--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was an onion, layers and layers and…" description: "\"I was an onion, layers and layers and layers under a thin, papery skin. If anyone had been able to cut me open, my bitter, irritating juices would have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/crescent-dragonwagon-35481_able_i-was-an-onion-layers-and-layers-and-lay_3029615.png" --- # I was an onion, layers and layers and layers under a thin… ![“I was an onion, layers and layers and layers under a thin, papery skin. If anyone had been able to cut me open, my bitter, irritating juices would have stung their eyes, and they would have cried. Although I couldn't cry myself, much at the time. But no one would cut me open.” quote by Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/crescent-dragonwagon-35481_able_i-was-an-onion-layers-and-layers-and-lay_3029615.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/crescent-dragonwagon-35481_able_i-was-an-onion-layers-and-layers-and-lay_3029615.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/crescent-dragonwagon-35481_able_i-was-an-onion-layers-and-layers-and-lay_3029615.png) > “I was an onion, layers and layers and layers under a thin, papery skin. If anyone had been able to cut me open, my bitter, irritating juices would have stung their eyes, and they would have cried. Although I couldn't cry myself, much at the time. But no one would cut me open.” [Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. I felt like an onion with many layers hidden beneath a thin exterior; exposing me would cause pain and tears, yet I never allowed anyone to see that vulnerability. **In simple terms:** I hide deep pain behind a thin surface. Key Takeaway Guard your inner self. Themes vulnerability self-protection emotional depth identity Mood introspective poetic Type personal literary When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - personal relationships Key Concepts Psychology defense mechanisms self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - What layers protect you? - When might you reveal your inner self? A Different Perspective Opening up can foster deeper connections. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) [Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) [Cried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cried/) [Cried Couldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cried-couldn-4942608/) [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Eyes Cried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-cried-942225/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Irritating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irritating/) [Juice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/juice/) [Layers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/layers/) [Non conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/non-conformity/) [Onion Layers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/onion-layers-3910554/) [Onions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/onions/) [Papery Skin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/papery-skin-4942609/) [Skins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skins/) ## Related quotes > [A few days ago, I believe a few...but anyway, I cried like a little kid at school. I cried so much that I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naquitta-faith/a-few-days-ago-i-believe-a-few-but-anyway-i-cried-like-a-little-kid/) [Naquitta Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naquitta-faith/) > [I'm like an onion, I have so many layers. Also people around me seem to cry a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-m-like-an-onion-i-have-so-many-layers-also-people-around-me-seem-to/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“He slid his hands up her back and lifted her until they were eye to eye. 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Does that mean you closed your eyes when I cried?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-said-you-didnt-want-to-see-me-get-hurt-does-that-mean-you-closed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The most beautiful of eyes have cried the most tears and the sweetest of smiles have gone through the most pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-most-beautiful-of-eyes-have-cried-the-most-tears-and-the-sweetest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [She cried for the life she could not control. She cried for the mentor who had died before her eyes. She cried for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/she-cried-for-the-life-she-could-not-control-she-cried-for-the-mentor/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [The prettiest smiles hide the deepest secrets. The prettiest eyes have cried the most tears. And the kindest hearts have felt the most pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-prettiest-smiles-hide-the-deepest-secrets-the-prettiest-eyes-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes the prettiest smiles hide the deepest secrets.. The prettiest eyes have cried the most tears.. the kindest heart has felt the most pain..…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-the-prettiest-smiles-hide-the-deepest-secrets-the-prettiest-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The prettiest smile hide the deepest secrets. The prettiest eyes have cried the most tears. And the kindest hearts have felt the most pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-prettiest-smile-hide-the-deepest-secrets-the-prettiest-eyes-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes, the prettiest smiles hide the deepest secrets. the prettiest eyes have cried the most tears and the kindest hearts have felt the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slowly-fading/sometimes-the-prettiest-smiles-hide-the-deepest-secrets-the-prettiest/) [Slowly\_fading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slowly-fading/) > [You said you dint wanna see me get hurt , so does that mean you closed your eyes when I cried ???](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-said-you-dint-wanna-see-me-get-hurt-so-does-that-mean-you-closed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Crescent Dragonwagon > [I always have this sense of food as triangular, in that one point is nourishment, one point is connection, and one point is pleasure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crescent-dragonwagon/i-always-have-this-sense-of-food-as-triangular-in-that-one-point-is/) [Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/) > [Writing is how I metabolize life and how I give and receive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crescent-dragonwagon/writing-is-how-i-metabolize-life-and-how-i-give-and-receive/) [Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/) > [There is a water soluble sugar that is in beans called oligosaccharides, and they are indigestible by human beings. They ferment during the digestion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crescent-dragonwagon/there-is-a-water-soluble-sugar-that-is-in-beans-called/) [Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/) > [All the time we wondered and wondered, who is this person coming/growing/turning/floating/swimming deep, deep inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crescent-dragonwagon/all-the-time-we-wondered-and-wondered-who-is-this-person-coming/) [Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/) > [I like to erase lines between categories. Why separate cookbook writing from writing, healthy from good tasting? I want to be open to possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crescent-dragonwagon/i-like-to-erase-lines-between-categories-why-separate-cookbook/) [Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/) > [ \[it's about\] being bitter but patient with your own bitterness so you could learn to be wise and be kind of returned to whatever… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crescent-dragonwagon/it-s-about-being-bitter-but-patient-with-your-own-bitterness-so-you/) [Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/) > [Cooking and eating are among the most important ways we weave days into lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crescent-dragonwagon/cooking-and-eating-are-among-the-most-important-ways-we-weave-days/) [Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/) > [I tend to be a person who, when I get interested in something, I get obsessed by it... What happens to me is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crescent-dragonwagon/i-tend-to-be-a-person-who-when-i-get-interested-in-something-i-get/) [Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/) > [First of all, you want to do the soaking with almost all of the larger beans because that will take care of the gas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crescent-dragonwagon/first-of-all-you-want-to-do-the-soaking-with-almost-all-of-the-larger/) [Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/) > [To hunger is to be alive and to hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crescent-dragonwagon/to-hunger-is-to-be-alive-and-to-hope/) [Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/) > [Beans are such a nice, neutral canvas, you can make a big, basic pot of them and then play around with them differently every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crescent-dragonwagon/beans-are-such-a-nice-neutral-canvas-you-can-make-a-big-basic-pot-of/) [Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/) > [One of the things I do as a food writer is to take a classic recipe made with meat, look at it a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crescent-dragonwagon/one-of-the-things-i-do-as-a-food-writer-is-to-take-a-classic-recipe/) [Crescent Dragonwagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/) [Explore all 13 Crescent Dragonwagon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crescent-dragonwagon/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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