--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's like you're a character in this book…" description: "\"It's like you're a character in this book that everyone around you is writing, and suddenly you have to say, 'I'm sorry, but this role isn't right for ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e3/david-levithan-67_book_it-s-like-you-re-a-character-in-this-boo_3012064.jpg" --- # It's like you're a character in this book that everyone… ![“It's like you're a character in this book that everyone around you is writing, and suddenly you have to say, 'I'm sorry, but this role isn't right for me'. And you have to start writing your own life and doing your own thing.” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e3/david-levithan-67_book_it-s-like-you-re-a-character-in-this-boo_3012064.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e3/david-levithan-67_book_it-s-like-you-re-a-character-in-this-boo_3012064.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e3/david-levithan-67_book_it-s-like-you-re-a-character-in-this-boo_3012064.jpg) > “It's like you're a character in this book that everyone around you is writing, and suddenly you have to say, 'I'm sorry, but this role isn't right for me'. And you have to start writing your own life and doing your own thing.” [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. Recognize when a role feels imposed and reclaim authorship of your life. **In simple terms:** Write your own story, not others’. Key Takeaway Take control of your narrative. Themes identity autonomy self‑discovery Mood empowering reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career changes - ending toxic relationships - redefining self Key Concepts narrative agency personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What role are you currently playing? - How can you rewrite it? A Different Perspective External expectations can be hard to escape. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Doing your own thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-your-own-thing/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [So when I went to Arista, I had a period of writing where I suddenly was unrestricted. 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Being gifted creates obligations, which means you owe the world your best effort at the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-sher/doing-your-own-thing-is-a-generous-act-being-gifted-creates/) [Barbara Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-sher/) > [One way to think about what psychedelics are is as catalysts for language development. They literally force the evolution of language. You cannot evolve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/one-way-to-think-about-what-psychedelics-are-is-as-catalysts-for/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [So there was something of a learning curve with doing your own thing and people seeing you outside of the band. I mean, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-iha/so-there-was-something-of-a-learning-curve-with-doing-your-own-thing/) [James Iha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-iha/) > [Don't chase people. Be yourself, do your own thing and work hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/don-t-chase-people-be-yourself-do-your-own-thing-and-work-hard/) [Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/) ## 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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But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“When you break someone's heart, you also break yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-break-someone-s-heart-you-also-break-yours/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Because toward the end all the words started leaving. 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 Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. 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