--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's been a long time since I've been me." description: "\"It's been a long time since I've been me.\" — Fernando Pessoa" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/fernando-pessoa-177_inspirational_it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-ve-been-me_2476617.jpg" --- # It's been a long time since I've been me. ![“It's been a long time since I've been me.” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/fernando-pessoa-177_inspirational_it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-ve-been-me_2476617.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/fernando-pessoa-177_inspirational_it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-ve-been-me_2476617.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/fernando-pessoa-177_inspirational_it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-ve-been-me_2476617.jpg) > “It's been a long time since I've been me.” [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels disconnected from their true self after a long period, implying a loss of authenticity. **In simple terms:** Feeling distant from one's true self over time. Key Takeaway Reclaim personal identity. Themes identity self-awareness alienation existentialism Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - mindfulness practice Key Concepts authenticity self-reflection personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of yourself feel most authentic? - How can you nurture a sense of self? A Different Perspective Identity can be fluid; change may be natural. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Ve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-ve-818536/) ## Related quotes > [“You can never be sure quite how much time you’ve got with the people you love”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-l-slater/you-can-never-be-sure-quite-how-much-time-you-ve-got-with-the-people/) [K.L. Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-l-slater/) > [I've done my time. I've done it as well and as respectfully as I think anyone can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-j-simpson/i-ve-done-my-time-i-ve-done-it-as-well-and-as-respectfully-as-i-think/) [O. J. Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-j-simpson/) > [I've had 117 fights and that's the first time I've ever won.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-piersall/i-ve-had-117-fights-and-that-s-the-first-time-i-ve-ever-won/) [Jimmy Piersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-piersall/) > [“All this time, you've been lying to me!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/all-this-time-you-ve-been-lying-to-me/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [“You're the best time I've ever had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-the-best-time-i-ve-ever-had/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The only time you've failed is if you don't try once more”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrick-backman/the-only-time-you-ve-failed-is-if-you-don-t-try-once-more/) [Fredrick Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrick-backman/) > [Over time, I've been more recognized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alia-shawkat/over-time-i-ve-been-more-recognized/) [Alia Shawkat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alia-shawkat/) > [This is the first time I've done something like this and I'm really hoping this will work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-teti/this-is-the-first-time-i-ve-done-something-like-this-and-i-m-really/) [Joe Teti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-teti/) > [Any time you've got nothing to do and lots of time to do it come on up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/any-time-you-ve-got-nothing-to-do-and-lots-of-time-to-do-it-come-on-up/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [It's not about how much time you've got. It's about what you do with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-not-about-how-much-time-you-ve-got-it-s-about-what-you-do-with-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every time I've ever run, I've been outspent - every single time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-capuano/every-time-i-ve-ever-run-i-ve-been-outspent-every-single-time/) [Michael Capuano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-capuano/) > [My whole life, every time I've been down, I've found a way to turn it around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luol-deng/my-whole-life-every-time-i-ve-been-down-i-ve-found-a-way-to-turn-it/) [Luol Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luol-deng/) > [I'm actually filming all the time, and I don't have much time to do anything. I've always been that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-m-actually-filming-all-the-time-and-i-don-t-have-much-time-to-do/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [By the time we've made it, we've had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/by-the-time-we-ve-made-it-we-ve-had-it/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [Well, this is the second time I've done New Directors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mckay/well-this-is-the-second-time-i-ve-done-new-directors/) [Jim McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mckay/) ## More by Fernando Pessoa > [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/tudo-vale-a-pena-quando-a-alma-n-o-pequena/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“no nostalgia hurts as much as nostalgia for things that never existed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-nostalgia-hurts-as-much-as-nostalgia-for-things-that-never-existed/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“I try to say what I feel Without thinking about what I feel. I try to place words right next to my idea So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-try-to-say-what-i-feel-without-thinking-about-what-i-feel-i-try-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“To associate is to die. Only my consciousness of myself is real for me; other people are hazy phenomena in this consciousness, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-associate-is-to-die-only-my-consciousness-of-myself-is-real-for-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“When it comes to dreams, I’m no different from the errand boy and the seamstress. The only thing that distinguishes me from them is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/when-it-comes-to-dreams-i-m-no-different-from-the-errand-boy-and-the/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it. Collective thought is stupid because it’s collective. Nothing passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-intelligent-idea-can-gain-general-acceptance-unless-some-stupidity/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Explore all 781 Fernando Pessoa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More Inspirational quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/) [H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/) > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just understand that the good that you want is already here. All you have to do is get in harmony with it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/just-understand-that-the-good-that-you-want-is-already-here-all-you/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-want-to-build-a-ship-don-t-drum-up-the-men-to-gather-wood/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) [Browse all 114,561 Inspirational quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's been a long time since I've been me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fernando Pessoa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-ve-been-me/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Inspirational" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-ve-been-me/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/fernando-pessoa-177_inspirational_it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-ve-been-me_2476617.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/fernando-pessoa-177_inspirational_it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-ve-been-me_2476617.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/fernando-pessoa-177_inspirational_it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-ve-been-me_2476617.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's been a long time since I've been me.” — Fernando Pessoa", "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": "Fernando Pessoa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's been a long time since...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-ve-been-me/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-ve-been-me/#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 } } ] } ```