--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The person we know at first, she thinks…" description: "\"The person we know at first, she thinks, is not the one we know at last.\" — Colum McCann" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/colum-mccann-902_firsts_the-person-we-know-at-first-she-thinks-i_373942.png" --- # The person we know at first, she thinks, is not the one we… ![“The person we know at first, she thinks, is not the one we know at last.” quote by Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/colum-mccann-902_firsts_the-person-we-know-at-first-she-thinks-i_373942.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/colum-mccann-902_firsts_the-person-we-know-at-first-she-thinks-i_373942.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/colum-mccann-902_firsts_the-person-we-know-at-first-she-thinks-i_373942.png) > “The person we know at first, she thinks, is not the one we know at last.” [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. First impressions can be misleading; people evolve over time. **In simple terms:** People change, so first impressions may be wrong. Key Takeaway Stay open to deeper understanding. Themes identity perception growth Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - relationships - first meetings - long‑term collaborations Key Concepts psychology human development Questions to Reflect On - How do you reassess initial judgments? - What signs indicate a person’s true self? A Different Perspective Changing perceptions can be painful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. You know what you've done and what you've been through to get to where you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-cauley-stein/it-doesn-t-matter-what-anyone-else-thinks-you-know-what-you-ve-done/) [Willie Cauley-Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-cauley-stein/) > [There is but a slight difference between the man who may be said to know nothing and him who thinks he knows everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/there-is-but-a-slight-difference-between-the-man-who-may-be-said-to/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [When you love someone as a friend let him know before he thinks it is something more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lockedupoet/when-you-love-someone-as-a-friend-let-him-know-before-he-thinks-it-is/) Lockedupoet > [I'm one of those people who doesn't really know what he thinks until he writes it down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-m-one-of-those-people-who-doesn-t-really-know-what-he-thinks-until/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I must know, he thinks. It must be clear to me. There is a world which is closed to him, a world of shadings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-must-know-he-thinks-it-must-be-clear-to-me-there-is-a-world-which/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [ “The repeated lies become history, but they don't necessarily become the truth. The person we know at first, \[she thinks\] is not the one… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-repeated-lies-become-history-but-they-don-t-necessarily-become/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Put yourself in the other man's place and then you will know why he thinks certain things and does certain deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/put-yourself-in-the-other-man-s-place-and-then-you-will-know-why-he/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [“Know yourself, he thinks, as they sail past his house. And go in swinging.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/know-yourself-he-thinks-as-they-sail-past-his-house-and-go-in-swinging/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [All I want kids to know is that I see them for who they are and not who everyone thinks they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-reynolds/all-i-want-kids-to-know-is-that-i-see-them-for-who-they-are-and-not/) [Jason Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-reynolds/) > [Never let anyone know what you're thinking - always know what the other thinks of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/never-let-anyone-know-what-you-re-thinking-always-know-what-the-other/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“Honesty is a fine foundation from which to build upon; for if one was to really know what another thinks and how they feel…they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-aldana/honesty-is-a-fine-foundation-from-which-to-build-upon-for-if-one-was/) [Jeremy Aldana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-aldana/) > [Surprising, I know. Everyone thinks I'm older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/surprising-i-know-everyone-thinks-i-m-older/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“Know that most everyone thinks that what they did, and what they are doing, is much more important than it really is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/know-that-most-everyone-thinks-that-what-they-did-and-what-they-are/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“He thinks I might leave if I know him. He thinks that I might leave if he’s himself. Oh, this man is so complicated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-james/he-thinks-i-might-leave-if-i-know-him-he-thinks-that-i-might-leave-if/) [E.L. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-james/) > [Three-fourths of the mistakes a man makes are made because he does not really know what he thinks he knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bryce/three-fourths-of-the-mistakes-a-man-makes-are-made-because-he-does-2/) [James Bryce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bryce/) ## More by Colum McCann > [Give life long enough and it will solve all your problems, including the one of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/give-life-long-enough-and-it-will-solve-all-your-problems-including/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“There is something that happens to the mind in moments of terror. Perhaps we figure it's the last we'll ever have and we record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/there-is-something-that-happens-to-the-mind-in-moments-of-terror/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“The short sharp shock of three thousand mother two hundred mothers. The ones who picked through the supermarket debris for pieces of their dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-short-sharp-shock-of-three-thousand-mother-two-hundred-mothers/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I'm not so sure that I can teach people how to, you know, write dialogue or create plot or anything like that. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-not-so-sure-that-i-can-teach-people-how-to-you-know-write/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Once we had filled each other with desire, not remembrance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/once-we-had-filled-each-other-with-desire-not-remembrance/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“How long ago it was and how strange, but all dead friends come to life again sometimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/how-long-ago-it-was-and-how-strange-but-all-dead-friends-come-to-life/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She would want, instead, to recall him in the air, between layers of cloud. To give him back that ancient dignity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-would-want-instead-to-recall-him-in-the-air-between-layers-of/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Novels are more difficult simply because they are longer and require more juggling, but short stories are closer to perfection, if you can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/novels-are-more-difficult-simply-because-they-are-longer-and-require/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [It was a silence that heard itself, awful and beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/it-was-a-silence-that-heard-itself-awful-and-beautiful/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I think one of the biggest political failures, and the biggest social failures, over the past few years has been the failure of empathy;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-think-one-of-the-biggest-political-failures-and-the-biggest-social/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Bits of it floating in the air, he said. 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