--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I started to think of friends I could…" description: "\"“I started to think of friends I could lean on for some help, but, as always happened when I attempted this kind of social audit, I realised that far t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/hugh-laurie-2413_friends_i-started-to-think-of-friends-i-could-le_463394.png" --- # I started to think of friends I could lean on for some… ![“I started to think of friends I could lean on for some help, but, as always happened when I attempted this kind of social audit, I realised that far too many of them were abroad, dead, married to people who disapproved of me, or weren't really my friends, now that I came to think of it.” quote by Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/hugh-laurie-2413_friends_i-started-to-think-of-friends-i-could-le_463394.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/hugh-laurie-2413_friends_i-started-to-think-of-friends-i-could-le_463394.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/hugh-laurie-2413_friends_i-started-to-think-of-friends-i-could-le_463394.png) > ““I started to think of friends I could lean on for some help, but, as always happened when I attempted this kind of social audit, I realised that far too many of them were abroad, dead, married to people who disapproved of me, or weren't really my friends, now that I came to think of it.”” [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on seeking support but finds most potential allies unavailable or unsuitable, highlighting loneliness and the difficulty of genuine connection. **In simple terms:** Friends are often unavailable or not true friends. Key Takeaway Recognize and cultivate authentic relationships. Themes loneliness friendship trust social isolation Mood reflective melancholic Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - career challenges - personal crises - moving to new cities - health issues Key Concepts social audit authenticity support networks Questions to Reflect On - How can you identify authentic friends? - What steps can you take to build a supportive network? A Different Perspective True friends are rare; not everyone can be relied upon. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends/) [Friends Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-came-1303284/) [Friends Lean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-lean-476751/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Social Audit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-audit-4019623/) [Started Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-think-1137498/) [Think Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-friends/) ## Related quotes > [We become strong, I feel, when we have no friends upon whom to lean, or to look to for moral guidance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/we-become-strong-i-feel-when-we-have-no-friends-upon-whom-to-lean-or/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [“We become strongest, I feel, when we have no friends upon whom to lean, or to look for moral gudance”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/we-become-strongest-i-feel-when-we-have-no-friends-upon-whom-to-lean/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [My shoulders aren't that big… but they're big enough for my friends to lean on…because the world comes to light when you have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercy-pheona/my-shoulders-aren-t-that-big-but-they-re-big-enough-for-my-friends-to/) [Mercy Pheona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercy-pheona/) > [May this be the year that things go your way most of the time, and when they don't, may you have great friends to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/may-this-be-the-year-that-things-go-your-way-most-of-the-time-and/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [I have a very close, tight group of friends. I lean on them for support and I lean on my kids and just want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-anstead/i-have-a-very-close-tight-group-of-friends-i-lean-on-them-for-support/) [Christina Anstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-anstead/) > [After convincing myself that was maybe you should at least help out your neighborhood, I really started to think about it later on in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-danko/after-convincing-myself-that-was-maybe-you-should-at-least-help-out/) [Rick Danko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-danko/) > [It wasn't until I did 'Hugo' where I sort of started to think that this could be something that I do for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-butterfield/it-wasn-t-until-i-did-hugo-where-i-sort-of-started-to-think-that-this/) [Asa Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-butterfield/) > [“I started to think that maybe I was as beautiful as he believed. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-started-to-think-that-maybe-i-was-as-beautiful-as-he-believed-i/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I'm ephemeral as much as I can be, so I started to think about the idea of not working. It's really about a change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rirkrit-tiravanija/i-m-ephemeral-as-much-as-i-can-be-so-i-started-to-think-about-the/) [Rirkrit Tiravanija](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rirkrit-tiravanija/) > [I thought I forget you.. but I realise everytime I pause, I started to think of you.. 'cause everytime I don't.. I ALMOST DO!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/redzel/i-thought-i-forget-you-but-i-realise-everytime-i-pause-i-started-to/) [Redzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/redzel/) > [Here in my car. I know I've started to think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-numan/here-in-my-car-i-know-i-ve-started-to-think/) [Gary Numan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-numan/) > [I started to accept the reality and the inequities. I started to think maybe I wouldn't have the kind of career I had imagined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-lee/i-started-to-accept-the-reality-and-the-inequities-i-started-to-think/) [Greta Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-lee/) > [I've started to think it must just be chemistry, in which case we're looking for the Shift and we haven't found it yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-vizzini/i-ve-started-to-think-it-must-just-be-chemistry-in-which-case-we-re/) [Ned Vizzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-vizzini/) > [When I was 15, all my friends came out. I was really trying to be like them, and I finally had to tell my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyndi-lauper/when-i-was-15-all-my-friends-came-out-i-was-really-trying-to-be-like/) [Cyndi Lauper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyndi-lauper/) > [My 21st birthday was awesome. I was in L.A., and it was great. I had a bunch of friends that came out. The night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-keltz/my-21st-birthday-was-awesome-i-was-in-l-a-and-it-was-great-i-had-a/) [Jonathan Keltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-keltz/) ## More by Hugh Laurie > [“It's a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-i-think-in-life-to-wait-until-you-re-ready-i/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [Ideas are 10 a penny. It's the execution that's the hard thing to do. House is standing up against a tide of sentiment and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/ideas-are-10-a-penny-it-s-the-execution-that-s-the-hard-thing-to-do/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [To be a head boy, you have to be very clever, you have to be a scholar, and I was never a scholar in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/to-be-a-head-boy-you-have-to-be-very-clever-you-have-to-be-a-scholar/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [To me, he's a hero, ... He's not polite. He's not someone you want to take home to meet your mother, necessarily. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/to-me-he-s-a-hero-he-s-not-polite-he-s-not-someone-you-want-to-take/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [People will survive, and they will find happiness. Happiness only comes when you're not looking for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/people-will-survive-and-they-will-find-happiness-happiness-only-comes/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [It alarms me to think of all that I have read and how little of it has stayed with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/it-alarms-me-to-think-of-all-that-i-have-read-and-how-little-of-it/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [This was the tricky bit. The really tricky bit, trickiness cubed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/this-was-the-tricky-bit-the-really-tricky-bit-trickiness-cubed/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [“We want different things. Men want to have sex with a woman. Then they want to have sex with another woman. And then another.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/we-want-different-things-men-want-to-have-sex-with-a-woman-then-they/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [I travel to work on my motorcycle, so it's jeans, boots and a brown Aero leather jacket that weighs as much as I do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/i-travel-to-work-on-my-motorcycle-so-it-s-jeans-boots-and-a-brown/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [I just read an 800-page history of the Scottish Enlightenment and, honestly, I may as well just start it again now, because I cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/i-just-read-an-800-page-history-of-the-scottish-enlightenment-and/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [The only good thing I've ever noticed about money, the only positive aspect of an otherwise pretty vulgar commodity, is that you can use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/the-only-good-thing-i-ve-ever-noticed-about-money-the-only-positive/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [“Plus laid aussi qu'un parking”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/plus-laid-aussi-qu-un-parking/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [I was too shy, I think, to sing publicly. It takes a particular kind of person. And when I was young, I was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/i-was-too-shy-i-think-to-sing-publicly-it-takes-a-particular-kind-of/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [Acting is largely about putting on masks, and music is about removing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/acting-is-largely-about-putting-on-masks-and-music-is-about-removing/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [“I said no thank you a dozen times, and fuck off once.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/i-said-no-thank-you-a-dozen-times-and-fuck-off-once/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) [Explore all 159 Hugh Laurie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) ## More Friends quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [Friends are like stars you can't always see them, but you know they're there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknwon/friends-are-like-stars-you-can-t-always-see-them-but-you-know-they-re/) [Unknwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknwon/) > [I have friends and family that identify as LGBTQ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mace/i-have-friends-and-family-that-identify-as-lgbtq/) [Nancy Mace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mace/) > [“Light it up, bitch.' 'Light it up, asshole,' ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/light-it-up-bitch-light-it-up-asshole/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [In life, we never lose friends we only get to know who the true ones are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ace-kid/in-life-we-never-lose-friends-we-only-get-to-know-who-the-true-ones/) [Ace Kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ace-kid/) > [I always bump into people that Ive met. Not great friends, but if I bump into somebody Ive known and I wont recognise them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dario-franchitti/i-always-bump-into-people-that-ive-met-not-great-friends-but-if-i/) [Dario Franchitti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dario-franchitti/) > [It's hard to be JUST FRIENDS with the ONE YOU LOVE when every time you look at that person, all you see is EVERYTHING…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-hard-to-be-just-friends-with-the-one-you-love-when-every-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! Whether you're a child mucking around with your friends or a grown up being paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-hewson/actors-don-t-hate-acting-most-people-don-t-hate-acting-whether-you-re/) [Liv Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-hewson/) > [Family over friends, because real friends are family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/family-over-friends-because-real-friends-are-family/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) > [“Cops aren't really your friends, they are trying to be your friends but they are not… - They are searching evidence to PIN YOU.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/cops-aren-t-really-your-friends-they-are-trying-to-be-your-friends/) [Deyth Banger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deyth-banger/) > [“Don’t waste your time trying to explain yourself to people that are committed to misunderstanding you. Instead, commit your time to explaining who they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/don-t-waste-your-time-trying-to-explain-yourself-to-people-that-are/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Back home I get to see my old friends!(: But they don't understand the change in me and I can't explain it to them...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/back-home-i-get-to-see-my-old-friends-but-they-don-t-understand-the/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) [Browse all 13,428 Friends quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I started to think of friends I could lean on for some help, but, as always happened when I attempted this kind of social audit, I realised that far too many of them were abroad, dead, married to people who disapproved of me, or weren't really my friends, now that I came to think of it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hugh Laurie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/i-started-to-think-of-friends-i-could-lean-on-for-some-help-but-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Friends" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/i-started-to-think-of-friends-i-could-lean-on-for-some-help-but-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/hugh-laurie-2413_friends_i-started-to-think-of-friends-i-could-le_463394.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/hugh-laurie-2413_friends_i-started-to-think-of-friends-i-could-le_463394.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/hugh-laurie-2413_friends_i-started-to-think-of-friends-i-could-le_463394.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I started to think of friends I could lean on for some help, but, as always happened when I attempted this…” — Hugh Laurie", "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": "Hugh Laurie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I started to think of friends...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/i-started-to-think-of-friends-i-could-lean-on-for-some-help-but-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/i-started-to-think-of-friends-i-could-lean-on-for-some-help-but-as/#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 } } ] } ```