--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was a gift. What did I do with it?…" description: "\"“It was a gift. What did I do with it? Life didn't accumulate as I'd once imagined. I graduated from boarding school, two years of college. Persisted t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/emma-cline-11898_buried_it-was-a-gift-what-did-i-do-with-it-life_2625150.jpg" --- # It was a gift. What did I do with it? Life didn't… ![“It was a gift. What did I do with it? Life didn't accumulate as I'd once imagined. I graduated from boarding school, two years of college. Persisted through the blank decade in Los Angeles. I buried first my mother, then my father. His hair gone wispy as a child's. I paid bills and bought…” quote by Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/emma-cline-11898_buried_it-was-a-gift-what-did-i-do-with-it-life_2625150.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/emma-cline-11898_buried_it-was-a-gift-what-did-i-do-with-it-life_2625150.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/emma-cline-11898_buried_it-was-a-gift-what-did-i-do-with-it-life_2625150.jpg) > ““It was a gift. What did I do with it? Life didn't accumulate as I'd once imagined. I graduated from boarding school, two years of college. Persisted through the blank decade in Los Angeles. I buried first my mother, then my father. His hair gone wispy as a child's. I paid bills and bought groceries and got my eyes checked while the days crumbled away like debris from a cliff face. Life a continuous backing away from the edge.”” [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life feels like a series of inevitable losses and small, unremarkable actions that keep us from reaching any lasting fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Life is a series of losses and routine tasks that prevent lasting fulfillment. Key Takeaway Accept impermanence and find meaning in everyday moments. Themes loss routine impermanence existential angst Mood melancholic reflective Type literary existential When to use this quote - parental death - career stagnation - urban isolation - financial strain Key Concepts nihilism grief acceptance Questions to Reflect On - How do you find purpose amid routine? - What small actions can shift a feeling of drifting? A Different Perspective The narrative may overemphasize fatalism, ignoring agency to change circumstances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buried/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Did Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/did-life-613557/) [Disillusionment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disillusionment/) [Gift Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift-did-2143126/) [Imagined Graduated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagined-graduated-2143125/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-didn/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Los angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/los-angeles/) [Passage of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passage-of-time/) [Sense of self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-of-self/) [Two years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-years/) ## Related quotes > [My father gave me the greatest gift anyone ever did, he believed in me while the others didn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-father-gave-me-the-greatest-gift-anyone-ever-did-he-believed-in-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sadness at that age had the pleasing texture of imprisonment: you reared and sulked against the bonds of parents and school and age, things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/sadness-at-that-age-had-the-pleasing-texture-of-imprisonment-you/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“But I could not fully admit it, even then. The way Suzanne's face looked as she watched him - I wanted to be with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/but-i-could-not-fully-admit-it-even-then-the-way-suzanne-s-face/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“What did you do with your life? It seemed to be a question about values, not facts: What did you accomplish with the precious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-g-ritchie/what-did-you-do-with-your-life-it-seemed-to-be-a-question-about/) [George G. Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-g-ritchie/) > [I did have a life before the Animals, and I'm trying constantly to prove that I have a life after the Animals. People tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-burdon/i-did-have-a-life-before-the-animals-and-i-m-trying-constantly-to/) [Eric Burdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-burdon/) > [The best thing I ever did with my life was stand up and say I've got Alzheimer's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-best-thing-i-ever-did-with-my-life-was-stand-up-and-say-i-ve-got/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Can any of us pinpoint the moment when we've lost our younger selves, lost joy in the simple things, stopped celebrating life? For years-decades-we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-jarvis/can-any-of-us-pinpoint-the-moment-when-we-ve-lost-our-younger-selves/) [Cheryl Jarvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-jarvis/) > [Why am I so tired... It's not like I did anything with my life today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crapp/why-am-i-so-tired-it-s-not-like-i-did-anything-with-my-life-today/) [Crapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crapp/) > [“I wish, Rune,” Poppy said, causing me to glance up, “I wish that people realized how this felt every day. Why does it take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-cole/i-wish-rune-poppy-said-causing-me-to-glance-up-i-wish-that-people/) [Tillie Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-cole/) > [If you have to go back through your day in your head, try to go back to only the good things. Look at those,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-gunn/if-you-have-to-go-back-through-your-day-in-your-head-try-to-go-back/) [Anna Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-gunn/) > [“Even if this was the only thing I ever did in my whole life, it would be worth having a life just to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ryan-hyde/even-if-this-was-the-only-thing-i-ever-did-in-my-whole-life-it-would/) [Catherine Ryan Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ryan-hyde/) > [“I never did anything in life to anyone's imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-never-did-anything-in-life-to-anyone-s-imagination/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Life is good to those who know how to live. I do not ever hope to accumulate great funds of worldly wealth, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-good-to-those-who-know-how-to-live-i-do-not-ever-hope-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is only ever one answer to the question what did you do with your life, and it's the same--fleeting and unknowable--for every one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-wiggins/there-is-only-ever-one-answer-to-the-question-what-did-you-do-with/) [Marianne Wiggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-wiggins/) > [“...I'm really starting to wonder what I did in this life to deserve always been alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/i-m-really-starting-to-wonder-what-i-did-in-this-life-to-deserve/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) ## More by Emma Cline > [“Let's just give her a ride into town," Suzanne said. She spoke briskly, like I was a mess that needed to be cleaned up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/let-s-just-give-her-a-ride-into-town-suzanne-said-she-spoke-briskly/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“None of this was rare. Things like this happened hundreds of