--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’m sixty-eight” he said, “I first bucked…" description: "\"“I’m sixty-eight” he said, “I first bucked hay when I was seventeen. I thought, that day I started, I sure would hate to do this all my life. And dammi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/gary-snyder-4502_life_i-m-sixty-eight-he-said-i-first-bucked-h_1904019.jpg" --- # I’m sixty-eight” he said, “I first bucked hay when I was… ![“I’m sixty-eight” he said, “I first bucked hay when I was seventeen. I thought, that day I started, I sure would hate to do this all my life. And dammit, that’s just what I’ve gone and done.” quote by Gary Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/gary-snyder-4502_life_i-m-sixty-eight-he-said-i-first-bucked-h_1904019.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/gary-snyder-4502_life_i-m-sixty-eight-he-said-i-first-bucked-h_1904019.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/gary-snyder-4502_life_i-m-sixty-eight-he-said-i-first-bucked-h_1904019.jpg) > ““I’m sixty-eight” he said, “I first bucked hay when I was seventeen. I thought, that day I started, I sure would hate to do this all my life. And dammit, that’s just what I’ve gone and done.”” [Gary Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-snyder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man reflects on a lifelong job he once feared, realizing it became his identity. **In simple terms:** Life can turn feared work into purpose. Key Takeaway Embrace unexpected paths. Themes work identity reflection Mood reflective inspirational Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - career retrospectives - interviews - memoirs - documentaries Key Concepts life narrative acceptance Questions to Reflect On - What jobs have shaped you? - Do you love what you do now? A Different Perspective Fear may mask deeper passions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bucked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bucked-676202/) [Bucked Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bucked-hay-2826320/) [Hay Seventeen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hay-seventeen-2826321/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Said Bucked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-bucked-2826322/) [Seventeen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seventeen/) ## Related quotes > [They felt, in fact, tremendously bucked-up, which was how Lady Ramkin would almost certainly have put it and which was definitely several letters of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/they-felt-in-fact-tremendously-bucked-up-which-was-how-lady-ramkin/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“He had bucked harder with me than the fellows expected him to, and I don't know how I stayed on. I guess I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-moody/he-had-bucked-harder-with-me-than-the-fellows-expected-him-to-and-i/) [Ralph Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-moody/) > [“I learned that words make a difference. It's easier to cope with a kicked bucked than a corpse; if it isn't human, it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/i-learned-that-words-make-a-difference-it-s-easier-to-cope-with-a/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Seventeen's not so young. A hundred years ago people got married when they were practically our age." "Yeah, that was before electricity and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/seventeen-s-not-so-young-a-hundred-years-ago-people-got-married-when/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [Oh, if I had been loved at the age of seventeen, what an idiot I would be today. Happiness is like smallpox: if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/oh-if-i-had-been-loved-at-the-age-of-seventeen-what-an-idiot-i-would/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“I'll regret it for the rest of my life, Rush, but I was fucking seventeen years old. We're morons at seventeen. We think everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wright/i-ll-regret-it-for-the-rest-of-my-life-rush-but-i-was-fucking/) [Laura Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wright/) > [I'm seventeen and I'm crazy. My uncle says the two always go together. When people ask your age, he said, always say seventeen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-m-seventeen-and-i-m-crazy-my-uncle-says-the-two-always-go-together/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [It was very unusual, because normally the producer requests the test to determine whether they want to hire someone or not. Olivia was concerned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randal-kleiser/it-was-very-unusual-because-normally-the-producer-requests-the-test/) [Randal Kleiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randal-kleiser/) > [Folks, I've been straight for seventeen days... Not all in a row.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kinison/folks-i-ve-been-straight-for-seventeen-days-not-all-in-a-row/) [Sam Kinison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kinison/) > [Every seventeen minutes in America, someone commits suicide. Mostly, I have been impressed by how little value our society puts on saving the lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/every-seventeen-minutes-in-america-someone-commits-suicide-mostly-i/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [When I was seventeen, I worked as a counsellor at a co-ed sleep-away camp for eight weeks. I loved it but it could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/when-i-was-seventeen-i-worked-as-a-counsellor-at-a-co-ed-sleep-away/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [Do you remember how you felt at seventeen? I do and I don't (...) Imagine you came from outer space and someone showed you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/do-you-remember-how-you-felt-at-seventeen-i-do-and-i-don-t-imagine/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [By the time I was seventeen, I was on my way to Hollywood and didn't look back. My family is supportive now, but like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-heard/by-the-time-i-was-seventeen-i-was-on-my-way-to-hollywood-and-didn-t/) [Amber Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-heard/) > [My mom had very low expectations for me, and she really had a point. I was a big problem at seventeen. If I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/my-mom-had-very-low-expectations-for-me-and-she-really-had-a-point-i/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) ## More by Gary Snyder > [The best thing you can do for the planet is to stay home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-snyder/the-best-thing-you-can-do-for-the-planet-is-to-stay-home/) [Gary Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-snyder/) > [We . . . must try to live without causing unnecessary harm, not just to fellow humans but to all beings. 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Always been cold, not just this year. Jagged scarps forever snowed in Woods in the dark ravines spitting mist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-snyder/in-the-mountains-it-s-cold-always-been-cold-not-just-this-year-jagged/) [Gary Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-snyder/) > [When the mind is exhausted of images, it invents its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-snyder/when-the-mind-is-exhausted-of-images-it-invents-its-own/) [Gary Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-snyder/) > [Forests in the tropics are cut to make pasture to raise beef for the American market. Our distance from the source of our food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-snyder/forests-in-the-tropics-are-cut-to-make-pasture-to-raise-beef-for-the/) [Gary Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-snyder/) > [“The blue mountains are constantly walking." 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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/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. 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I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I’m sixty-eight” he said, “I first bucked hay when I was seventeen. 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