--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I got here my first thought was…" description: "\"“When I got here my first thought was: Maybe I achieved such an effort with my thoughts that time has made a complete revolution; here I am at the stat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd8/italo-calvino-402_change_when-i-got-here-my-first-thought-was-may_730246.jpg" --- # When I got here my first thought was: Maybe I achieved… ![“When I got here my first thought was: Maybe I achieved such an effort with my thoughts that time has made a complete revolution; here I am at the station from which I left on my first journey, it has remained as it was then, without any change. All the lives that I could have led begin here; there…” quote by Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd8/italo-calvino-402_change_when-i-got-here-my-first-thought-was-may_730246.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd8/italo-calvino-402_change_when-i-got-here-my-first-thought-was-may_730246.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd8/italo-calvino-402_change_when-i-got-here-my-first-thought-was-may_730246.jpg) > ““When I got here my first thought was: Maybe I achieved such an effort with my thoughts that time has made a complete revolution; here I am at the station from which I left on my first journey, it has remained as it was then, without any change. All the lives that I could have led begin here; there is the girl who could have been my girl and wasn't, with the same eyes, the same hair...”” [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## 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 a moment of realization that past choices have led to a present unchanged, contemplating missed opportunities and alternate lives. **In simple terms:** I see how past choices shape my present. Key Takeaway Consider how past decisions affect today. Themes reflection time choice regret possibility Mood thoughtful nostalgic Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - life planning - relationship reflection - career decisions - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy existentialism narrative memory Questions to Reflect On - What alternate paths could you have taken? - How do you reconcile past regrets with present reality? A Different Perspective The view may romanticize stagnation, ignoring progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Not much of great value occurs or is achieved without effort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/not-much-of-great-value-occurs-or-is-achieved-without-effort/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [The only thing in life achieved without effort is failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-thing-in-life-achieved-without-effort-is-failure/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nothing worth having was ever achieved without effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/nothing-worth-having-was-ever-achieved-without-effort/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Tell them you came, and saw, and looked into my eyes and saw the shadow of the guard receding. 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Those days can weigh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-campbell/the-bad-moon-girls-appear-on-days-when-dad-doesn-t-know-what-he-is/) Joanna Campbell > [Forget the past and live in the present hour. Now is the time to work, the time to fill The soul with noblest thoughts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-knowles-bolton/forget-the-past-and-live-in-the-present-hour-now-is-the-time-to-work/) [Sarah Knowles Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-knowles-bolton/) > [20,000 leagues away, catch up to you on the same day. Travel at the speed of light, thinking the same thoughts at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-timberlake/20-000-leagues-away-catch-up-to-you-on-the-same-day-travel-at-the/) [Justin Timberlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-timberlake/) > [I would say I had zero philosophical thoughts at that time. 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The end of every game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-great-khan-tried-to-concentrate-on-the-game-but-now-it-was-the/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Or else you can say, like the camel driver who took me there: "I arrived here in my first youth, one morning, many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/or-else-you-can-say-like-the-camel-driver-who-took-me-there-i-arrived/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The naked man had lost hope now; he would never be able to return to the earth's surface;he would never leave the bottom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-naked-man-had-lost-hope-now-he-would-never-be-able-to-return-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The art of writing tales consists in an ability to draw the rest of life from the little one has understood of it; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-art-of-writing-tales-consists-in-an-ability-to-draw-the-rest-of/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“I ask you to come down to earth," said the Baron in a calm, rather faint voice, "and to take up the duties of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/i-ask-you-to-come-down-to-earth-said-the-baron-in-a-calm-rather-faint/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [The unconscious is the ocean of the unsayable, of what has been expelled from the land of language, removed as a result of ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-unconscious-is-the-ocean-of-the-unsayable-of-what-has-been/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“... KUBLAI: We have proved that if we were here, we would not be. POLO: And here, in fact, we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/kublai-we-have-proved-that-if-we-were-here-we-would-not-be-polo-and/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“And yet, in Raissa, at every moment there is a child in a window who laughs seeing a dog that has jumped on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/and-yet-in-raissa-at-every-moment-there-is-a-child-in-a-window-who/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Ludmilla, now you are being read. Your body is being subjected to a systematic reading, through channels of tactile information, visual, olfactory, and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/ludmilla-now-you-are-being-read-your-body-is-being-subjected-to-a/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Once the process of falsification is set in motion, it won't stop. We're in a country where everything that can be falsified has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/once-the-process-of-falsification-is-set-in-motion-it-won-t-stop-we/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Your case gives me new hope," I said to him. 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I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. 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