--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was always crazy about New York…" description: "\"I was always crazy about New York, dependent on it, scared of it - well, it is dangerous - but beyond that there was the pressure of being young and of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/harold-brodkey-14369_breakthrough_i-was-always-crazy-about-new-york-depend_267518.png" --- # I was always crazy about New York, dependent on it, scared… ![“I was always crazy about New York, dependent on it, scared of it - well, it is dangerous - but beyond that there was the pressure of being young and of not yet having done work you really liked, trademark work, breakthrough work” quote by Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/harold-brodkey-14369_breakthrough_i-was-always-crazy-about-new-york-depend_267518.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/harold-brodkey-14369_breakthrough_i-was-always-crazy-about-new-york-depend_267518.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/harold-brodkey-14369_breakthrough_i-was-always-crazy-about-new-york-depend_267518.png) > “I was always crazy about New York, dependent on it, scared of it - well, it is dangerous - but beyond that there was the pressure of being young and of not yet having done work you really liked, trademark work, breakthrough work” [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A complex love‑hate relationship with a city fuels creative pressure and fear of mediocrity. **In simple terms:** Living in a vibrant place can inspire but also intimidate. Key Takeaway Embrace the tension to drive growth. Themes city life creativity fear Mood nostalgic introspective Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - artistic projects - career decisions - relocation - personal growth Key Concepts inspiration anxiety Questions to Reflect On - What draws you to challenging environments? - How can fear be transformed into motivation? A Different Perspective The pressure may stifle rather than motivate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breakthrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breakthrough/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Pressure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressure/) ## Related quotes > [I don't want to play into the perception that all women should look like fourteen year old boys. I don't want to add to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-heard/i-don-t-want-to-play-into-the-perception-that-all-women-should-look/) [Amber Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-heard/) > [Do I feel pressure being a young player with high expectations? Nah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/landon-donovan/do-i-feel-pressure-being-a-young-player-with-high-expectations-nah/) [Landon Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/landon-donovan/) > [It hurt me a great deal. It put a lot of pressure on me because I was at a young age and the writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kaline/it-hurt-me-a-great-deal-it-put-a-lot-of-pressure-on-me-because-i-was/) [Al Kaline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-kaline/) > [I do feel like young people feel pressured to be extraordinary in a new way. Of course everybody is extraordinary in their own special…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-purser/i-do-feel-like-young-people-feel-pressured-to-be-extraordinary-in-a/) [Shannon Purser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-purser/) > [There's so much pressure on young people to go to university when they're 18 or 19, but actually, in the grand scheme of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bel-powley/there-s-so-much-pressure-on-young-people-to-go-to-university-when/) [Bel Powley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bel-powley/) > [I stepped up to a lot of pressure at a young age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doechii/i-stepped-up-to-a-lot-of-pressure-at-a-young-age/) [Doechii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doechii/) > [You can't be afraid to not have everything figured out. There's too much pressure on young people today to have it all figured out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-trotter/you-can-t-be-afraid-to-not-have-everything-figured-out-there-s-too/) [Charlie Trotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-trotter/) > [The pressure on young chefs today is far greater than ever before in terms of social skills, marketing skills, cooking skills, personality and, more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-ramsay/the-pressure-on-young-chefs-today-is-far-greater-than-ever-before-in/) [Gordon Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-ramsay/) > [In the beginning, I thought the Federer comparisons were cool, but after a while, I wasn't happy with it. It's not the best thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grigor-dimitrov/in-the-beginning-i-thought-the-federer-comparisons-were-cool-but/) [Grigor Dimitrov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grigor-dimitrov/) > [If you look at any Mumbai guy, he starts to handle pressure at a very young age. Starts at the school level, then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prithvi-shaw/if-you-look-at-any-mumbai-guy-he-starts-to-handle-pressure-at-a-very/) [Prithvi Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prithvi-shaw/) > [I really feel concerned about young people within our present culture. Our present culture, we have to change. Change is inevitable and I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-really-feel-concerned-about-young-people-within-our-present-culture/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I think there's a lot of pressure on young people to really be the thing that everyone is telling them that they are, opposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-think-there-s-a-lot-of-pressure-on-young-people-to-really-be-the/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [No one really knows how trademarks work. I don't mean, 'Come along with me on this journey and you will be one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-green/no-one-really-knows-how-trademarks-work-i-don-t-mean-come-along-with/) [Hank Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-green/) > [Perhaps the choice is a negative one, in that I was trying to avoid everything that touched on well-known issues - or any issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/perhaps-the-choice-is-a-negative-one-in-that-i-was-trying-to-avoid/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [One of the trademarks of a champion is that he can outlast you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-trademarks-of-a-champion-is-that-he-can-outlast-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Harold Brodkey > [Being ill like this combines shock - this time I will die - with a pain and agony that are unfamiliar, that wrench me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/being-ill-like-this-combines-shock-this-time-i-will-die-with-a-pain/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [“I figured I had kept her from being too depressed after fucking--it's hard for a girl with any force in her and any brains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-figured-i-had-kept-her-from-being-too-depressed-after-fucking-it-s/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [In our opposed forms of loneliness and self-recognition and recognition of the other, we touched each other often as we spoke; and on shore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/in-our-opposed-forms-of-loneliness-and-self-recognition-and/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [It is death that goes down to the center of the earth, the great burial church the earth is, and then to the curved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/it-is-death-that-goes-down-to-the-center-of-the-earth-the-great/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [“Reading is an intimate act, perhaps more intimate than any other human act. I say that because of the prolonged (or intense) exposure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/reading-is-an-intimate-act-perhaps-more-intimate-than-any-other-human/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [“There is a certain shade of red brick--a dark, almost melodious red, sombre and riddled with blue--that is my childhood in St.Louis. Not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/there-is-a-certain-shade-of-red-brick-a-dark-almost-melodious-red/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [I'm sixty-two, and it's ecological sense to die while you're