--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had a heartbreaking experience when I…" description: "\"I had a heartbreaking experience when I was 9. I always wanted to be a guard. The most wonderful girl in the world was a guard. When I got polio and th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19f/francis-ford-coppola-2337_girl_i-had-a-heartbreaking-experience-when-i_2489623.jpg" --- # I had a heartbreaking experience when I was 9. I always… ![“I had a heartbreaking experience when I was 9. I always wanted to be a guard. The most wonderful girl in the world was a guard. When I got polio and then went back to school, they made me a guard. A teacher took away my guard button.” quote by Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19f/francis-ford-coppola-2337_girl_i-had-a-heartbreaking-experience-when-i_2489623.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19f/francis-ford-coppola-2337_girl_i-had-a-heartbreaking-experience-when-i_2489623.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19f/francis-ford-coppola-2337_girl_i-had-a-heartbreaking-experience-when-i_2489623.jpg) > “I had a heartbreaking experience when I was 9. I always wanted to be a guard. The most wonderful girl in the world was a guard. When I got polio and then went back to school, they made me a guard. A teacher took away my guard button.” [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A childhood desire to protect, symbolized by a guard, persisted despite adversity. **In simple terms:** He wanted to be a protector. Key Takeaway Hold onto childhood dreams despite setbacks. Themes dreams resilience identity loss Mood reflective motivational Type psychological creative When to use this quote - career counseling - therapy - creative writing - education reform Key Concepts psychological symbolic narrative Questions to Reflect On - What childhood role still guides you? - How do you transform loss into purpose? A Different Perspective Idealizing childhood roles can hinder growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Got Polio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got-polio-950329/) [Guard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guard/) [Guard Button](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guard-button-950331/) [Guard Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guard-teacher-950328/) [Heartbreaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartbreaking/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Polio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polio/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [School Guard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school-guard-950330/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I went to several different grade schools all over the West Coast. I got polio when I was 8 and spent eight months in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-washington/i-went-to-several-different-grade-schools-all-over-the-west-coast-i/) [Dennis Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-washington/) > [My father died when I was 10; my sister got polio a couple of years later and was paralyzed. So there I was -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-gurley-brown/my-father-died-when-i-was-10-my-sister-got-polio-a-couple-of-years/) [Helen Gurley Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-gurley-brown/) > [When I was about 9, I had polio, and people were very frightened for their children, so you tended to be isolated. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/when-i-was-about-9-i-had-polio-and-people-were-very-frightened-for/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [So, obviously, autism - which is the key in this - is a very big problem. We need more studies about it. 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Faith is the life based on unseen realities; it is the word become flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-jordan/fear-is-the-polio-of-the-soul-faith-is-the-life-based-on-unseen/) [Clarence Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-jordan/) > [We are ever on the threshold of new journeys and new discoveries. Can you imagine the excitement of the Wright brothers on the morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/we-are-ever-on-the-threshold-of-new-journeys-and-new-discoveries-can/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [Ninety percent of the cases of polio are in security-vulnerable areas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/ninety-percent-of-the-cases-of-polio-are-in-security-vulnerable-areas/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I am the daughter of Nigerian immigrants. My mother is a survivor of both polio and of the Igbo genocide during her country's civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzo-aduba/i-am-the-daughter-of-nigerian-immigrants-my-mother-is-a-survivor-of/) [Uzo Aduba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uzo-aduba/) > [Reply when questioned on the safety of the polio vaccine he developed: It is safe, and you can't get safer than safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-salk/reply-when-questioned-on-the-safety-of-the-polio-vaccine-he-developed/) [Jonas Salk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-salk/) > [Because I could dance, my folks went through hell so I could be in movies. But I didn't dance in pictures. I cried! At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-holt/because-i-could-dance-my-folks-went-through-hell-so-i-could-be-in/) [David Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-holt/) > [If you give us a safe vaccine, we'll use it. It shouldn't be polio versus autism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-mccarthy/if-you-give-us-a-safe-vaccine-we-ll-use-it-it-shouldn-t-be-polio/) [Jenny McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-mccarthy/) ## More by Francis Ford Coppola > [I wrote the script of Patton. I had this very bizarre opening where he stands up in front of an American flag and gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/i-wrote-the-script-of-patton-i-had-this-very-bizarre-opening-where-he/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [The only TV I would be interested in exploring would be live television. There's no substitute for a team of artists performing at their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/the-only-tv-i-would-be-interested-in-exploring-would-be-live/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [I have more of a vivid imagination than I have talent. I cook up ideas. 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It was a little bit of a father and son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/frank-capra-was-a-prop-man-i-think-john-ford-was-a-prop-man-it-was-a/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [Death is what makes life an event.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/death-is-what-makes-life-an-event/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [I have much to learn from my daughter Sofia. Her minimalism exposes my limitations: I'm too instinctive and operatic, I put too much heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/i-have-much-to-learn-from-my-daughter-sofia-her-minimalism-exposes-my/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [It's ironic that at age 32, at probably the greatest moment of my career, with The Godfather having such an enormous success, I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/it-s-ironic-that-at-age-32-at-probably-the-greatest-moment-of-my/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [Without a doubt, I was born to want to make cinema, but the kind of cinema I want to make is not like commercial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/without-a-doubt-i-was-born-to-want-to-make-cinema-but-the-kind-of/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [I had been a kid that moved so much, I didn’t have a lot of friends. 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I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [BOY: what do u want more than anything? 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