--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like to save things. Not important…" description: "\"“I like to save things. Not important things like whales or people or the environment. Silly things. Porcelain bells, the kind you get at souvenir shop..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c85/jenny-han-483_consuming-love_i-like-to-save-things-not-important-thin_1133110.png" --- # I like to save things. Not important things like whales or… ![“I like to save things. Not important things like whales or people or the environment. Silly things. Porcelain bells, the kind you get at souvenir shops. Cookie cutters you’ll never use, because who needs a cookie in the shape of a foot? Ribbons for my hair. Love letters. Of all the things I save…” quote by Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c85/jenny-han-483_consuming-love_i-like-to-save-things-not-important-thin_1133110.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c85/jenny-han-483_consuming-love_i-like-to-save-things-not-important-thin_1133110.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c85/jenny-han-483_consuming-love_i-like-to-save-things-not-important-thin_1133110.png) > ““I like to save things. Not important things like whales or people or the environment. Silly things. Porcelain bells, the kind you get at souvenir shops. Cookie cutters you’ll never use, because who needs a cookie in the shape of a foot? Ribbons for my hair. Love letters. Of all the things I save, I guess you could say my love letters are my most prized possession. I keep my letters in a teal hatbox my mom bought me from a vintage store downtown. They aren’t love letters that someone else wrote for me; I don’t have any of those. These are ones I’ve written. There’s one for every boy I’ve ever loved—five in all. When I write, I hold nothing back. I write like he’ll never read it. Because he never will. Every secret thought, every careful observation, everything I’ve saved up inside me, I put it all in the letter. When I’m done, I seal it, I address it, and then I put it in my teal hatbox. They’re not love letters in the strictest sense of the word. My letters are for when I don’t want to be in love anymore. They’re for good-bye. Because after I write my letter, I’m no longer consumed by my all-consuming love. I can eat my cereal and not wonder if he likes bananas over his Cheerios too; I can sing along to love songs and not be singing them to him. If love is like a possession, maybe my letters are like my exorcisms. My letters set me free. Or at least they’re supposed to.”” [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) ## 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 uses writing personal love letters as a ritual to process and release intense emotions after relationships end, turning private thoughts into a therapeutic exorcism. **In simple terms:** Writing letters helps her let go of love and find freedom. Key Takeaway Use writing to release lingering feelings. Themes emotions release ritual self‑care writing Mood reflective hopeful Type personal therapeutic When to use this quote - breakups - journaling - creative expression - emotional processing - self‑reflection Key Concepts psychology ritualistic catharsis personal narrative Questions to Reflect On - How does writing change your perception of a past relationship? - Can a ritual replace conversation with a partner? A Different Perspective Letters may not fully resolve grief and can become a substitute for seeking support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consuming love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consuming-love/) [Important things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-things/) [Letter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letter/) [Letters Prized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letters-prized-3122659/) [Letters Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letters-things-3122658/) [Letters Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letters-wrote-778089/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love letters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-letters/) [Love Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-son/) [Love songs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-songs/) [Possession Letters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession-letters-3122660/) [Silly things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly-things/) ## Related quotes > [Letters are things, not pictures of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-gill/letters-are-things-not-pictures-of-things/) [Eric Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-gill/) > [“My letters are for when I don't want to be in love anymore. They're for good-bye. Because after I write in my letter, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/my-letters-are-for-when-i-don-t-want-to-be-in-love-anymore-they-re/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“All over the gray facade of his father's house in scarlet letters he wrote: ELLIOT SCHAFER. He almost added: "was here" but did not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/all-over-the-gray-facade-of-his-father-s-house-in-scarlet-letters-he/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [“In one of your letters you wrote to Rodrick you said all you wanted out of life was a husband, children, and a happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-belcher/in-one-of-your-letters-you-wrote-to-rodrick-you-said-all-you-wanted/) [Jordan Belcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-belcher/) > [“I love you,” she said, speaking clearly so that there might be no confusion. “I love you utterly and completely. I love your elegant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/i-love-you-she-said-speaking-clearly-so-that-there-might-be-no/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [“lizards, the gorgeous gamboge tints. All the letters I wrote her, drunken ones with a blunt stub,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lizards-the-gorgeous-gamboge-tints-all-the-letters-i-wrote-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I’ve been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you Each one a line or two “I’m fine baby, how are you?” Well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buble/i-ve-been-keeping-all-the-letters-that-i-wrote-to-you-each-one-a-line-2/) [Michael Buble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buble/) > [I've been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you. Each one a line or two: "I'm fine, baby. How are you?" I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buble/i-ve-been-keeping-all-the-letters-that-i-wrote-to-you-each-one-a-line/) [Michael