--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People are shaped by friendship as much…" description: "\"People are shaped by friendship as much as by romance.\" — Elif Batuman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/elif-batuman-2172_friend_people-are-shaped-by-friendship-as-much_431084.png" --- # People are shaped by friendship as much as by romance. ![“People are shaped by friendship as much as by romance.” quote by Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/elif-batuman-2172_friend_people-are-shaped-by-friendship-as-much_431084.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/elif-batuman-2172_friend_people-are-shaped-by-friendship-as-much_431084.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/elif-batuman-2172_friend_people-are-shaped-by-friendship-as-much_431084.png) > “People are shaped by friendship as much as by romance.” [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human relationships, both platonic and romantic, equally influence personal development and identity. **In simple terms:** Friendship and romance both shape us. Key Takeaway Value all close bonds. Themes relationships identity growth Mood reflective thoughtful Type observational contemplative When to use this quote - college life - new city - career networking - family gatherings Key Concepts social influence emotional development Questions to Reflect On - How do your friendships compare to romantic ties in shaping you? - What balance do you seek between them? A Different Perspective Romance often receives more cultural emphasis, overlooking deep platonic impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Friendship Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship-romance-3126795/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Shaped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-shaped-2320308/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) [Shaped Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shaped-friendship-3798985/) ## Related quotes > [When they finished laughing they were on their way to being not just friends, but the dearest of friends, the sort of friends whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/when-they-finished-laughing-they-were-on-their-way-to-being-not-just/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“It's b\*\*\*\*\*\*\* to think of friendship and romance being different. They're not. They're just variations of the same love. Variatons of the same desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/it-s-b-to-think-of-friendship-and-romance-being-different-they-re-not/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [It's bullshit to think of friendship and romance as being different. They're not. They're just variations of the same love. Variations of the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cohn/it-s-bullshit-to-think-of-friendship-and-romance-as-being-different/) [Rachel Cohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cohn/) > [“Real problems aren’t number-shaped, they’re people-shaped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/real-problems-aren-t-number-shaped-they-re-people-shaped/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [“They looked like people-shaped clay in the moments before God breathed out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/they-looked-like-people-shaped-clay-in-the-moments-before-god/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [When I look back at the people who shaped me, that made a difference in my life, most of them were women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaggy/when-i-look-back-at-the-people-who-shaped-me-that-made-a-difference/) [Shaggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaggy/) > [The stories of our Indigenous people have shaped the very foundational fabric of our modern day. And so much of that is just not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-gladstone/the-stories-of-our-indigenous-people-have-shaped-the-very/) [Lily Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-gladstone/) > [“Because in the end history—like the Berlin Wall—shapes people, had shaped her, but would not in the end determine her, because in the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/because-in-the-end-history-like-the-berlin-wall-shapes-people-had/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [People are shaped in myriad ways by their upbringing and family. We also have agency in our lives, the people we become, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chesa-boudin/people-are-shaped-in-myriad-ways-by-their-upbringing-and-family-we/) [Chesa Boudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chesa-boudin/) > [Most people are shaped to the form of their culture because of the enormous malleability of their original endowment. They are plastic to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/most-people-are-shaped-to-the-form-of-their-culture-because-of-the/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [“Lack of intimacy among friends is a mistake that cannot be censured without becoming irreparable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nietzsche-friedrich-wilhelm/lack-of-intimacy-among-friends-is-a-mistake-that-cannot-be-censured/) [NIETZSCHE FRIEDRICH WILHELM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nietzsche-friedrich-wilhelm/) > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [Friends are like stars you can't always see them, but you know they're there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknwon/friends-are-like-stars-you-can-t-always-see-them-but-you-know-they-re/) [Unknwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknwon/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) ## More by Elif Batuman > [My parents were born into a secular country. They met in Turkey's top medical school, moved to America in the nineteen-seventies, and became researchers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/my-parents-were-born-into-a-secular-country-they-met-in-turkey-s-top/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“I leafed through the phrase book. If a Martian read it, the Martian would probably decide to avoid Hungary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-leafed-through-the-phrase-book-if-a-martian-read-it-the-martian/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [You can't invent something you have no epistemological access to. In a way, it's all recombination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/you-can-t-invent-something-you-have-no-epistemological-access-to-in-a/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [Poetry is another space, like love, where we extend that extra credit to the writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/poetry-is-another-space-like-love-where-we-extend-that-extra-credit/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Svetlana said that she identified with that Madonna more than with any other woman in any other painting. She kept asking me what painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/svetlana-said-that-she-identified-with-that-madonna-more-than-with/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [One