--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You get to middle school, and you think…" description: "\"“You get to middle school, and you think about these things. The world opens up; history stretches behind you, and the future stretches before you, and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/claire-messud-1372_history_you-get-to-middle-school-and-you-think-a_746415.png" --- # You get to middle school, and you think about these… ![“You get to middle school, and you think about these things. The world opens up; history stretches behind you, and the future stretches before you, and you're suddenly aware of the wild, unknowable interior lives of everyone around you, the realization that each and every person lives in an…” quote by Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/claire-messud-1372_history_you-get-to-middle-school-and-you-think-a_746415.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/claire-messud-1372_history_you-get-to-middle-school-and-you-think-a_746415.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/claire-messud-1372_history_you-get-to-middle-school-and-you-think-a_746415.png) > ““You get to middle school, and you think about these things. The world opens up; history stretches behind you, and the future stretches before you, and you're suddenly aware of the wild, unknowable interior lives of everyone around you, the realization that each and every person lives in an unspoken world as full and strange as your own, and that you can't ever hope entirely to know anything, not even yourself.”” [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on the realization that each person lives an inner, unknowable world, making complete understanding impossible. **In simple terms:** We can never fully know others or ourselves. Key Takeaway Embrace humility about knowing others. Themes identity knowledge humility Mood reflective empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - interpersonal relationships - education - self‑exploration Key Concepts psychology existentialism social perception Questions to Reflect On - How does acknowledging unknown inner lives affect empathy? - What limits our self‑knowledge? A Different Perspective Assuming we can fully understand others leads to misjudgment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Middle school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-school/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) ## Related quotes > [“It is but few who hear about the Self. Fewer still dedicate their lives to its Realization. Wonderful is the one Who speaks about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-but-few-who-hear-about-the-self-fewer-still-dedicate-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is an epidemic right now of girls dumbing themselves down... in middle school because they think it makes them attractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danica-mckellar/there-is-an-epidemic-right-now-of-girls-dumbing-themselves-down-in/) [Danica McKellar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danica-mckellar/) > [You never learn anything in school. Think about how many car accidents happen every day. Driver’s ed? What’s up? I still haven’t been to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-smith/you-never-learn-anything-in-school-think-about-how-many-car-accidents/) [Jaden Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-smith/) > [Something I've always said is if you think back as an adult to when you were in school, think back who your favorite teacher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/something-i-ve-always-said-is-if-you-think-back-as-an-adult-to-when/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [A kid now can practically record a song or edit a short film on his way to school. I think that will produce, perhaps,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pitt/a-kid-now-can-practically-record-a-song-or-edit-a-short-film-on-his/) [Michael Pitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pitt/) > [When I see friends from school I think they've all grown old and I've stayed the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-coogan/when-i-see-friends-from-school-i-think-they-ve-all-grown-old-and-i-ve/) [Steve Coogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-coogan/) > [And each morning before school I think about if Im going to love you that day and I didnt really need to think because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-each-morning-before-school-i-think-about-if-im-going-to-love-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People ask me if I'm going to open a school. Why not? I think I should. Maybe not a typical school where anyone can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirko-cro-cop/people-ask-me-if-i-m-going-to-open-a-school-why-not-i-think-i-should/) [Mirko Cro Cop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirko-cro-cop/) > [There was no theater in my high school. I think even our art program was cut - it was so bad. I didn't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyd-holbrook/there-was-no-theater-in-my-high-school-i-think-even-our-art-program/) [Boyd Holbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyd-holbrook/) > [There is a lot of hype about drama school, I think. If you're an actor in England, that's just the way to get into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-tomlinson/there-is-a-lot-of-hype-about-drama-school-i-think-if-you-re-an-actor/) [Eleanor Tomlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-tomlinson/) > [I think things get a lot better after high school. I think the ones that struggle during that time tend to have better experiences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-shannon/i-think-things-get-a-lot-better-after-high-school-i-think-the-ones/) [Molly Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-shannon/) > [I don't think it's such a bad idea that people learn the same history in school. I think it tends to ground people and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/i-don-t-think-it-s-such-a-bad-idea-that-people-learn-the-same-history/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [Not caring what people think about you is so much easier said than done and I think that it's easy to be in school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-cabello/not-caring-what-people-think-about-you-is-so-much-easier-said-than/) [Camila Cabello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-cabello/) > [I didn't go to high school. I think that after you learn to read and write and do your numbers and flush the