Buble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buble/) > [I had a fan who had a fictional relationship with me. She wrote letters to me and then wrote return letters to herself (from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/i-had-a-fan-who-had-a-fictional-relationship-with-me-she-wrote/) [Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/) > [“Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount—that is the measure of God’s love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/think-of-the-purest-most-all-consuming-love-you-can-imagine-now/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [“Deep You, you’re deep water And I’m scared because I can’t defaulter I don’t know how to swim, So, if I jump in, I’ll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-nicole-wagner/deep-you-you-re-deep-water-and-i-m-scared-because-i-can-t-defaulter-i/) [Rachel Nicole Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-nicole-wagner/) > [“That had been an all-consuming love that had swept me up in a torrent of emotion that had been unimaginable until I'd experienced it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-alexander/that-had-been-an-all-consuming-love-that-had-swept-me-up-in-a-torrent/) [Monica Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-alexander/) > [“When Bryn said that, uttered out loud the thing that to my never-ending shame I sometimes felt, I’d fallen in love with her a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/when-bryn-said-that-uttered-out-loud-the-thing-that-to-my-never/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [Love to throw yourself on the earth and kiss it. Kiss the earth and love it with an unceasing, consuming love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/love-to-throw-yourself-on-the-earth-and-kiss-it-kiss-the-earth-and/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [You don't choose who you love...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-montag/you-don-t-choose-who-you-love/) [Heidi Montag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-montag/) ## More by Jenny Han > [“Nothing good happens after two a.m. Unless you happen to be a fan of watching people play flip cup for hours on end. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/nothing-good-happens-after-two-a-m-unless-you-happen-to-be-a-fan-of/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“He kissed like he was drowning and I was air. It was passionate, and desperate, and like nothing I had ever experienced before. This”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/he-kissed-like-he-was-drowning-and-i-was-air-it-was-passionate-and/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“But I didn’t regret it. I never regretted it, not for one second. How do you regret one of the best nights of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/but-i-didn-t-regret-it-i-never-regretted-it-not-for-one-second-how-do/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [When you write something by hand, there's a sort of intimacy that is just intrinsic to that act. You don't get to delete something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/when-you-write-something-by-hand-there-s-a-sort-of-intimacy-that-is/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“Lara: Because sometimes you just feel sad and you can't explain it. Kitty: PMS? Lara: No.It's not PMS. Just because a girl is sad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/lara-because-sometimes-you-just-feel-sad-and-you-can-t-explain-it/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“I don’t know if i’ll ever get you out of my system, not completely. I have… this feeling. That you’ll always be there. Here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/i-don-t-know-if-i-ll-ever-get-you-out-of-my-system-not-completely-i/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“He took a step closer. "I don't know if I'll ever get you out of my system, not completely. I have this... feeling. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/he-took-a-step-closer-i-don-t-know-if-i-ll-ever-get-you-out-of-my/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“Peter will love Lara Jean with all his heart, always”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/peter-will-love-lara-jean-with-all-his-heart-always/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“It still feels weird to spend money on Christmas trees. Back when Mom was alive, we’d go out “tree hunting.” That’s what she called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/it-still-feels-weird-to-spend-money-on-christmas-trees-back-when-mom/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [When I get an email from someone who says, 'Your book was the first book I ever read,' or, 'Your book is what made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/when-i-get-an-email-from-someone-who-says-your-book-was-the-first/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“I stared at him. Did he really say that? Did he remember? The way he looked back at me, one eyebrow raised, I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/i-stared-at-him-did-he-really-say-that-did-he-remember-the-way-he/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“Some girls are pretty and they were born for it but no matter what always be yourself because people might see the wrong side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/some-girls-are-pretty-and-they-were-born-for-it-but-no-matter-what/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [I like to read non-fiction on my e-reader, but as for fiction, I usually like to have a copy to keep at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/i-like-to-read-non-fiction-on-my-e-reader-but-as-for-fiction-i/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“There’s an air of things closing down. Teachers wear shorts and T-shirts to class. They show movies while they clean out their desks. Nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/there-s-an-air-of-things-closing-down-teachers-wear-shorts-and-t/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [There's something so delicious about holding onto a secret; it's something just for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/there-s-something-so-delicious-about-holding-onto-a-secret-it-s/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) [Explore all 509 Jenny Han quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) ## More Consuming love quotes > [You don't choose who you love...