--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: composure , n . You told me anyway, even…" description: "\"“ composure , n . You told me anyway, even though I didn’t want to know. A stupid drunken fling while you were visiting Toby in Austin. Months ago. And..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/091/david-levithan-67_composure_composure-n-you-told-me-anyway-even-thou_2279955.jpg" --- # composure , n . You told me anyway, even though I didn’t… ![“composure , n . You told me anyway, even though I didn’t want to know. A stupid drunken fling while you were visiting Toby in Austin. Months ago. And the thing I hate the most is knowing how much hinges on my reaction, how your unburdening can only lead to me being burdened. If I lose it now, I…” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/091/david-levithan-67_composure_composure-n-you-told-me-anyway-even-thou_2279955.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/091/david-levithan-67_composure_composure-n-you-told-me-anyway-even-thou_2279955.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/091/david-levithan-67_composure_composure-n-you-told-me-anyway-even-thou_2279955.jpg) > ““ composure , n . You told me anyway, even though I didn’t want to know. A stupid drunken fling while you were visiting Toby in Austin. Months ago. And the thing I hate the most is knowing how much hinges on my reaction, how your unburdening can only lead to me being burdened. If I lose it now, I will lose you, too. I know that. I hate it. You wait for my response.”” [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## 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 fears losing control and the relationship, recognizing that their reaction determines outcomes and burdens. **In simple terms:** Fear of losing control and relationship Key Takeaway Maintain composure to protect relationship Themes vulnerability control relationships Mood anxious reflective Type advice emotional When to use this quote - conflict resolution - relationship counseling - personal boundaries Key Concepts psychology emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your loss of composure? - How can you protect yourself without losing the other? 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It is called LIFE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-valdovinos/hate-not-knowing-when-things-are-going-to-happen-feeling-different/) Stephanie Valdovinos ## More by David Levithan > [“When you jump, all you're going to do is fall. But leaping? Leaping is when you think there's something on the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-jump-all-you-re-going-to-do-is-fall-but-leaping-leaping-is/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. 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So give it a shot, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/patrick-is-she-worth-the-trouble-cameron-i-thought-she-was-patrick/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“We saw our friends die. But we also see our friends live. 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Except for the ones that had to lock up at the end of the night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/because-toward-the-end-all-the-words-started-leaving-except-for-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“ misgivings , n . Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us. "There are things I miss,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/misgivings-n-last-night-i-got-up-the-courage-to-ask-you-if-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Saving others is always more important than saving yourself. It has to be, or none of us would do any good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/saving-others-is-always-more-important-than-saving-yourself-it-has-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) [Explore all 1,648 David Levithan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## More Composure quotes > [Writing that flirts with incoherence can just as readily flounder as writing characterized by simplicity and composure. There is no reliable formula for originality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/writing-that-flirts-with-incoherence-can-just-as-readily-flounder-as/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [The truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-zaid/the-truly-cultured-are-capable-of-owning-thousands-of-unread-books/) [Gabriel Zaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-zaid/) > [To bear all naked truths, And to envisage circumstance, all calm, That is the top of sovereignty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/to-bear-all-naked-truths-and-to-envisage-circumstance-all-calm-that/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I've added a bit more composure on the ball and defensively got a bit cuter and improved in one-on-ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-barkley/i-ve-added-a-bit-more-composure-on-the-ball-and-defensively-got-a-bit/) [Ross Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-barkley/) > [In cricket, my superhero is Sachin Tendulkar. He has always been my hero and will continue to remain so. Apart from him and outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virat-kohli/in-cricket-my-superhero-is-sachin-tendulkar-he-has-always-been-my/) [Virat Kohli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virat-kohli/) > [In times of upheaval, people wish for nothing more than composure and sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/in-times-of-upheaval-people-wish-for-nothing-more-than-composure-and/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [We are to remember what an umpire Nature is; what a greatness, composure of depth and tolerance there is in her. You take wheat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/we-are-to-remember-what-an-umpire-nature-is-what-a-greatness/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Sometimes it was really hard maintaining composure. People were just goofy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pell-james/sometimes-it-was-really-hard-maintaining-composure-people-were-just/) [Pell James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pell-james/) > [Always keep your composure. You can't score from the penalty box; and to win, you have to score.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-keep-your-composure-you-can-t-score-from-the-penalty-box-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dad himself used to tell a story about one time when Mother went off to fill a lecture engagement and left him in charge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-gilbreth-jr/dad-himself-used-to-tell-a-story-about-one-time-when-mother-went-off/) [Frank B. Gilbreth Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-b-gilbreth-jr/) > [Like every man who appears at an epoch which is historical and rendered famous by his works, Jesus Christ has a history, a history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-henri-lacordaire/like-every-man-who-appears-at-an-epoch-which-is-historical-and/) [Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-henri-lacordaire/) > [Always behave like a duck: keep calm and unruffled on the surface, but paddle like the devil underneath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-braude/always-behave-like-a-duck-keep-calm-and-unruffled-on-the-surface-but/) [Jacob Braude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-braude/) > [You're nothing to everything until you're anything to something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-garner/you-re-nothing-to-everything-until-you-re-anything-to-something/) [Luke Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-garner/) > [The cold view to take of our future is that we are therefore headed for extinction in a universe of impersonal chemical, physical, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-l-pez/the-cold-view-to-take-of-our-future-is-that-we-are-therefore-headed/) [Barry Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-l-pez/) > [You must be practically a hero to retain your composure in the midst of universal panic. But just try to scream and tear around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidiya-ginzburg/you-must-be-practically-a-hero-to-retain-your-composure-in-the-midst/) Lidiya Ginzburg [Browse all 139 Composure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“ composure , n . You told me anyway, even though I didn’t want to know. A stupid drunken fling while you were visiting Toby in Austin. Months ago. And the thing I hate the most is knowing how much hinges on my reaction, how your unburdening can only lead to me being burdened. If I lose it now, I will lose you, too. I know that. I hate it. 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