--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That boy made me realize, for a while at…" description: "\"“That boy made me realize, for a while at least, that my parents were wrong, and I didn't have to be like them.”\" — J.X. Burros" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0e/j-x-burros-43832_growing-up_that-boy-made-me-realize-for-a-while-at_1684421.jpg" --- # That boy made me realize, for a while at least, that my… ![“That boy made me realize, for a while at least, that my parents were wrong, and I didn't have to be like them.” quote by J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0e/j-x-burros-43832_growing-up_that-boy-made-me-realize-for-a-while-at_1684421.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0e/j-x-burros-43832_growing-up_that-boy-made-me-realize-for-a-while-at_1684421.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0e/j-x-burros-43832_growing-up_that-boy-made-me-realize-for-a-while-at_1684421.jpg) > ““That boy made me realize, for a while at least, that my parents were wrong, and I didn't have to be like them.”” [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Realizing parents' mistakes frees one to forge an independent path. **In simple terms:** You can choose a different life than your parents'. Key Takeaway Break free from inherited expectations. Themes family dynamics self‑discovery independence Mood reflective empowering Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - career choice - personal values - life decisions Key Concepts psychology identity formation Questions to Reflect On - What values define your authentic self? - How do you balance respect for parents with autonomy? A Different Perspective Family pressure may still impact choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boy Realize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boy-realize-989518/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Maturity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maturity/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) [Parents Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents-wrong-989517/) [Realize Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realize-parents-586154/) [Scarlet-spotlight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scarlet-spotlight-164238/) [Wrong Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-didn-892631/) ## Related quotes > [“How you, a weak boy caught in the middle of a storm, both in reality and metaphorically, would risk your life to save some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/how-you-a-weak-boy-caught-in-the-middle-of-a-storm-both-in-reality/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“I'm going to enjoy this.” “What?” I asked. “Hell?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/i-m-going-to-enjoy-this-what-i-asked-hell/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“Love gives you the strength to face an army, vampire or human...Love gives you a reason to press on through the storm. Love helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/love-gives-you-the-strength-to-face-an-army-vampire-or-human-love/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“Love makes you stupid. Love makes you weak. Love will kill you all one day, and it’s going to kill you today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/love-makes-you-stupid-love-makes-you-weak-love-will-kill-you-all-one/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“That boy is still here...He's just waiting for that girl to come back”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/that-boy-is-still-here-he-s-just-waiting-for-that-girl-to-come-back/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“I never left because a part of me will always be in that house...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/i-never-left-because-a-part-of-me-will-always-be-in-that-house/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“Part of making a good decision is just making a decision. You can't always sit and weigh the pros and cons. There just isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/part-of-making-a-good-decision-is-just-making-a-decision-you-can-t/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“She didn't say anything—at least, not with her mouth. Her eyes told me a different story. The only problem was that they each had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/she-didn-t-say-anything-at-least-not-with-her-mouth-her-eyes-told-me/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“A fourteen-year-old boy made me realize I wasn’t whole. His mom made me realize I wanted to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-cole/a-fourteen-year-old-boy-made-me-realize-i-wasn-t-whole-his-mom-made/) [Scarlett Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-cole/) > [I began even as a boy to realize how wide the world can be for a man of free intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-woodcock/i-began-even-as-a-boy-to-realize-how-wide-the-world-can-be-for-a-man/) [George Woodcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-woodcock/) > [“He said his prayers just in case his parents had been wrong about God all those years.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/he-said-his-prayers-just-in-case-his-parents-had-been-wrong-about-god/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [I'm not saying that parents are always wrong or kids are always right~ I'm just saying that everyone has the right to take decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shabana-adam/i-m-not-saying-that-parents-are-always-wrong-or-kids-are-always-right/) [Shabana Adam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shabana-adam/) > [“When a child is subjected to verbal attacks, she sees it not as something being done to her but as something she has caused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-forward/when-a-child-is-subjected-to-verbal-attacks-she-sees-it-not-as/) [Susan Forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-forward/) > [Children, a lot of times, can't make their parents wrong because they have to live with them, because they have to love them. