--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After a while, I stop and sit down and…" description: "\"“After a while, I stop and sit down and look out over the water. On the other side is Europe. Somewhere over there is him. And somewhere over there, a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/gayle-forman-312_europe_after-a-while-i-stop-and-sit-down-and-lo_538744.png" --- # After a while, I stop and sit down and look out over the… ![“After a while, I stop and sit down and look out over the water. On the other side is Europe. Somewhere over there is him. And somewhere over there, a different version of me.” quote by Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/gayle-forman-312_europe_after-a-while-i-stop-and-sit-down-and-lo_538744.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/gayle-forman-312_europe_after-a-while-i-stop-and-sit-down-and-lo_538744.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/gayle-forman-312_europe_after-a-while-i-stop-and-sit-down-and-lo_538744.png) > ““After a while, I stop and sit down and look out over the water. On the other side is Europe. Somewhere over there is him. And somewhere over there, a different version of me.”” [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contemplating distance and alternate selves while looking at water separating continents. **In simple terms:** Longing for a distant person and imagined versions of self. Key Takeaway Embrace personal growth across distances. Themes longing identity distance Mood wistancholic hopeful Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - travel - reflection - personal development Key Concepts self‑reflection possibility Questions to Reflect On - How does distance shape your identity? - What does the other shore represent? A Different Perspective Idealized versions may be unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) ## Related quotes > [We need to look for water. Water, water, water, water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-lundin/we-need-to-look-for-water-water-water-water-water/) [Cody Lundin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-lundin/) > [It's critically important for Europe to have a different way to think about the role of agriculture in society and the economy here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-e-peterson/it-s-critically-important-for-europe-to-have-a-different-way-to-think/) [Sandra E. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-e-peterson/) > [Europe is a very different place from my native country of Colombia and my children are growing up in a very urban setting which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/europe-is-a-very-different-place-from-my-native-country-of-colombia/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Whether or not I can get an interview from hip-hop media, that's not going to effect whether or not I can go on tour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le1f/whether-or-not-i-can-get-an-interview-from-hip-hop-media-that-s-not/) [Le1f](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le1f/) > [Nations are an historic reality in Europe. They all have different histories, and they joined the EU at very different times and under widely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-kaczynski/nations-are-an-historic-reality-in-europe-they-all-have-different/) [Lech Kaczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-kaczynski/) > [In Europe, it's different - you eat soccer, you breathe soccer, you drink soccer. Everything is about soccer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dooley/in-europe-it-s-different-you-eat-soccer-you-breathe-soccer-you-drink/) [Thomas Dooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dooley/) > [When your name is out there in the media, you're thinking like, this can be my last game. Coming from Europe, it's different. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-rubio/when-your-name-is-out-there-in-the-media-you-re-thinking-like-this/) [Ricky Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-rubio/) > [Success in America - what I find with my homeland, nothing lasts very long. Europe is different. You're right there with them until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-turner/success-in-america-what-i-find-with-my-homeland-nothing-lasts-very/) [Tina Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-turner/) > [I feel that people in Europe are different from Americans - I think your soul is a little deeper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-gaye/i-feel-that-people-in-europe-are-different-from-americans-i-think/) [Marvin Gaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-gaye/) > [In Europe, where we have all these different forms of financing and cultural funds and systems like that, it's a good mixture of supporting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baran-odar/in-europe-where-we-have-all-these-different-forms-of-financing-and/) [Baran Odar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baran-odar/) > [The guys who play in Europe have a different take on a lot of things. I'm not saying that their approach is right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jozy-altidore/the-guys-who-play-in-europe-have-a-different-take-on-a-lot-of-things/) [Jozy Altidore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jozy-altidore/) > [America and Europe are so different in the way they conceive of themselves and art and cinema.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/america-and-europe-are-so-different-in-the-way-they-conceive-of/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [“It was also interesting to see that political interaction in Europe is not that different from the United States Senate. There's a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-was-also-interesting-to-see-that-political-interaction-in-europe/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The truth is that we have long had a multi-track Europe with very different objectives. The traditional differences between the north and the south…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-gabriel/the-truth-is-that-we-have-long-had-a-multi-track-europe-with-very/) [Sigmar Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-gabriel/) > [Every city is different for playing, actually. That's one of the hardest things: to play abroad. Because sometimes you know your city and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-talabot/every-city-is-different-for-playing-actually-that-s-one-of-the/) [John Talabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-talabot/) ## More by Gayle Forman > [“Waiting for Vengeance' Well, what is this? What am I coming to? And beyond that, what am I gonna do? Now there’s blankness Where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/waiting-for-vengeance-well-what-is-this-what-am-i-coming-to-and/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [I don’t want to be that person, who just takes things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/i-don-t-want-to-be-that-person-who-just-takes-things/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“Adam's lips are set in a grime line. I can't tell if he's about to cry or about to punch the guard. For his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/adam-s-lips-are-set-in-a-grime-line-i-can-t-tell-if-he-s-about-to-cry/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [I’ve blamed her for all of this, for leaving, for ruining me. And maybe that was the seed of it, but from that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/i-ve-blamed-her-for-all-of-this-for-leaving-for-ruining-me-and-maybe/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [There are like twenty people in that waiting room right now. Some of them are related to you. Some of them are not. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/there-are-like-twenty-people-in-that-waiting-room-right-now-some-of/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“It’s like an ache, how much I miss them. How much I miss her. I’m so tired of missing things I don’t have”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/it-s-like-an-ache-how-much-i-miss-them-how-much-i-miss-her-i-m-so/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“Whoever said that the past isn’t dead had it backward. It’s the future that’s already dead, already played out. This whole night has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/whoever-said-that-the-past-isn-t-dead-had-it-backward-it-s-the-future/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“We drank Pepsi out of these old-fashioned bottles that Dad had found at some ancient country store, and I swear they tasted better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/we-drank-pepsi-out-of-these-old-fashioned-bottles-that-dad-had-found/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“Pero si voy a sobrevivir, no puedo nunca, jamás volver a repasar este día.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/pero-si-voy-a-sobrevivir-no-puedo-nunca-jam-s-volver-a-repasar-este-d/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“Some things are impossible to tear yourself away from.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/some-things-are-impossible-to-tear-yourself-away-from/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [You meet people, you part ways, sometimes you cross paths again. Mostly, you don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/you-meet-people-you-part-ways-sometimes-you-cross-paths-again-mostly/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“Do you honestly think that where you’re buried has any bearing on where your spirit lives?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/do-you-honestly-think-that-where-you-re-buried-has-any-bearing-on/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“Jazz je punk pro staré lidi.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/jazz-je-punk-pro-star-lidi/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [Hate me. Devastate me. Annihilate me. Re-create me. Re-create me. Won't you, won't you won't you re-create me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/hate-me-devastate-me-annihilate-me-re-create-me-re-create-me-won-t/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“I can't lose you again. It really will kill me this time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/i-can-t-lose-you-again-it-really-will-kill-me-this-time/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) [Explore all 598 Gayle Forman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) ## More Europe quotes > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [Few political debates have been as divisive as the European one. I fought as hard as I could on the Remain side, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/few-political-debates-have-been-as-divisive-as-the-european-one-i/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/) [Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/) > [Perhaps our own opposition to even the level of European integration we have now, let alone any more, is well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/perhaps-our-own-opposition-to-even-the-level-of-european-integration/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [Liberalism is the philosophy for our time, because it does not try to conserve every tradition of the past, because it does not apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/liberalism-is-the-philosophy-for-our-time-because-it-does-not-try-to/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about empowering people to catch up, to give them the tools at their disposable that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/conservatism-is-not-about-leaving-people-behind-conservatism-is-about/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [“Conservatism aims to maintain in working order the loyalties of the community to perceived truths and also to those truths which in their judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr-2/conservatism-aims-to-maintain-in-working-order-the-loyalties-of-the/) [William F. Buckley Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr-2/) > [I'm from Europe, England, and I actually lived in Italy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/i-m-from-europe-england-and-i-actually-lived-in-italy/) [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/) > [Europe is creating the flight of refugees that's tearing it apart politically, and leading rightwing nationalist parties to gain power to withdraw from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/europe-is-creating-the-flight-of-refugees-that-s-tearing-it-apart/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [We witness anti-Semitic attacks in the heart of Europe. We hear anti-Semitic slanders in European media. We feel anti-Semitic hatred in the continent that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-shaked/we-witness-anti-semitic-attacks-in-the-heart-of-europe-we-hear-anti/) [Ayelet Shaked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-shaked/) > [Conservatives are people who look at a tree and feel instinctively that it is more beautiful than anything they can name. But when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/conservatives-are-people-who-look-at-a-tree-and-feel-instinctively/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall. For it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/yes-across-europe-this-wall-will-fall-for-it-cannot-withstand-faith/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I became an MP in 2017 and have been around to watch Liberal Democrat party membership soar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/layla-moran/i-became-an-mp-in-2017-and-have-been-around-to-watch-liberal-democrat/) [Layla Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/layla-moran/) [Browse all 7,565 Europe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“After a while, I stop and sit down and look out over the water. On the other side is Europe. Somewhere over there is him. 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