--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of course it might have been some other…" description: "\"“Of course it might have been some other city, had circumstances been different and the time been different and had I been different, might have been P..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/joan-didion-497_air-conditioner_of-course-it-might-have-been-some-other_157079.jpg" --- # Of course it might have been some other city, had… ![“Of course it might have been some other city, had circumstances been different and the time been different and had I been different, might have been Paris or Chicago or even San Francisco, but because I am talking about myself I am talking here about New York. That first night I opened my window…” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/joan-didion-497_air-conditioner_of-course-it-might-have-been-some-other_157079.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/joan-didion-497_air-conditioner_of-course-it-might-have-been-some-other_157079.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/joan-didion-497_air-conditioner_of-course-it-might-have-been-some-other_157079.jpg) > ““Of course it might have been some other city, had circumstances been different and the time been different and had I been different, might have been Paris or Chicago or even San Francisco, but because I am talking about myself I am talking here about New York. That first night I opened my window on the bus into town and watched for the skyline, but all I could see were the wastes of Queens and big signs that said MIDTOWN TUNNEL THIS LANE and then a flood of summer rain (even that seemed remarkable and exotic, for I had come out of the West where there was no summer rain), and for the next three days I sat wrapped in blankets in a hotel room air-conditioned to 35 degrees and tried to get over a bad cold and a high fever. It did not occur to me to call a doctor, because I knew none, and although it did occur to me to call the desk and ask that the air conditioner be turned off, I never called, because I did not know how much to tip whoever might come—was anyone ever so young? I am here to tell you that someone was. All I could do during those three days was talk long-distance to the boy I already knew I would never marry in the spring. I would stay in New York, I told him, just six months, and I could see the Brooklyn Bridge from my window. As it turned out the bridge was the Triborough, and I stayed eight years.”” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A narrator reflects on how chance and personal choices shape a life anchored in New York, despite initial discomfort and illness. **In simple terms:** Life’s path is set by choices and circumstances, not ideal plans. Key Takeaway Embrace the unexpected and stay present. Themes choice place identity adaptation unexpected life journey city health relationships Mood reflective introspective hopeful Type memoir personal reflective When to use this quote - arrival in a new city - illness recovery - long-distance relationship - long-term settlement - career decision Key Concepts urban experience personal narrative resilience Questions to Reflect On - How do you define home when circumstances change? - What role does resilience play in your life choices? A Different Perspective The narrative may romanticize hardship, overlooking systemic support needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Air conditioner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air-conditioner/) [Brooklyn bridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brooklyn-bridge/) [San francisco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/san-francisco/) [Summer rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer-rain/) ## Related quotes > [“All I ever did to that apartment was hang fifty yards of yellow theatrical silk across the bedroom windows, because I had some idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/all-i-ever-did-to-that-apartment-was-hang-fifty-yards-of-yellow/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“We can never make proper goodbyes. It was your last ride in a Checker cab and you had no warning. 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The circumstances may be different, the cultures and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-hartley/people-were-the-same-wherever-you-went-from-the-most-primitive/) Lisa Hartley > [It's impossible to know who Donald might have been under different circumstances and with different parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/it-s-impossible-to-know-who-donald-might-have-been-under-different/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [When I was seven and we lived in New York, I ran away. I took my dog and started out across the Brooklyn Bridge...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-radziwill/when-i-was-seven-and-we-lived-in-new-york-i-ran-away-i-took-my-dog/) [Lee Radziwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-radziwill/) > [“And I learn that facing your greatest fear is liberating. You no longer have to worry about it, because it has already happened. 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I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-vizzini/so-when-i-ran-out-of-the-final-bottle-of-zoloft-i-didn-t-take-any/) [Ned Vizzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-vizzini/) > [“Approaching the Williamsburg Bridge - not really certain of how he had managed to find himself there - he experienced an extraordinary moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/approaching-the-williamsburg-bridge-not-really-certain-of-how-he-had/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [I remember, many years ago, coming over the Brooklyn Bridge in the night and seeing the skyline of Manhattan, with the Twin Towers. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/i-remember-many-years-ago-coming-over-the-brooklyn-bridge-in-the/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [I played tennis at underneath - Brooklyn Bridge? Manhattan Bridge? Williamsburg Bridge? 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Later he said that if John had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-just-can-t-see-the-upside-in-this-i-heard-myself-say-by-way-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) [Explore all 515 Joan Didion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More Air conditioner quotes > [“She kneeled down, opened the wine fridge, and scanned the shelves, filled with a variety of white wines. 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That first night I opened my window on the bus into town and watched for the skyline, but all I could see were the wastes of Queens and big signs that said MIDTOWN TUNNEL THIS LANE and then a flood of summer rain (even that seemed remarkable and exotic, for I had come out of the West where there was no summer rain), and for the next three days I sat wrapped in blankets in a hotel room air-conditioned to 35 degrees and tried to get over a bad cold and a high fever. It did not occur to me to call a doctor, because I knew none, and although it did occur to me to call the desk and ask that the air conditioner be turned off, I never called, because I did not know how much to tip whoever might come—was anyone ever so young? I am here to tell you that someone was. All I could do during those three days was talk long-distance to the boy I already knew I would never marry in the spring. I would stay in New York, I told him, just six months, and I could see the Brooklyn Bridge from my window. 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