times. Maybe more. The hatred that vibrated beneath the surface of my girl’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/none-of-this-was-rare-things-like-this-happened-hundreds-of-times/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“Money is ego, and people won't give it up. Just want to protect themselves, hold onto it like a blanket. They don't realize it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/money-is-ego-and-people-won-t-give-it-up-just-want-to-protect/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“There are survivors of disasters whose accounts never begin with the tornado warning or the captain announcing engine failure, but always much earlier in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/there-are-survivors-of-disasters-whose-accounts-never-begin-with-the/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“The possibility of judgment being passed on me supplanted any worries or questions I might have about Russell. At that age, I was, first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/the-possibility-of-judgment-being-passed-on-me-supplanted-any-worries/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“Mislila sam da ljubav koju prema nekom osjećaš djeluje kao zaštitna mjera, pa će ta osoba razumjeti raspon i snagu tvojih osjećaja i onda…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/mislila-sam-da-ljubav-koju-prema-nekom-osje-a-djeluje-kao-za-titna/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“A rock, I thought crazily. He'll pick up a rock. He'll break open my skull, my brain leaking onto the sand. He'll tighten his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/a-rock-i-thought-crazily-he-ll-pick-up-a-rock-he-ll-break-open-my/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“The built-in preventative of another person meant I couldn’t indulge the animal feelings, couldn’t leave orange peels in the kitchen sink. I dressed right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/the-built-in-preventative-of-another-person-meant-i-couldn-t-indulge/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“I was already starting to understand that other people's admiration asked something of you. That you had to shape yourself around it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/i-was-already-starting-to-understand-that-other-people-s-admiration/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“Mitch studied me with a questioning, smug smile. Men did it so easily, that immediate parceling of value. And how they seemed to want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/mitch-studied-me-with-a-questioning-smug-smile-men-did-it-so-easily/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“No-one had ever looked at me before Suzanne, not really, so she had become my definition. Her gaze softening my centre so easily that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/no-one-had-ever-looked-at-me-before-suzanne-not-really-so-she-had/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“How drugs patchworked simple, banal thoughts into phrases that seemed filled with importance. My glitchy adolescent brain was desperate for causalities, for conspiracies that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/how-drugs-patchworked-simple-banal-thoughts-into-phrases-that-seemed/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“But I could not fully admit it, even then. The way Suzanne's face looked as she watched him - I wanted to be with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/but-i-could-not-fully-admit-it-even-then-the-way-suzanne-s-face/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“She clung to him like a burr.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/she-clung-to-him-like-a-burr/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“I took her beauty personally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/i-took-her-beauty-personally/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) [Explore all 53 Emma Cline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) ## More Buried quotes > [Palindrome as well. My sister's name is Hannah. Father liked word games. He was fourteen times World Scrabble Champion. When he died, we buried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/palindrome-as-well-my-sister-s-name-is-hannah-father-liked-word-games/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [A classic is like a hidden treasure. Its core is buried under so many layers of varnish that it can be reached only by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-louis-barrault/a-classic-is-like-a-hidden-treasure-its-core-is-buried-under-so-many/) [Jean-Louis Barrault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-louis-barrault/) > [We're going to be buried out here. I like the idea because I may just want to get up some day and stroll into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman-2/we-re-going-to-be-buried-out-here-i-like-the-idea-because-i-may-just/) [Harry S Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman-2/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It is the client who knows what hurts, what directions to go, what problems are crucial, what experiences have been deeply buried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/it-is-the-client-who-knows-what-hurts-what-directions-to-go-what/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [“Sienna swallowed down her hurt and added it to the growing infestation of pain placed it in that beating glass jar of hers, concealed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-harper/sienna-swallowed-down-her-hurt-and-added-it-to-the-growing/) [Ali Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-harper/) > [“There is nothing so difficult to arrive at as the nature and personality of one's parents. Death, about which so much mystery is made,is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-maxwell/there-is-nothing-so-difficult-to-arrive-at-as-the-nature-and/) [William Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-maxwell/) > [“The bits which did mean anything were often so wonderfully buried that no one could ever spot them slipping past in the avalanche of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-bits-which-did-mean-anything-were-often-so-wonderfully-buried/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [I think it's important not to grow up too fast. I'm 26 now, and I still can't wait for Christmas Day. 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The past has shrived and buried deep All yesterdays— there let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/with-every-rising-of-the-sun-think-of-your-life-as-just-begun-the/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [ Perhaps \[the critics are right and\] the drama is played out now and Jesus is safely dead and buried. Perhaps. It is ironical and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/perhaps-the-critics-are-right-and-the-drama-is-played-out-now-and/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I've just got this huge chip on my shoulder because I've been out for three years and people think I'm dead and buried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-hargreaves/i-ve-just-got-this-huge-chip-on-my-shoulder-because-i-ve-been-out-for/) [Owen Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-hargreaves/) > [As I write, Johnny Rotten's first moments in "Anarchy in the U.K." - a rolling earthquake of a laugh, a buried shout, then hoary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/as-i-write-johnny-rotten-s-first-moments-in-anarchy-in-the-u-k-a/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) [Browse all 1,295 Buried quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buried/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was a gift. What did I do with it? Life didn't accumulate as I'd once imagined. I graduated from boarding school, two years of college. 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