--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People change with time. There are things…" description: "\"People change with time. There are things that happened to a person in his childhood and years later they seem to him alien and strange. I am trying to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/gunter-grass-3046_alien_people-change-with-time-there-are-things_2234231.png" --- # People change with time. There are things that happened to… ![“People change with time. There are things that happened to a person in his childhood and years later they seem to him alien and strange. I am trying to decipher that child. Sometimes he is a stranger to me. When you think about when you were 14, don't you feel a certain alienation?” quote by Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/gunter-grass-3046_alien_people-change-with-time-there-are-things_2234231.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/gunter-grass-3046_alien_people-change-with-time-there-are-things_2234231.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/gunter-grass-3046_alien_people-change-with-time-there-are-things_2234231.png) > “People change with time. There are things that happened to a person in his childhood and years later they seem to him alien and strange. I am trying to decipher that child. Sometimes he is a stranger to me. When you think about when you were 14, don't you feel a certain alienation?” [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Childhood experiences become alien in adulthood, prompting introspection about self‑identity. **In simple terms:** Childhood feels foreign later. Key Takeaway Explore past to understand self. Themes identity memory growth Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type literary psychological When to use this quote - therapy sessions - family reunions - creative writing Key Concepts psychology nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - What childhood memory feels distant now? - How does that affect your present self? A Different Perspective People also evolve, making past selves irrelevant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alien/) [Alienation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alienation/) [Aliens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aliens/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Certain Alienation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-alienation-3223771/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Child Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-stranger-3694989/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Childhood Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood-years-3454715/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Decipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decipher/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-change/) [People Change With Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-change-with-time-224949/) [Person Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-childhood-713771/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [We had lain together, skin on skin, been as close as two people could, and he was a stranger. He was that someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/we-had-lain-together-skin-on-skin-been-as-close-as-two-people-could/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [I think we suffer from certain alienation. We live on this planet, but we somehow have an idea that we're elevated from it, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yossi-ghinsberg/i-think-we-suffer-from-certain-alienation-we-live-on-this-planet-but/) [Yossi Ghinsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yossi-ghinsberg/) > [In those times when a kid first tries to express themselves creatively, it sets them on a different path. Sometimes, that path can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dini/in-those-times-when-a-kid-first-tries-to-express-themselves/) [Paul Dini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dini/) > [A good scientist is a person in whom the childhood quality of perennial curiosity lingers on. Once he gets an answer, he has other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-seitz/a-good-scientist-is-a-person-in-whom-the-childhood-quality-of/) [Frederick Seitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-seitz/) > [Almost every person, from childhood, has been touched by the untamed beauty of wildflowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-bird-johnson/almost-every-person-from-childhood-has-been-touched-by-the-untamed/) [Lady Bird Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-bird-johnson/) > [Some people will say I'm an arrogant person, but my childhood was different. Most of my childhood was busy with work and trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-pereira/some-people-will-say-i-m-an-arrogant-person-but-my-childhood-was/) [Alex Pereira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-pereira/) > [“Every single person is vulnerable to unexpected defeat in this inmost emotional self. At every moment, behind the most efficient seeming adult exterior, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-single-person-is-vulnerable-to-unexpected-defeat-in-this-inmost/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My childhood bedroom - if childhood could be about ten years old - had a bed which was under windows which faced north. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-rubin/my-childhood-bedroom-if-childhood-could-be-about-ten-years-old-had-a/) [Vera Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-rubin/) > [My childhood years were a balance of dark and light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/my-childhood-years-were-a-balance-of-dark-and-light/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [What a childhood I had - I was ten years old when I found out Alpo was dog food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/what-a-childhood-i-had-i-was-ten-years-old-when-i-found-out-alpo-was/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [It was no great tragedy being Judy Garland's daughter. I had tremendously interesting childhood years - except they had little to do with being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-minnelli/it-was-no-great-tragedy-being-judy-garland-s-daughter-i-had/) [Liza Minnelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-minnelli/) > [I have been singing since childhood and, over the years, sang songs from different languages from India and across the globe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asha-bhosle/i-have-been-singing-since-childhood-and-over-the-years-sang-songs/) [Asha Bhosle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asha-bhosle/) > [From very early on in my childhood - four, five years old - I felt alien to the human race. I felt very comfortable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/from-very-early-on-in-my-childhood-four-five-years-old-i-felt-alien/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I had a really good childhood up until I was nine years old. Then a classic case of divorce really affected me and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/i-had-a-really-good-childhood-up-until-i-was-nine-years-old-then-a/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [Everyone tries to decipher what I write as if there's a hidden message and I'm like, 'There's no hidden message.' I don't even put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-morrone/everyone-tries-to-decipher-what-i-write-as-if-there-s-a-hidden/) [Camila Morrone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-morrone/) ## More by Gunter Grass > [Melancholy has ceased to be an individual phenomenon, an exception. It has become the class privilege of the wage earner, a mass state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/melancholy-has-ceased-to-be-an-individual-phenomenon-an-exception-it/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Melancholy and utopia are heads and tails of the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/melancholy-and-utopia-are-heads-and-tails-of-the-same-coin/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [If work and leisure are soon to be subordinated to this