--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It wasn't enough to pass him as we were…" description: "\"“It wasn't enough to pass him as we were heading to your house or cutting over to the library. Soon you had to have sightings in the halls too. Then si..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/david-levithan-67_quote_it-wasn-t-enough-to-pass-him-as-we-were_1350146.jpg" --- # It wasn't enough to pass him as we were heading to your… ![“It wasn't enough to pass him as we were heading to your house or cutting over to the library. Soon you had to have sightings in the halls too. Then sightings turned to spying, and spying to stalking. You could tell me how many pairs of jeans he owned before you officially knew his name.” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/david-levithan-67_quote_it-wasn-t-enough-to-pass-him-as-we-were_1350146.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/david-levithan-67_quote_it-wasn-t-enough-to-pass-him-as-we-were_1350146.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/david-levithan-67_quote_it-wasn-t-enough-to-pass-him-as-we-were_1350146.jpg) > ““It wasn't enough to pass him as we were heading to your house or cutting over to the library. Soon you had to have sightings in the halls too. Then sightings turned to spying, and spying to stalking. You could tell me how many pairs of jeans he owned before you officially knew his name.”” [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. Intense obsession escalates from casual observation to invasive surveillance. **In simple terms:** Obsession grows into stalking. Key Takeaway Recognize and set boundaries in relationships. Themes obsession surveillance relationships Mood cautious reflective Type ethical psychological When to use this quote - dating - online interactions - friendships - personal safety Key Concepts psychology privacy Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate curiosity from intrusion? - What signs indicate a relationship is becoming invasive? A Different Perspective Might romanticize unhealthy behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Spying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spying/) [Spying Stalking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spying-stalking-4589970/) [Stalking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stalking/) [Stalking Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stalking-tell-4589971/) [Turned Spying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turned-spying-4589972/) ## Related quotes > [When I cleared out Moscow apartment after stepping down as president, they found all kinds of wiring in the walls. It turned out that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/when-i-cleared-out-moscow-apartment-after-stepping-down-as-president/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [“It's a fine line between love and stalking. I decide to walk it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/it-s-a-fine-line-between-love-and-stalking-i-decide-to-walk-it/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Its a fine line between love and stalking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/its-a-fine-line-between-love-and-stalking/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [There's not a single flashlight app that's not spying on you right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcafee/there-s-not-a-single-flashlight-app-that-s-not-spying-on-you-right-now/) [John McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcafee/) > [“Pinto recalled in his memoirs after the war that Waelti, who was actually a Dutchman, "did not look like a very dangerous figure, sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-verkaik/pinto-recalled-in-his-memoirs-after-the-war-that-waelti-who-was/) [Robert Verkaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-verkaik/) > [Facebook in particular is the most appalling spying machine that has ever been invented. Here we have the world's most comprehensive database about people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/facebook-in-particular-is-the-most-appalling-spying-machine-that-has/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Googling is not spying. It's social networking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah/googling-is-not-spying-it-s-social-networking/) [Sarah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah/) > [“You were spying on me?" I repeated, this time my tone was stern. "Nonsense! I was making sure you were safe." He answered, fluttering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-fiorre/you-were-spying-on-me-i-repeated-this-time-my-tone-was-stern-nonsense/) [Grace Fiorre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-fiorre/) > [I think a lot of people like hidden-camera shows where they think they're spying on somebody who doesn't know they're looking at them. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-white/i-think-a-lot-of-people-like-hidden-camera-shows-where-they-think/) [Betty White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-white/) > [Spying on people by magic is the same as spying on them in any other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/spying-on-people-by-magic-is-the-same-as-spying-on-them-in-any-other/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [There's been spying for years, there's been surveillance for years, and so forth, I'm not going to pass judgement on that, it's the nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/there-s-been-spying-for-years-there-s-been-surveillance-for-years-and/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) > [“We have to live without sympathy, don't we? That's impossible of course. We act it to one another, all this hardness; but we aren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/we-have-to-live-without-sympathy-don-t-we-that-s-impossible-of-course/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“What the hell? Was I about to get off in a laundry room spying on the back of some cowboy I’d known for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/what-the-hell-was-i-about-to-get-off-in-a-laundry-room-spying-on-the/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) > [“Once while spying on my neighbors I solved for x.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-beckman/once-while-spying-on-my-neighbors-i-solved-for-x/) [Joshua Beckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-beckman/) > [“All right, shadow-priest, you've been spying — on what? What state secrets have you learned watching me groom these horses?' 'Only that they hate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/all-right-shadow-priest-you-ve-been-spying-on-what-what-state-secrets/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) ## 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. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [You could be the leaf that never falls from the tree you could be the sun that never leaves the sky this might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-could-be-the-leaf-that-never-falls-from-the-tree-you-could-be-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Patrick: Is she worth the trouble? Cameron: I thought she was- Patrick: Either she is, or she isn't. 