [“The fear of an unknown never resolves, because the unknown expands infinitely outward, leaving you to cling pitifully to any small shelter of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/the-fear-of-an-unknown-never-resolves-because-the-unknown-expands/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [“That's when I wanted to cut. I cut to quiet the cacophony. I cut to end this abstracted agony, to reel my selves back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/that-s-when-i-wanted-to-cut-i-cut-to-quiet-the-cacophony-i-cut-to-end/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [“Somehow however just knowing that I could fully expect unhappiness to return – if not predictably then nevertheless reliably – was strangely liberating. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/somehow-however-just-knowing-that-i-could-fully-expect-unhappiness-to/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) > [“Well how many troubles should equal a legitimate reason for self-mutilation? Ten? Twenty? One hundred? And how monumental must these troubles be? There’s probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kettlewell/well-how-many-troubles-should-equal-a-legitimate-reason-for-self/) [Caroline Kettlewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) [Explore all 15 Caroline Kettlewell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kettlewell/) ## More Cutting quotes > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. I made it so hot that I had to get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-crandall/i-locked-the-door-and-turned-on-the-water-to-fill-the-tub-i-made-it/) [Susan Crandall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-crandall/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. So, when I first got the script and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/since-i-worked-with-danny-boyle-before-on-slumdog-millionaire-we-have/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I didn't understand Southland Tales script at all! Is there a single word to describe it? Cacophony? It's celebrity meets pornography meets politics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-grant/i-didn-t-understand-southland-tales-script-at-all-is-there-a-single/) [Beth Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-grant/) > [Confidence comes from cutting yourself some slack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/confidence-comes-from-cutting-yourself-some-slack/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [What's the difference between obsolete and cutting edge? Obsolete works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/what-s-the-difference-between-obsolete-and-cutting-edge-obsolete-works/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) Browse all 6,010 Cutting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For some reason, I believed that I had above all else an obligation to protect everyone-- my teachers, my family-- from the knowledge of my cutting. 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