--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've had that my whole career. People…" description: "\"I've had that my whole career. People were always hedging around the question of: Why are you so dark? What happened to you?\" — George Saunders" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/george-saunders-317_careers_i-ve-had-that-my-whole-career-people-wer_2447679.jpg" --- # I've had that my whole career. People were always hedging… ![“I've had that my whole career. People were always hedging around the question of: Why are you so dark? What happened to you?” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/george-saunders-317_careers_i-ve-had-that-my-whole-career-people-wer_2447679.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/george-saunders-317_careers_i-ve-had-that-my-whole-career-people-wer_2447679.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/george-saunders-317_careers_i-ve-had-that-my-whole-career-people-wer_2447679.jpg) > “I've had that my whole career. People were always hedging around the question of: Why are you so dark? What happened to you?” [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reflects on being judged for his appearance and the assumptions it triggers. **In simple terms:** Judgment based on looks. Key Takeaway Challenge superficial judgments. Themes identity appearance stigma society Mood thoughtful critical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - job interview - social media - public speaking - personal relationships Key Concepts bias perception self‑acceptance Questions to Reflect On - Why do we link darkness with negativity? - How can we shift focus to substance? A Different Perspective People may resist changing deep‑seated biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Hedging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hedging/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Television has shied away from being too dark, because so much has happened to us recently here in the West, and people are sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idris-elba/television-has-shied-away-from-being-too-dark-because-so-much-has/) [Idris Elba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idris-elba/) > [Don’t question in the dark what God showed you in the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-raymond-edman/don-t-question-in-the-dark-what-god-showed-you-in-the-light/) [V. Raymond Edman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-raymond-edman/) > [“Even in the darkest and most cruel person, there is still a kernel of good. and within the most perfect champion, there is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-rhodes/even-in-the-darkest-and-most-cruel-person-there-is-still-a-kernel-of/) [Morgan Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-rhodes/) > [Since I've had a career, my hair has been more or less professional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rice/since-i-ve-had-a-career-my-hair-has-been-more-or-less-professional/) [Susan Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rice/) > [My second Christian name is John. Good solid bourgeois Christian name, like my first name, Peter, a rock. Minerals. Build on rock, rocks, uranium.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/my-second-christian-name-is-john-good-solid-bourgeois-christian-name/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [So, in a way I was hedging and saying that if the Olympic stuff doesn't work out at least I can be a lawyer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shorter/so-in-a-way-i-was-hedging-and-saying-that-if-the-olympic-stuff-doesn/) [Frank Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shorter/) > [“Life is so diversified that to any statement I could make about living organisms there are exceptions. Because of the many exceptions, I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/life-is-so-diversified-that-to-any-statement-i-could-make-about/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [This was not some pretty little girl, coyly flirtatious, delicately stimulated. This was the mature female of the species, vivid, handsome and strong demanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/this-was-not-some-pretty-little-girl-coyly-flirtatious-delicately/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [“Are you hungry?" he asks, hedging. "I don't have to be." "What does that even mean, Mia? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-lauren/are-you-hungry-he-asks-hedging-i-don-t-have-to-be-what-does-that-even/) [Christina Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-lauren/) > [“The only occasional gripe was about the volatile price of Bitcoin, which made it hard to know how much a vendor would be charging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-popper/the-only-occasional-gripe-was-about-the-volatile-price-of-bitcoin/) [Nathaniel Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-popper/) > [“Hedging is expensive and dilutes commitment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-s-grove/hedging-is-expensive-and-dilutes-commitment/) [Andrew S. Grove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-s-grove/) > [They (the youth of Australia) are out there clamouring in all forms of voice, and they are not so much hedging us older Australians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cosgrove/they-the-youth-of-australia-are-out-there-clamouring-in-all-forms-of/) [Peter Cosgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cosgrove/) > [I was hedging my bets by the time I got to college. I was interested in drama and journalism and psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-azaria/i-was-hedging-my-bets-by-the-time-i-got-to-college-i-was-interested/) [Hank Azaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-azaria/) > [“It is also reasonable to speculate that the capacity of prophages to be induced at a low frequency must in itself be advantageous to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-cordingley/it-is-also-reasonable-to-speculate-that-the-capacity-of-prophages-to/) [Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) > [You should avoid hedging, at least that's what I think. You should be ashamed to die until you've made some contribution to mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-johns/you-should-avoid-hedging-at-least-that-s-what-i-think-you-should-be/) Vernon Johns ## More by George Saunders > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Wow wow wow is all I can say! Remember how I always buy lunchtime Scratch-Off ticket? Have I said? Maybe did not say? Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/wow-wow-wow-is-all-i-can-say-remember-how-i-always-buy-lunchtime/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“None of it was real; nothing was real. Everything was real; inconceivably real, infinitely dear. These and all things started as nothing, latent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/none-of-it-was-real-nothing-was-real-everything-was-real/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-must-see-god-not-as-a-him-some-linear-rewarding-fellow-but-an-it-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/america-to-me-should-be-shouting-all-the-time-a-bunch-of-shouting/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/whatever-your-supposed-politics-are-left-right-if-you-put-it-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“A Clinton staffer tells me his theory. Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-clinton-staffer-tells-me-his-theory-think-about-frank-sinatra-he/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-try-we-fail-we-posture-we-aspire-we-pontificate-and-then-we-age/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What America is, to me, is a guy doesn't want to buy, you let him not buy, you respect his not buying. A guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-america-is-to-me-is-a-guy-doesn-t-want-to-buy-you-let-him-not/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What good the prophet in the wilderness may do is incremental and personal. It's good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-good-the-prophet-in-the-wilderness-may-do-is-incremental-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We're in the transition between birth and death. But the one that people often know about is the transition between the moment of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-re-in-the-transition-between-birth-and-death-but-the-one-that/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-be-that-parent-the-one-who-dresses-his-kid-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Explore all 690 George Saunders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## More Careers quotes > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I don't like being away from home. That's one reason why I don't work as much as I used to \[when I started my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-powell/i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s-one-reason-why-i-don-t-work/) [Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-powell/) > [The only thing I try to watch carefully is that I never lose the love for the instrument. That's also why I decided against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nils-frahm/the-only-thing-i-try-to-watch-carefully-is-that-i-never-lose-the-love/) [Nils Frahm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nils-frahm/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [The truth is I've just never had any kind of plan at all for my career, which is probably not a very flattering thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-burrell/the-truth-is-i-ve-just-never-had-any-kind-of-plan-at-all-for-my/) [Ty Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-burrell/) > [I always knew I wanted to have a good career, so I made it happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chord-overstreet/i-always-knew-i-wanted-to-have-a-good-career-so-i-made-it-happen/) [Chord Overstreet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chord-overstreet/) > [My non-career. My excuse for a career? Honestly, I never think about the word 'career.' I've had managers, the minute they say it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verlaine/my-non-career-my-excuse-for-a-career-honestly-i-never-think-about-the/) [Tom Verlaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verlaine/) > [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/) [Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/) > [ The young man \[Turgot\] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecclesiastical-career-was-placed/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [What has drug addiction done for me? It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/) Robbin Crosby > [There is so much temptation to hold on to my career even more now. To try to micromanage and dictate every little aspect. 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