still productive, die and clear a space for others, old and young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-m-sixty-two-and-it-s-ecological-sense-to-die-while-you-re-still/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [It is like visiting one's funeral, like visiting loss in its purest and most monumental form, this wild darkness, which is not only unknown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/it-is-like-visiting-one-s-funeral-like-visiting-loss-in-its-purest/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [In New York one lives in the moment rather more than Socrates advised, so that at a party or alone in your room it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/in-new-york-one-lives-in-the-moment-rather-more-than-socrates-advised/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [I have thousands of opinions still - but that is down from millions - and, as always, I know nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-have-thousands-of-opinions-still-but-that-is-down-from-millions-and/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [Almost the first thing I did when I became ill was to buy a truly good television set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/almost-the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-became-ill-was-to-buy-a-truly/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [I am startled when people are themselves and are not my thoughts of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-am-startled-when-people-are-themselves-and-are-not-my-thoughts-of/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [You really can’t write unless you read. You have to know what the game is all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/you-really-can-t-write-unless-you-read-you-have-to-know-what-the-game/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [I often thought men stank of rage; it is why I preferred women, and homosexuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-often-thought-men-stank-of-rage-it-is-why-i-preferred-women-and/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [I have the sense that if I push too hard or too far into memory I’ll come apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-have-the-sense-that-if-i-push-too-hard-or-too-far-into-memory-i-ll/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) [Explore all 47 Harold Brodkey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) ## More Breakthrough quotes > [Real breakthroughs are not found because you want to develop some new technology, but because you are curious and want to find out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-zeilinger/real-breakthroughs-are-not-found-because-you-want-to-develop-some-new/) [Anton Zeilinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-zeilinger/) > [The hardware and the software used in the Breakthrough project will be compatible with other telescopes around the world, so they too can search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-milner/the-hardware-and-the-software-used-in-the-breakthrough-project-will/) [Yuri Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuri-milner/) > [Just like the breakthroughs, the bad stuff always takes you by surprise. (121)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-giles/just-like-the-breakthroughs-the-bad-stuff-always-takes-you-by/) [Gail Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-giles/) > [There are just moments when all the stars are aligned for breakthrough products.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sculley/there-are-just-moments-when-all-the-stars-are-aligned-for/) [John Sculley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sculley/) > [The founder of any branch must be more ingenious than the common man. However, if his achievement is not carried on by disciples of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-founder-of-any-branch-must-be-more-ingenious-than-the-common-man/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Brokenness is often the road to breakthrough. Hang in there. Your time is coming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/brokenness-is-often-the-road-to-breakthrough-hang-in-there-your-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Historic changes and challenges. Breakthroughs in human knowledge and opportunity. And yet, for vast numbers across the globe, the daily realities have not altered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/historic-changes-and-challenges-breakthroughs-in-human-knowledge-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Obama is hardly the first president to seek rapprochement with our adversaries and reconciliation with our enemies, of course. But his determination to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-f-hayes/obama-is-hardly-the-first-president-to-seek-rapprochement-with-our/) [Stephen F. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-f-hayes/) > [... when things get rough, a breakthrough is just on the other side of the pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/when-things-get-rough-a-breakthrough-is-just-on-the-other-side-of-the/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Tonight, after a breakthrough year for America, our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/tonight-after-a-breakthrough-year-for-america-our-economy-is-growing/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Opposition is just proof that you're close to a major breakthrough keepgoing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rev-run-2/opposition-is-just-proof-that-you-re-close-to-a-major-breakthrough/) [Rev Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rev-run-2/) > [ Innovation is not a big breakthrough invention every time. Innovation is a constant thing. But if you don't have an innovative company \[team\], coming… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/innovation-is-not-a-big-breakthrough-invention-every-time-innovation/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [“A reset isn't going backwards; it's clearing the path to move forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-rivera/a-reset-isn-t-going-backwards-it-s-clearing-the-path-to-move-forward/) [Alex Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-rivera/) > [The consensus we arrived with States for amending the Constitution to implement GST is a major breakthrough. This alone has the potential to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-consensus-we-arrived-with-states-for-amending-the-constitution-to/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Conceivably, blockchains could rely on a number of standards above the Internet's existing standards to allow a smooth bridging from one layer to another.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mougayar/conceivably-blockchains-could-rely-on-a-number-of-standards-above-the/) [William Mougayar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mougayar/) [Browse all 507 Breakthrough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breakthrough/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was always crazy about New York, dependent on it, scared of it - well, it is dangerous - but beyond that there was the pressure of being young and of not yet having done work you really liked, trademark work, breakthrough work", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harold Brodkey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-was-always-crazy-about-new-york-dependent-on-it-scared-of-it-well/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Breakthrough" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-was-always-crazy-about-new-york-dependent-on-it-scared-of-it-well/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/harold-brodkey-14369_breakthrough_i-was-always-crazy-about-new-york-depend_267518.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/harold-brodkey-14369_breakthrough_i-was-always-crazy-about-new-york-depend_267518.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/harold-brodkey-14369_breakthrough_i-was-always-crazy-about-new-york-depend_267518.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was always crazy about New York, dependent on it, scared of it - well, it is dangerous - but beyond that…” — Harold Brodkey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Harold Brodkey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was always crazy about New...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-was-always-crazy-about-new-york-dependent-on-it-scared-of-it-well/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-was-always-crazy-about-new-york-dependent-on-it-scared-of-it-well/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```