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-montag/you-don-t-choose-who-you-love/) [Heidi Montag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-montag/) > [Love to throw yourself on the earth and kiss it. Kiss the earth and love it with an unceasing, consuming love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/love-to-throw-yourself-on-the-earth-and-kiss-it-kiss-the-earth-and/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“When Bryn said that, uttered out loud the thing that to my never-ending shame I sometimes felt, I’d fallen in love with her a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/when-bryn-said-that-uttered-out-loud-the-thing-that-to-my-never/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“That had been an all-consuming love that had swept me up in a torrent of emotion that had been unimaginable until I'd experienced it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-alexander/that-had-been-an-all-consuming-love-that-had-swept-me-up-in-a-torrent/) [Monica Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-alexander/) > [“Deep You, you’re deep water And I’m scared because I can’t defaulter I don’t know how to swim, So, if I jump in, I’ll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-nicole-wagner/deep-you-you-re-deep-water-and-i-m-scared-because-i-can-t-defaulter-i/) [Rachel Nicole Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-nicole-wagner/) > [“Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount—that is the measure of God’s love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/think-of-the-purest-most-all-consuming-love-you-can-imagine-now/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [In every woman's life there is one real and consuming love. But very few women guess which one it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/in-every-woman-s-life-there-is-one-real-and-consuming-love-but-very/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“My letters are for when I don't want to be in love anymore. They're for good-bye. Because after I write in my letter, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/my-letters-are-for-when-i-don-t-want-to-be-in-love-anymore-they-re/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [Our God...is a consuming fire. And if we, by love, become transformed into Him and burn as He burns, His fire will be our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/our-god-is-a-consuming-fire-and-if-we-by-love-become-transformed-into/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Of course it's all-consuming, but love- real love- doesn't destroy or smother. It's the very opposite of a weakness. Love strengthens. It liberates. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerrigan-byrne/of-course-it-s-all-consuming-but-love-real-love-doesn-t-destroy-or/) [Kerrigan Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerrigan-byrne/) > [“Kiss the earth and love it with an unceasing, consuming love. Love all men, love everything. Seek that rapture and ecstasy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/kiss-the-earth-and-love-it-with-an-unceasing-consuming-love-love-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You asked for a loving God: you have one... The consuming fire Himself, the Love that made the worlds, persistent as the artist's love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-asked-for-a-loving-god-you-have-one-the-consuming-fire-himself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The work of feeding and tending sheep is hard work, arduous work, and love for the sheep alone will not do it; you must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-strauch/the-work-of-feeding-and-tending-sheep-is-hard-work-arduous-work-and/) [Alexander Strauch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-strauch/) > [“..to find a love like that…so passionate, so fierce, so complete and consuming. “A love worth dying for”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arial-burnz/to-find-a-love-like-that-so-passionate-so-fierce-so-complete-and/) [Arial Burnz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arial-burnz/) > [God is not calling us to win the world and, in the process, lose our families. But I have known those who so enshrined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shibley/god-is-not-calling-us-to-win-the-world-and-in-the-process-lose-our/) [David Shibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shibley/) [Browse all 24 Consuming love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consuming-love/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I like to save things. Not important things like whales or people or the environment. Silly things. Porcelain bells, the kind you get at souvenir shops. Cookie cutters you’ll never use, because who needs a cookie in the shape of a foot? Ribbons for my hair. Love letters. Of all the things I save, I guess you could say my love letters are my most prized possession. I keep my letters in a teal hatbox my mom bought me from a vintage store downtown. They aren’t love letters that someone else wrote for me; I don’t have any of those. These are ones I’ve written. There’s one for every boy I’ve ever loved—five in all. When I write, I hold nothing back. I write like he’ll never read it. Because he never will. Every secret thought, every careful observation, everything I’ve saved up inside me, I put it all in the letter. When I’m done, I seal it, I address it, and then I put it in my teal hatbox. They’re not love letters in the strictest sense of the word. My letters are for when I don’t want to be in love anymore. They’re for good-bye. Because after I write my letter, I’m no longer consumed by my all-consuming love. I can eat my cereal and not wonder if he likes bananas over his Cheerios too; I can sing along to love songs and not be singing them to him. If love is like a possession, maybe my letters are like my exorcisms. My letters set me free. Or at least they’re supposed to.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jenny Han" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/i-like-to-save-things-not-important-things-like-whales-or-people-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Consuming love" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/i-like-to-save-things-not-important-things-like-whales-or-people-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c85/jenny-han-483_consuming-love_i-like-to-save-things-not-important-thin_1133110.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c85/jenny-han-483_consuming-love_i-like-to-save-things-not-important-thin_1133110.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c85/jenny-han-483_consuming-love_i-like-to-save-things-not-important-thin_1133110.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I like to save things. 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