--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wondered what it would be like to be…" description: "\"“I wondered what it would be like to be just myself all the time, but my self seemed to be far away, and made up of all sorts of things that didn't rea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/jane-devin-41541_identity_i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-j_1115967.jpg" --- # I wondered what it would be like to be just myself all the… ![“I wondered what it would be like to be just myself all the time, but my self seemed to be far away, and made up of all sorts of things that didn't really exist.” quote by Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/jane-devin-41541_identity_i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-j_1115967.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/jane-devin-41541_identity_i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-j_1115967.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/jane-devin-41541_identity_i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-j_1115967.jpg) > ““I wondered what it would be like to be just myself all the time, but my self seemed to be far away, and made up of all sorts of things that didn't really exist.”” [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) ## 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 feels fragmented, questioning the authenticity of self‑identity. **In simple terms:** Self feels distant and made of imagined parts. Key Takeaway Explore and integrate your true self. Themes identity self‑discovery fragmentation Mood introspective curious Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - journaling - artistic expression - mindfulness Key Concepts psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What parts of yourself feel most authentic? - How can you reconnect with your core? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex mental health issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) ## Related quotes > [We can only take it so far, because man can only take it so far, lower self can only take it so far, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/we-can-only-take-it-so-far-because-man-can-only-take-it-so-far-lower/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [“ You ever wondered what it's like to be me? I always wondered what it's like to be you. Quick, lets change clothes before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esteban-jesus-bordallo/you-ever-wondered-what-it-s-like-to-be-me-i-always-wondered-what-it-s/) Esteban Jesus Bordallo > [“I wondered what it was like, to hold someone's hand. I bet you could find all the mysteries of the universe in someone's hand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-wondered-what-it-was-like-to-hold-someone-s-hand-i-bet-you-could/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“I wondered what it was like to live in a world with the freedom to choose. Did you somehow lose yourself, or your focus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-domet/i-wondered-what-it-was-like-to-live-in-a-world-with-the-freedom-to/) [Sarah Domet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-domet/) > [I always wondered what it was like to be just a normal kid growing up in trying times or during a great moment in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-lasky/i-always-wondered-what-it-was-like-to-be-just-a-normal-kid-growing-up/) [Kathryn Lasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-lasky/) > [“I've always wondered what it would be like to be the person whose color comes through even when standing still.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-zappia/i-ve-always-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-the-person-whose/) [Francesca Zappia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-zappia/) > [Have you ever wondered what it will be like to spend the rest of your life with someone who will always be there for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/obviously-me-p/have-you-ever-wondered-what-it-will-be-like-to-spend-the-rest-of-your/) Obviously Me :p > [I wondered what that was like, to hold someone’s hand. I bet you could sometimes find all of the mysteries of the universe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-wondered-what-that-was-like-to-hold-someone-s-hand-i-bet-you-could/) [Benjamin Alire Saenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“I wondered what it was like to feel whole, to not feel torn up or stunned out or wigged out or any of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-wondered-what-it-was-like-to-feel-whole-to-not-feel-torn-up-or/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“I wondered what it would be like, to love a girl, to know how a girl thinks, to see the world through a girl's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-love-a-girl-to-know-how-a-girl/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [I always wondered what it would be like to kill someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-ridgway/i-always-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-kill-someone/) [Gary Ridgway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-ridgway/) > [I wondered what it would be like to die. Was it like going to sleep or like waking up? Was there no more time?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-mccleen/i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-die-was-it-like-going-to-sleep-or/) [Grace McCleen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-mccleen/) > [“I wondered what it would be like to be interested in him like that or any guy for that matter. To look forward to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-interested-in-him-like-that-or/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [“Then I wondered if that was what this was, like a Brokeback Mountain thing. We’d sleep in the same bed for a year, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-konigsberg/then-i-wondered-if-that-was-what-this-was-like-a-brokeback-mountain/) [Bill Konigsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-konigsberg/) > [“Me and nice things didn't go well together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-bracken/me-and-nice-things-didn-t-go-well-together/) [Alexandra Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-bracken/) ## More by Jane Devin > [“Sometimes, even when I'm trying to keep the load light it just feels so heavy. Like the sky is a ton of bricks waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/sometimes-even-when-i-m-trying-to-keep-the-load-light-it-just-feels/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“Positivity can be a negative," I tell her, "if it's used to diminish events that should be cause for concern. Saying 'bad things happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/positivity-can-be-a-negative-i-tell-her-if-it-s-used-to-diminish/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“Love isn't something you can just unlearn...no matter who you are, or who you're born to, or how much it's not returned" - -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/love-isn-t-something-you-can-just-unlearn-no-matter-who-you-are-or/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“Being with other people is hard for me, even when I love them. People have different ways of seeing and feeling, and things they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/being-with-other-people-is-hard-for-me-even-when-i-love-them-people/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“I was fucked-up in some essential way that other people could see, but I couldn’t.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/i-was-fucked-up-in-some-essential-way-that-other-people-could-see-but/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“Underneath my imagination there didn't seem to be anything solid except for the space where I shoved my pain and sadness. Besides that, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/underneath-my-imagination-there-didn-t-seem-to-be-anything-solid/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“Imagination is what I have when I'm on my own. Pretending is what I do in the world. There's a space in between those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/imagination-is-what-i-have-when-i-m-on-my-own-pretending-is-what-i-do/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“And sometimes, just when you think you've got love beat, it comes flowing back as if you really didn't know any better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/and-sometimes-just-when-you-think-you-ve-got-love-beat-it-comes/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) > [“You know the saying a rolling stone gathers no moss? I'm the opposite. I've gathered too much, and when one thing happens, it brings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/you-know-the-saying-a-rolling-stone-gathers-no-moss-i-m-the-opposite/) [Jane Devin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) [Explore all 10 Jane Devin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/) ## More Identity quotes > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [You have expressive nationalism, I mean very identity driven, which shaped each other a lot of that in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/you-have-expressive-nationalism-i-mean-very-identity-driven-which/) [Subrahmanyam Jaishankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/) > [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/) > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [Tell me how much a nation knows about its own language, and I will tell you how much that nation knows about its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ciardi/tell-me-how-much-a-nation-knows-about-its-own-language-and-i-will/) [John Ciardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ciardi/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“In the worldly life, due to maadakta (intoxication of the ego of ‘I am Chandubhai’), one has completely lost awareness of everything about one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/in-the-worldly-life-due-to-maadakta-intoxication-of-the-ego-of-i-am/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“At the moment, then, of Man’s victory over Nature, we find the whole human race subjected to some individual men, and those individuals subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/at-the-moment-then-of-man-s-victory-over-nature-we-find-the-whole/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [“Self-realization or self-knowing or awakening is about knowing/ becoming conscious of our true nature and living in harmony with the universe in an ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-vazhakunnathu/self-realization-or-self-knowing-or-awakening-is-about-knowing/) [Thomas Vazhakunnathu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-vazhakunnathu/) > [“There are some things that one individual can do for another, and there are some things that one race can do for another. But,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/there-are-some-things-that-one-individual-can-do-for-another-and/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [“Why were there no words that spoke positively about being concerned about the self? Why was there only negative connotation in terms like "selfish",…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-dalton/why-were-there-no-words-that-spoke-positively-about-being-concerned/) A.J. Dalton [Browse all 11,949 Identity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I wondered what it would be like to be just myself all the time, but my self seemed to be far away, and made up of all sorts of things that didn't really exist.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Devin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-just-myself-all-the-time-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Identity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-just-myself-all-the-time-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/jane-devin-41541_identity_i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-j_1115967.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/jane-devin-41541_identity_i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-j_1115967.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/jane-devin-41541_identity_i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-j_1115967.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wondered what it would be like to be just myself all the time, but my self seemed to be far away, and made…” — Jane Devin", "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": "Jane Devin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-devin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I wondered what it would be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-just-myself-all-the-time-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-devin/i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-just-myself-all-the-time-but/#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 } } ] } ```