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-parrilla/children-a-lot-of-times-can-t-make-their-parents-wrong-because-they/) [Lana Parrilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-parrilla/) > [Just because a child does the littlest thing wrong you want to shout after them. Lord, its just one miner thing but when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/just-because-a-child-does-the-littlest-thing-wrong-you-want-to-shout/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) ## More by J.X. Burros > [“How you, a weak boy caught in the middle of a storm, both in reality and metaphorically, would risk your life to save some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/how-you-a-weak-boy-caught-in-the-middle-of-a-storm-both-in-reality/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“She didn't say anything—at least, not with her mouth. Her eyes told me a different story. The only problem was that they each had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/she-didn-t-say-anything-at-least-not-with-her-mouth-her-eyes-told-me/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“Part of making a good decision is just making a decision. You can't always sit and weigh the pros and cons. There just isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/part-of-making-a-good-decision-is-just-making-a-decision-you-can-t/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“That boy is still here...He's just waiting for that girl to come back”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/that-boy-is-still-here-he-s-just-waiting-for-that-girl-to-come-back/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“Love makes you stupid. Love makes you weak. Love will kill you all one day, and it’s going to kill you today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/love-makes-you-stupid-love-makes-you-weak-love-will-kill-you-all-one/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“Love gives you the strength to face an army, vampire or human...Love gives you a reason to press on through the storm. Love helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/love-gives-you-the-strength-to-face-an-army-vampire-or-human-love/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“I'm going to enjoy this.” “What?” I asked. “Hell?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/i-m-going-to-enjoy-this-what-i-asked-hell/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) > [“I never left because a part of me will always be in that house...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/i-never-left-because-a-part-of-me-will-always-be-in-that-house/) [J.X. Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) [Explore all 9 J.X. Burros quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/) ## More Growing up quotes > [Well, I've been politically involved for a really long time. Growing up in the segregated South, it was a very painful experience for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/well-i-ve-been-politically-involved-for-a-really-long-time-growing-up/) [Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [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/) > [ I failed, I think, seven \[or\] eight times before I finally got my first \[championship\]. It was just, you know, just about me growing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-failed-i-think-seven-or-eight-times-before-i-finally-got-my-first/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I think kids growing up, if they were picked on and feeling inferior at 12, they're going to feel that way at 72. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-think-kids-growing-up-if-they-were-picked-on-and-feeling-inferior/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [We all got driven out of Manhattan. It was a very conducive place for artists when I was growing up, and now it's definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-hoffmann/we-all-got-driven-out-of-manhattan-it-was-a-very-conducive-place-for/) [Gaby Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-hoffmann/) > [I felt pretty good growing up. I didnt feel a lot of prejudice or racism. But I do remember, if there was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/i-felt-pretty-good-growing-up-i-didnt-feel-a-lot-of-prejudice-or/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [Love changes people, for better or for worse. You could look at it as a chance for you to change. The best kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-changes-people-for-better-or-for-worse-you-could-look-at-it-as-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wasn't a kid growing up thinking, 'One day I'll get an Oscar and make a speech.' That wasn't on my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sandler/i-wasn-t-a-kid-growing-up-thinking-one-day-i-ll-get-an-oscar-and-make/) [Adam Sandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sandler/) > [I was young, but to me that was underground music. I had never heard anything like Venom or any of that stuff growing up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-pajo/i-was-young-but-to-me-that-was-underground-music-i-had-never-heard/) [David Pajo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-pajo/) > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [Growing up I did commercials and things like that, but nothing serious. As I got older, my family is really hardcore into academics. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-doubleday/growing-up-i-did-commercials-and-things-like-that-but-nothing-serious/) [Portia Doubleday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-doubleday/) > [How am I supposed to make life choices when I still use my fingers to count and sing the whole alphabet to see what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-am-i-supposed-to-make-life-choices-when-i-still-use-my-fingers-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Grow up? Get herself straightened out? Her mind reeled from the verbal battering. No matter what she did, her father would tell her she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/grow-up-get-herself-straightened-out-her-mind-reeled-from-the-verbal/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) [Browse all 7,738 Growing up quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“That boy made me realize, for a while at least, that my parents were wrong, and I didn't have to be like them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J.X. Burros" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/that-boy-made-me-realize-for-a-while-at-least-that-my-parents-were/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Growing up" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/that-boy-made-me-realize-for-a-while-at-least-that-my-parents-were/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0e/j-x-burros-43832_growing-up_that-boy-made-me-realize-for-a-while-at_1684421.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0e/j-x-burros-43832_growing-up_that-boy-made-me-realize-for-a-while-at_1684421.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0e/j-x-burros-43832_growing-up_that-boy-made-me-realize-for-a-while-at_1684421.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That boy made me realize, for a while at least, that my parents were wrong, and I didn't have to be like them.” — J.X. Burros", "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": "J.X. Burros", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-x-burros/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“That boy made me realize, for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/that-boy-made-me-realize-for-a-while-at-least-that-my-parents-were/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-x-burros/that-boy-made-me-realize-for-a-while-at-least-that-my-parents-were/#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 } } ] } ```