toilet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilford-brimley/i-didn-t-go-to-high-school-i-think-that-after-you-learn-to-read-and/) [Wilford Brimley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilford-brimley/) > [I have a friend whose theory is that you're from wherever you went to high school. I think that's mostly true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-soderbergh/i-have-a-friend-whose-theory-is-that-you-re-from-wherever-you-went-to/) [Steven Soderbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-soderbergh/) ## More by Claire Messud > [I'd wish for my work to be remembered rather than myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-d-wish-for-my-work-to-be-remembered-rather-than-myself/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [I have said it somewhere - our literary lived lives are as important as our literally lived lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-have-said-it-somewhere-our-literary-lived-lives-are-as-important-as/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [“Life is about deciding what matters. It’s about the fantasy that determines the reality. Have you ever asked yourself whether you’d rather fly or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/life-is-about-deciding-what-matters-it-s-about-the-fantasy-that/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [Life's funny. You have to find a way to keep going, to keep laughing, even after you realize that none of your dreams will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/life-s-funny-you-have-to-find-a-way-to-keep-going-to-keep-laughing/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [It's the strangest thing about being human: to know so much, to communicate so much, and yet always to fall so drastically short of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/it-s-the-strangest-thing-about-being-human-to-know-so-much-to/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [The fictional narratives that television, film, and the news provide for girls and young women are appalling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/the-fictional-narratives-that-television-film-and-the-news-provide/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [“I don't want to sleep,' my mother said. 'I want -- for God's sake, I want to wake up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-don-t-want-to-sleep-my-mother-said-i-want-for-god-s-sake-i-want-to/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [“It was supposed to say “Great Artist” on my tombstone, but if I died right now it would say “such a good teacher/​daughter/​friend” instead;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/it-was-supposed-to-say-great-artist-on-my-tombstone-but-if-i-died/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [“Live, my dear Nora. Satisfy your hunger. There's food all around you, you know.' 'What kind of food, I'd like to know?' 'Ah'-he smiled-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/live-my-dear-nora-satisfy-your-hunger-there-s-food-all-around-you-you/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [I digress a lot - it's how I experience the world. I would like to write in a way that will convey that to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-digress-a-lot-it-s-how-i-experience-the-world-i-would-like-to-write/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [We think that - as kids, you know - that kids make up stories and live in a sort of fictional place, but that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/we-think-that-as-kids-you-know-that-kids-make-up-stories-and-live-in/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [“It makes sense that if you stand almost daily in the middle of a perfect crescent of shore, with a vista open to eternity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/it-makes-sense-that-if-you-stand-almost-daily-in-the-middle-of-a/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [“Once aware of my isolation, I was afraid not of it but of its interruption.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/once-aware-of-my-isolation-i-was-afraid-not-of-it-but-of-its/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [“who I am in my head, very few people really get to see that. Almost none. It’s the most precious gift I can give,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/who-i-am-in-my-head-very-few-people-really-get-to-see-that-almost/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [“My everyday Appleton life, my phones calls to my father, my occasional beers with friends, my Saturday-morning jobs around the reservoir - what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/my-everyday-appleton-life-my-phones-calls-to-my-father-my-occasional/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) [Explore all 249 Claire Messud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You get to middle school, and you think about these things. The world opens up; history stretches behind you, and the future stretches before you, and you're suddenly aware of the wild, unknowable interior lives of everyone around you, the realization that each and every person lives in an unspoken world as full and strange as your own, and that you can't ever hope entirely to know anything, not even yourself.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Claire Messud" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/you-get-to-middle-school-and-you-think-about-these-things-the-world/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/you-get-to-middle-school-and-you-think-about-these-things-the-world/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/claire-messud-1372_history_you-get-to-middle-school-and-you-think-a_746415.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/claire-messud-1372_history_you-get-to-middle-school-and-you-think-a_746415.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/claire-messud-1372_history_you-get-to-middle-school-and-you-think-a_746415.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You get to middle school, and you think about these things. The world opens up; history stretches behind…” — Claire Messud", "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": "Claire Messud", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You get to middle school, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/you-get-to-middle-school-and-you-think-about-these-things-the-world/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/you-get-to-middle-school-and-you-think-about-these-things-the-world/#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 } } ] } ```