--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What season?” I asked. “A delayed…" description: "\"“What season?” I asked. “A delayed adolescence, I guess. When I get up in the morning and see my face in the mirror, it looks like someone else’s. If I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/haruki-murakami-21_adolescence_what-season-i-asked-a-delayed-adolescenc_2928175.jpg" --- # What season?” I asked. “A delayed adolescence, I guess… ![“What season?” I asked. “A delayed adolescence, I guess. When I get up in the morning and see my face in the mirror, it looks like someone else’s. If I’m not careful, I might end up left behind.” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/haruki-murakami-21_adolescence_what-season-i-asked-a-delayed-adolescenc_2928175.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/haruki-murakami-21_adolescence_what-season-i-asked-a-delayed-adolescenc_2928175.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/haruki-murakami-21_adolescence_what-season-i-asked-a-delayed-adolescenc_2928175.jpg) > ““What season?” I asked. “A delayed adolescence, I guess. When I get up in the morning and see my face in the mirror, it looks like someone else’s. If I’m not careful, I might end up left behind.”” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A delayed adolescence feels alienating; without vigilance, one may fall behind. **In simple terms:** Delayed youth feels alien. Key Takeaway Stay self‑aware. Themes identity growth self‑reflection Mood melancholic thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - college transition - career start - personal crisis Key Concepts Coming‑of‑age existential anxiety Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize personal growth? - What steps keep you present? A Different Perspective Self‑criticism can hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adolescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescence/) [Left behind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-behind/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [At the start of every season, I always asked myself - am I meeting my own standards? Can I still do it? I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-lahm/at-the-start-of-every-season-i-always-asked-myself-am-i-meeting-my/) [Philipp Lahm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-lahm/) > [I went through this delayed-adolescence thing. I didn't want to be tied down to a family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-quaid/i-went-through-this-delayed-adolescence-thing-i-didn-t-want-to-be/) [Randy Quaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-quaid/) > [The mentality of an army on the march is merely so much delayed adolescence; it remains persistently, incorrigibly and notoriously infantile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-j-nock/the-mentality-of-an-army-on-the-march-is-merely-so-much-delayed/) [Albert J. Nock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-j-nock/) > [“Then back to the stage, and the acting. The bright lights, the rehearsed lines. The applause, the falling curtain. Leaving who one was for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/then-back-to-the-stage-and-the-acting-the-bright-lights-the-rehearsed/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Now, take a breath, lay back, close the book, brush your eyebrows, go check that pimple on your face in the mirror, or better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-jace/now-take-a-breath-lay-back-close-the-book-brush-your-eyebrows-go/) [Cameron Jace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-jace/) > [I regard everything with irony, including the face I see in the mirror when I wake up in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-peckinpah/i-regard-everything-with-irony-including-the-face-i-see-in-the-mirror/) [Sam Peckinpah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-peckinpah/) > [“She stared at her face in the mirror, feeling everything around her slipping away. The face stared back, and she wondered who was looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/she-stared-at-her-face-in-the-mirror-feeling-everything-around-her/) [Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) > [Live for the face you see in the mirror every day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-arora-luthra/live-for-the-face-you-see-in-the-mirror-every-day/) [Sonam Arora Luthra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-arora-luthra/) > [“Time is like a barber, it shears you first and then shows you your own face in the mirror. (Marrying Nusrat)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manjul-bajaj/time-is-like-a-barber-it-shears-you-first-and-then-shows-you-your-own/) [Manjul Bajaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manjul-bajaj/) > [The ravaged face in the mirror hides the enchanting youth that is the real me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-ravaged-face-in-the-mirror-hides-the-enchanting-youth-that-is-the/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [We wait all these years to find someone who understands us, I thought, someone who accepts us as we are, someone with a wizard's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/we-wait-all-these-years-to-find-someone-who-understands-us-i-thought/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [I literally used to stare at my face in the mirror with hate and anger. I'd focus on those gigantic zits and just wail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-beatriz/i-literally-used-to-stare-at-my-face-in-the-mirror-with-hate-and/) [Stephanie Beatriz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-beatriz/) > [How do you make a girl know she's beautiful? What is the system for that, what do you show her, how do you give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-tea/how-do-you-make-a-girl-know-she-s-beautiful-what-is-the-system-for/) [Michelle Tea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-tea/) > [“...then I closed the mirror and stared at myself. I wondered, as I wondered so often when I was that age, who I was,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/then-i-closed-the-mirror-and-stared-at-myself-i-wondered-as-i/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I'm sorry, but I can't imagine being an American icon! It would be pretty difficult to look at your face in the mirror and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-pauley/i-m-sorry-but-i-can-t-imagine-being-an-american-icon-it-would-be/) [Jane Pauley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-pauley/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More Adolescence quotes > [They must move from a psychological state of victimization to a psychological state of accepting responsibility. The Palestinians must leave behind their revolutionary adolescence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-shavit/they-must-move-from-a-psychological-state-of-victimization-to-a/) [Ari Shavit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-shavit/) > [Having children truly ends adolescence. We are all either parents or children: responsibility-takers or those who demand from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/having-children-truly-ends-adolescence-we-are-all-either-parents-or/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [Teenage girls are extremists who see the world in black-and- white terms, missing shades of gray. Life is either marvelous or notworth living. School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pipher/teenage-girls-are-extremists-who-see-the-world-in-black-and-white/) [Mary Pipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pipher/) > [Teenagers complain there's nothing to do, then stay out all night doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-phillips/teenagers-complain-there-s-nothing-to-do-then-stay-out-all-night/) [Bob Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-phillips/) > [The idols of one's adolescence tend to endure - you never forget how you worshipped them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-idols-of-one-s-adolescence-tend-to-endure-you-never-forget-how/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [The donning of the ear buds marks the beginning of teen life, when children set off on their own for the passage through adolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/the-donning-of-the-ear-buds-marks-the-beginning-of-teen-life-when/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [Adolescence is when the very worst and best impulses in the human soul struggle against each other for possession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/adolescence-is-when-the-very-worst-and-best-impulses-in-the-human/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Most adults would not dream of belittling, humiliating, or bullying (verbally or physically) another adult. But many of the same adults think nothing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/most-adults-would-not-dream-of-belittling-humiliating-or-bullying/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“He'd possessed all the key elements of a school shooter: hormones, misery, ammunition. People wondered how something like Columbine could happen. Jude wondered why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/he-d-possessed-all-the-key-elements-of-a-school-shooter-hormones/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [ I remember realizing, when I did Little Women \[1994\], that that was the only time girls that age were being written about. It was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/i-remember-realizing-when-i-did-little-women-1994-that-that-was-the/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [Content without style is propaganda or adolescence. Style without content is decadence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/content-without-style-is-propaganda-or-adolescence-style-without/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Adolescence is interesting. I mean, all of life is interesting and all of life is transitionary. But I think there is an exponential growth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-henson/adolescence-is-interesting-i-mean-all-of-life-is-interesting-and-all/) [Bill Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-henson/) > [“Yet GenX'er teens didn't slow down--they were just as likely to drive, drink alcohol, and date as their Boomer peers and more likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-twenge/yet-genx-er-teens-didn-t-slow-down-they-were-just-as-likely-to-drive/) [Jean M. Twenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-twenge/) [Browse all 787 Adolescence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What season?” I asked. “A delayed adolescence, I guess. When I get up in the morning and see my face in the mirror, it looks like someone else’s. 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