one utopian principle - absolute busyness - then utopia and melancholy will come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/if-work-and-leisure-are-soon-to-be-subordinated-to-this-one-utopian/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [I have often supported Israel, I have often visited the country and want the country to exist and at last find peace with its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/i-have-often-supported-israel-i-have-often-visited-the-country-and/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Whenever there has been talk of exterminating rats, others, who were not rats, have been exterminated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/whenever-there-has-been-talk-of-exterminating-rats-others-who-were/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“You can begin a story in the middle and create confusion by striking out boldly, backward and forward. You can be modern, put aside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/you-can-begin-a-story-in-the-middle-and-create-confusion-by-striking/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [There must be reasons why we men are so hipped on breasts as if we'd all been weaned too soon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/there-must-be-reasons-why-we-men-are-so-hipped-on-breasts-as-if-we-d/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Often I had to imagine the things I needed. I learned very early to read amidst noise. And so I started writing and drawing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/often-i-had-to-imagine-the-things-i-needed-i-learned-very-early-to/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Art is hard for a puritan to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/art-is-hard-for-a-puritan-to-understand/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [What does a river like the Vistula carry away with it? Everything that goes to pieces: wood, glass, pencils, pacts ... chairs, bones, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/what-does-a-river-like-the-vistula-carry-away-with-it-everything-that/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Love That’s it: The cashless commerce. The blanket always too short. The loose connexion. To search behind the horizon. To brush fallen leaves with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/love-that-s-it-the-cashless-commerce-the-blanket-always-too-short-the/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“They had tried doing it by themselves in her room with a cheap onion, but it wasn't the same. You needed an audience. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/they-had-tried-doing-it-by-themselves-in-her-room-with-a-cheap-onion/) [Günter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [ \[To be an artist,\] this desire to conquer all with images. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/to-be-an-artist-this-desire-to-conquer-all-with-images/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [After the collapse of socialism, capitalism remained without a rival. This unusual situation unleashed its greedy and - above all - its suicidal power.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/after-the-collapse-of-socialism-capitalism-remained-without-a-rival/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“Suppose you're teaching math. You assume that parallel lines meet at infinity. You'll admit that adds up to something like transcendence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/suppose-you-re-teaching-math-you-assume-that-parallel-lines-meet-at/) [Günter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) [Explore all 128 Gunter Grass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) ## More Alien quotes > [If you're going to immerse yourself in a project for three years, why not stake out a chunk of the world that is completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/if-you-re-going-to-immerse-yourself-in-a-project-for-three-years-why/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“If you are an alien, how come you sound like you're from the north?' 'Lots of planets have a north!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-t-davies/if-you-are-an-alien-how-come-you-sound-like-you-re-from-the-north/) [Russell T Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-t-davies/) > [Some pundits have proposed that the aliens have come here to breed with us. Apparently, too much bike riding or something similar has rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/some-pundits-have-proposed-that-the-aliens-have-come-here-to-breed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [North Korea is still my homeland, my country. I suffered on the outside because I was alien, without identity. I was nobody. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hyeon-seo/north-korea-is-still-my-homeland-my-country-i-suffered-on-the-outside/) [Lee Hyeon-seo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hyeon-seo/) > [I don't want to be the embarrassment of the galaxy to have had the power to deflect an asteroid, and then not and end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-be-the-embarrassment-of-the-galaxy-to-have-had-the/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Whatever is not commonly seen is condemned as alien.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/whatever-is-not-commonly-seen-is-condemned-as-alien/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [Alien's a great one. That's a scary movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-nelson/alien-s-a-great-one-that-s-a-scary-movie/) [Judd Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-nelson/) > [As far as I can tell, the only unambiguous consequence of the claimed invasion of Earth by beings from another star system has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguous-consequence-of-the-claimed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Rick stared at him. "Your brother is an alien." "Yeah, but he's a cute one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/rick-stared-at-him-your-brother-is-an-alien-yeah-but-he-s-a-cute-one/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [You tell me you love me, but Im not sure you know what love is, or how fast it flies, or how much it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/you-tell-me-you-love-me-but-im-not-sure-you-know-what-love-is-or-how/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [Give consideration to the fact that alien astronomers could have scrutinized Earth for more than 4 billion years without detecting any radio signals, despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/give-consideration-to-the-fact-that-alien-astronomers-could-have/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [“When I was a kid, I used to watch that show, sitting on the couch in my pajamas and wishing more than anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-thomas-ford/when-i-was-a-kid-i-used-to-watch-that-show-sitting-on-the-couch-in-my/) [Michael Thomas Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-thomas-ford/) > [We of alien looks or words must stick together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/we-of-alien-looks-or-words-must-stick-together/) [C.J. Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/) > [One of the most interesting things for me in playing another species is that you want to make them different enough to be alien…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-murray/one-of-the-most-interesting-things-for-me-in-playing-another-species/) [Jaime Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-murray/) > [In a movie, it's often important to have aliens whose gestures and facial expressions can be 'read' by humans. And in the days before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/in-a-movie-it-s-often-important-to-have-aliens-whose-gestures-and/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Browse all 709 Alien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alien/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People change with time. There are things that happened to a person in his childhood and years later they seem to him alien and strange. 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