of the most painful parts of a breakup is having the feeling that your life is a story, and then the other person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/one-of-the-most-painful-parts-of-a-breakup-is-having-the-feeling-that/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Dracula visited the Wolf Department at the Zoological Gardens. "These wolves seem upset at something," he observed. The next morning the cage was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/dracula-visited-the-wolf-department-at-the-zoological-gardens-these/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [I like to think that I know a lot of words, but I definitely don't know all of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-like-to-think-that-i-know-a-lot-of-words-but-i-definitely-don-t/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“I don't know if I ended up siding with the academics just because I happened to end up in graduate school, or if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-don-t-know-if-i-ended-up-siding-with-the-academics-just-because-i/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [People don't become writers because they love having spontaneous, real-world interactions with living people as bodies with clothes in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/people-don-t-become-writers-because-they-love-having-spontaneous-real/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Each work of criticism is supposed to build on the body of work, to increase the total sum of human understanding. It's not like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/each-work-of-criticism-is-supposed-to-build-on-the-body-of-work-to/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [Humor is really important to me. All my favorite writers are writers I consider to be funny, including Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, even though that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/humor-is-really-important-to-me-all-my-favorite-writers-are-writers-i/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [Every time a meteor comes close to the earth, we all think about the end of the world - but our internal soundtrack doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/every-time-a-meteor-comes-close-to-the-earth-we-all-think-about-the/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [I felt grateful to Ataturk that my parents were so well educated, that they weren't held back by superstition or religion, that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-felt-grateful-to-ataturk-that-my-parents-were-so-well-educated-that/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“For a moment it felt like we weren’t in the Danube at all but in the river of time, and everyone was at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/for-a-moment-it-felt-like-we-weren-t-in-the-danube-at-all-but-in-the/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) [Explore all 182 Elif Batuman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) ## More Friend quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Friends are like stars you can't always see them, but you know they're there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknwon/friends-are-like-stars-you-can-t-always-see-them-but-you-know-they-re/) [Unknwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknwon/) > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [“way. A true friend isn't the one that agrees with everything you say or do. A true friend is someone that has your back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shameek-speight/way-a-true-friend-isn-t-the-one-that-agrees-with-everything-you-say/) [Shameek Speight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shameek-speight/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“The real purpose of friendship was to discover and exploit weakness in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-thompson/the-real-purpose-of-friendship-was-to-discover-and-exploit-weakness/) [Brian Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-thompson/) > [That FRIEND who claim they do anything for you. but yet talk behind your back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kushsoulja/that-friend-who-claim-they-do-anything-for-you-but-yet-talk-behind/) [KushSoulja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kushsoulja/) > [In life, we never lose friends we only get to know who the true ones are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ace-kid/in-life-we-never-lose-friends-we-only-get-to-know-who-the-true-ones/) [Ace Kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ace-kid/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. Because she was my friend again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/sam-dropped-me-off-when-she-was-too-far-away-to-see-me-i-started-to/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [“When you get lost in a really strange place, nothing is more comforting than found your friend whom you trust and can show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-get-lost-in-a-really-strange-place-nothing-is-more/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [I fell in love with my best friend, but I know that if it doesn't last, it will never be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-yang/i-fell-in-love-with-my-best-friend-but-i-know-that-if-it-doesn-t-last/) [Shelly Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-yang/) > [A best friend isn't someone who's just always there for you.Its someone who understands you a bit more than you understand yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/a-best-friend-isn-t-someone-who-s-just-always-there-for-you-its/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) [Browse all 14,984 Friend quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People are shaped by friendship as much as by romance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elif Batuman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/people-are-shaped-by-friendship-as-much-as-by-romance/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Friend" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/people-are-shaped-by-friendship-as-much-as-by-romance/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/elif-batuman-2172_friend_people-are-shaped-by-friendship-as-much_431084.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/elif-batuman-2172_friend_people-are-shaped-by-friendship-as-much_431084.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/elif-batuman-2172_friend_people-are-shaped-by-friendship-as-much_431084.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People are shaped by friendship as much as by romance.” — Elif Batuman", "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": "Elif Batuman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People are shaped by friendship as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/people-are-shaped-by-friendship-as-much-as-by-romance/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/people-are-shaped-by-friendship-as-much-as-by-romance/#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 } } ] } ```