--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think, really, that the only way a…" description: "\"I think, really, that the only way a person can open their heart to someone who is so much another is really by knowing them... whether that's in a cla..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daf/elizabeth-strout-1799_alike_i-think-really-that-the-only-way-a-perso_1087957.png" --- # I think, really, that the only way a person can open their… ![“I think, really, that the only way a person can open their heart to someone who is so much another is really by knowing them... whether that's in a classroom, or a soccer team, or a food pantry, or any of those things. I mean, we're kind of more alike than we are different.” quote by Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daf/elizabeth-strout-1799_alike_i-think-really-that-the-only-way-a-perso_1087957.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daf/elizabeth-strout-1799_alike_i-think-really-that-the-only-way-a-perso_1087957.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/daf/elizabeth-strout-1799_alike_i-think-really-that-the-only-way-a-perso_1087957.png) > “I think, really, that the only way a person can open their heart to someone who is so much another is really by knowing them... whether that's in a classroom, or a soccer team, or a food pantry, or any of those things. I mean, we're kind of more alike than we are different.” [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding others deeply requires seeing them in everyday shared spaces **In simple terms:** Knowing people through common experiences Key Takeaway Connect through shared activities Themes empathy community commonality humanity Mood warm reflective Type narrative inspirational When to use this quote - classrooms - sports teams - volunteer work - community events Key Concepts social psychology interpersonal relations identity Questions to Reflect On - What everyday setting fosters genuine connection? - How does shared purpose bridge differences? A Different Perspective People may resist openness in unfamiliar settings ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Classroom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classroom/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Open heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-heart/) [Soccer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soccer/) [Soccer team](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soccer-team/) [Team](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/team/) ## Related quotes > [I think me and Mr. Dolph Lundgren look kind of alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sage-northcutt/i-think-me-and-mr-dolph-lundgren-look-kind-of-alike/) [Sage Northcutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sage-northcutt/) > [I think we're all kind of alike when you do your first film. 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That's probably why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-applegate/i-got-off-on-the-fact-that-a-guy-would-be-so-into-me-from-the-get-go/) [Christina Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-applegate/) > [“This business of really knowing people, deep down, including your own self, it is not something you can learn in school or from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howe/this-business-of-really-knowing-people-deep-down-including-your-own-2/) [James Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howe/) > [My father died many years ago, and yet when something special happens to me, I talk to him secretly not really knowing whether he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-josefowitz/my-father-died-many-years-ago-and-yet-when-something-special-happens/) Natasha Josefowitz > [The starting-point of critical elaboration is the consciousness of what one really is, and is 'knowing thyself'as a product of the historical processes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-starting-point-of-critical-elaboration-is-the-consciousness-of/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) ## More by Elizabeth Strout > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“what young people did not know. They did not know that lumpy, aged, and wrinkled bodies were as needy as their own young, firm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/what-young-people-did-not-know-they-did-not-know-that-lumpy-aged-and/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“I said on the phone to my mother, “I think I’m going to write the story of the Burgess kids.” “It’s a good one,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-said-on-the-phone-to-my-mother-i-think-i-m-going-to-write-the-story/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“And she learned - freshly, scorchingly - of the privacy of sorrow. 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You didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/abdikarim-shook-his-head-in-his-darkened-room-sweat-coming-from-his/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“she’d have been throwing out clamshells, most likely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/she-d-have-been-throwing-out-clamshells-most-likely/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I like people a lot, but I am not comfortable in literary New York situations. 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It is the fastest way to bring the world closer together and to Truth. Through understanding, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/understanding-languages-and-other-cultures-builds-bridges-it-is-the/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) Browse all 1,104 Alike quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think, really, that the only way a person can open their heart to someone who is so much another is really by knowing them... whether that's in a classroom, or a soccer team, or a food pantry, or any of those things. 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