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. So many of them live, and we often toast their long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/we-saw-our-friends-die-but-we-also-see-our-friends-live-so-many-of/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [maybe tonight you're scared of falling, and maybe there's somebody here or somewhere else you're thinking about, worrying over, fretting over, trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/maybe-tonight-you-re-scared-of-falling-and-maybe-there-s-somebody/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“You never told me what you saw in him, not convincingly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-never-told-me-what-you-saw-in-him-not-convincingly/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“i nod to the other will grayson, up onstage. he nods to me. we have something between us, him and me. but the truth?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-nod-to-the-other-will-grayson-up-onstage-he-nods-to-me-we-have/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. 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 Spying quotes > [“All right, shadow-priest, you've been spying — on what? What state secrets have you learned watching me groom these horses?' 'Only that they hate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/all-right-shadow-priest-you-ve-been-spying-on-what-what-state-secrets/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“Once while spying on my neighbors I solved for x.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-beckman/once-while-spying-on-my-neighbors-i-solved-for-x/) [Joshua Beckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-beckman/) > [“What the hell? Was I about to get off in a laundry room spying on the back of some cowboy I’d known for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/what-the-hell-was-i-about-to-get-off-in-a-laundry-room-spying-on-the/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) > [“We have to live without sympathy, don't we? That's impossible of course. We act it to one another, all this hardness; but we aren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/we-have-to-live-without-sympathy-don-t-we-that-s-impossible-of-course/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [There's been spying for years, there's been surveillance for years, and so forth, I'm not going to pass judgement on that, it's the nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/there-s-been-spying-for-years-there-s-been-surveillance-for-years-and/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) > [Spying on people by magic is the same as spying on them in any other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/spying-on-people-by-magic-is-the-same-as-spying-on-them-in-any-other/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I think a lot of people like hidden-camera shows where they think they're spying on somebody who doesn't know they're looking at them. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-white/i-think-a-lot-of-people-like-hidden-camera-shows-where-they-think/) [Betty White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-white/) > [“You were spying on me?" I repeated, this time my tone was stern. "Nonsense! I was making sure you were safe." He answered, fluttering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-fiorre/you-were-spying-on-me-i-repeated-this-time-my-tone-was-stern-nonsense/) [Grace Fiorre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-fiorre/) > [Googling is not spying. It's social networking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah/googling-is-not-spying-it-s-social-networking/) [Sarah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah/) > [Facebook in particular is the most appalling spying machine that has ever been invented. Here we have the world's most comprehensive database about people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/facebook-in-particular-is-the-most-appalling-spying-machine-that-has/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [“Pinto recalled in his memoirs after the war that Waelti, who was actually a Dutchman, "did not look like a very dangerous figure, sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-verkaik/pinto-recalled-in-his-memoirs-after-the-war-that-waelti-who-was/) [Robert Verkaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-verkaik/) > [There's not a single flashlight app that's not spying on you right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcafee/there-s-not-a-single-flashlight-app-that-s-not-spying-on-you-right-now/) [John McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcafee/) > [Spying on our citizens? That's just wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-rosendale/spying-on-our-citizens-that-s-just-wrong/) [Matt Rosendale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-rosendale/) > [“More remarkable is the fact that in country after country, revelations that the NSA was spying on hundreds of millions of their citizens produced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/more-remarkable-is-the-fact-that-in-country-after-country-revelations/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [I'd say that one area where my political views have remained unchanged is that, I am opposed to the government spying on everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-morello/i-d-say-that-one-area-where-my-political-views-have-remained/) [Tom Morello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-morello/) [Browse all 115 Spying quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spying/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It wasn't enough to pass him as we were heading to your house or cutting over to the library. Soon you had to have sightings in the halls too. Then sightings turned to spying, and spying to stalking. You could tell me how many pairs of jeans he owned before you officially knew his name.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Levithan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/it-wasn-t-enough-to-pass-him-as-we-were-heading-to-your-house-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Spying" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/it-wasn-t-enough-to-pass-him-as-we-were-heading-to-your-house-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/david-levithan-67_quote_it-wasn-t-enough-to-pass-him-as-we-were_1350146.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/david-levithan-67_quote_it-wasn-t-enough-to-pass-him-as-we-were_1350146.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/david-levithan-67_quote_it-wasn-t-enough-to-pass-him-as-we-were_1350146.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It wasn't enough to pass him as we were heading to your house or cutting over to the library. Soon you had…” — David Levithan", "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": "David Levithan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It wasn't enough to pass him...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/it-wasn-t-enough-to-pass-him-as-we-were-heading-to-your-house-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/it-wasn-t-enough-to-pass-him-as-we-were-heading-to-your-house-or/#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 } } ] } ```