--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: it was possible to grow up in an instant…" description: "\"it was possible to grow up in an instant, that you could look down and see the line in the sand dividing your life now from what it used to be.\" — Jodi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/jodi-picoult-45_dividing_it-was-possible-to-grow-up-in-an-instant_2919211.jpg" --- # it was possible to grow up in an instant, that you could… ![“it was possible to grow up in an instant, that you could look down and see the line in the sand dividing your life now from what it used to be.” quote by Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/jodi-picoult-45_dividing_it-was-possible-to-grow-up-in-an-instant_2919211.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/jodi-picoult-45_dividing_it-was-possible-to-grow-up-in-an-instant_2919211.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/jodi-picoult-45_dividing_it-was-possible-to-grow-up-in-an-instant_2919211.jpg) > “it was possible to grow up in an instant, that you could look down and see the line in the sand dividing your life now from what it used to be.” [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A sudden shift in self‑perception can feel like an instant adulthood, marking a clear before‑and‑after in life. **In simple terms:** Sudden self‑realization creates a clear life division. Key Takeaway Recognize and navigate life’s turning points. Themes identity growth transition self‑awareness Mood contemplative hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career change - education - relationship shifts Key Concepts coming‑of‑age personal crisis life milestones Questions to Reflect On - What moment marked a clear before‑and‑after for you? - How do you integrate past selves into your present? A Different Perspective Rapid change can cause disorientation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lines in the sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines-in-the-sand/) ## Related quotes > [“(...) and turned his head for an instant to look back at his pursuers'.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/and-turned-his-head-for-an-instant-to-look-back-at-his-pursuers/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Presently someone is going to discover how to grow an instant tree. It won't be much like the tree that has taken years and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-cook/presently-someone-is-going-to-discover-how-to-grow-an-instant-tree-it/) Ida Cook > [I began dividing life in absolutes... Things and people were either perfectly bad, or perfectly good, and when life didn't obey this black-and-white rule,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-began-dividing-life-in-absolutes-things-and-people-were-either/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And when we draw lines in the sand with regard to certain basic things that are vital to our interest and to the interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/and-when-we-draw-lines-in-the-sand-with-regard-to-certain-basic/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [Progress. Just make progress. It's okay to have setbacks and the need for do-overs. It's okay to draw a line in the sand and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/progress-just-make-progress-it-s-okay-to-have-setbacks-and-the-need/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [We have ...drawn a line in the sand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/we-have-drawn-a-line-in-the-sand/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [We all have to pick our battles. You've got to draw a line in the sand and stand firm. And it's this squishiness that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chicken-john/we-all-have-to-pick-our-battles-you-ve-got-to-draw-a-line-in-the-sand/) [Chicken John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chicken-john/) > [Draw your line in the sand. Make your decision now and start taking action to really live your dream. By not taking bold steps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-brown/draw-your-line-in-the-sand-make-your-decision-now-and-start-taking/) [Les Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-brown/) > [That is a cosmic perspective, that's correct. And in tandem with that, you will never find people who truly grasp the cosmic perspective such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/that-is-a-cosmic-perspective-that-s-correct-and-in-tandem-with-that/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I have a lot of friends and family that have suffered because of the church's judgment; my best friend in the world is gay.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-webb/i-have-a-lot-of-friends-and-family-that-have-suffered-because-of-the/) [Derek Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-webb/) > [I think this is a line in the sand for many Quebecers and Canadians: That if you're going to give services or receive services,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-couillard/i-think-this-is-a-line-in-the-sand-for-many-quebecers-and-canadians/) [Philippe Couillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-couillard/) > [There's a real difference between venture capitalism and vulture capitalism. Venture capitalism we like. Vulture capitalism, no. And the fact of the matter is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/there-s-a-real-difference-between-venture-capitalism-and-vulture/) [Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/) > [Everybody's life is either a warning or an example. You've got to decide what you're gonna be and you have to draw a line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/everybody-s-life-is-either-a-warning-or-an-example-you-ve-got-to/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [We must not adopt the world's view and then tweak it to make it Christian. We must draw a line in the sand and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-washer/we-must-not-adopt-the-world-s-view-and-then-tweak-it-to-make-it/) [Paul Washer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-washer/) > [There is no civilization that did not begin with art, Whether it was drawing a line in the sand, painting a cave or dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-is-no-civilization-that-did-not-begin-with-art-whether-it-was/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## More by Jodi Picoult > [You get through it, you just never get over it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-get-through-it-you-just-never-get-over-it/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Let me guess," Eric says, "You never meant for it to happen." "Hell, yes, I did. I've wanted her since you two started dating."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/let-me-guess-eric-says-you-never-meant-for-it-to-happen-hell-yes-i/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“It’s the difference between dancing along the eggshell crust of acquaintance and diving into the messy center of a relationship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-s-the-difference-between-dancing-along-the-eggshell-crust-of/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Because hate's just the flip side of love. Like heads and tails on a dime. If you don't know what it feels like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/because-hate-s-just-the-flip-side-of-love-like-heads-and-tails-on-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Some women are meant to change the world, while others are meant to hold it together. And then there are those of us who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/some-women-are-meant-to-change-the-world-while-others-are-meant-to/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I love feeling loved. I don't love knowing that I will always come in second place. I love the fact that at least sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-love-feeling-loved-i-don-t-love-knowing-that-i-will-always-come-in/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Music is the language of memory”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/music-is-the-language-of-memory/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [But there is a different between mending someone who's broken and finding someone who makes you complete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/but-there-is-a-different-between-mending-someone-who-s-broken-and/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“sometimes words are not big enough to contain all the feelings you are trying to pour into them. My”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/sometimes-words-are-not-big-enough-to-contain-all-the-feelings-you/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“The age wasn't as important as the milestones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-age-wasn-t-as-important-as-the-milestones/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The night is falling down around us. Meteors rain like fireworks, quick rips in the seam of the dark... Every second, another streak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-night-is-falling-down-around-us-meteors-rain-like-fireworks-quick/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“When she had packed all the artifacts that made up their personal history into liquor store boxes, the house became strictly a feminine place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-she-had-packed-all-the-artifacts-that-made-up-their-personal/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/maybe-who-we-are-isn-t-so-much-about-what-we-do-but-rather-what-we-re/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Here's what I hadn't realized : the mother you haven't seen for almost 36 years isn't your mother. She is a stranger. Sharing DNA…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/here-s-what-i-hadn-t-realized-the-mother-you-haven-t-seen-for-almost/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [My brother believed in all sorts of mythical creatures: pixies, dragons, werewolves, honest men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/my-brother-believed-in-all-sorts-of-mythical-creatures-pixies-dragons/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) [Explore all 2,062 Jodi Picoult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## More Dividing quotes > [A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-erhard/a-compromise-is-the-art-of-dividing-a-cake-in-such-a-way-that/) Ludwig Erhard > [The fellow who says he'll meet you halfway usually thinks he's standing on the dividing line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-aloysius-battista/the-fellow-who-says-he-ll-meet-you-halfway-usually-thinks-he-s/) [Orlando Aloysius Battista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-aloysius-battista/) > [What neo-capitalism does so brilliantly is that it's always subdividing and dividing, so that people are never able to be joined in their numbers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/what-neo-capitalism-does-so-brilliantly-is-that-it-s-always/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Between calculated risk and reckless decision-making lies the dividing line between profit and loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/between-calculated-risk-and-reckless-decision-making-lies-the/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [Friendship makes prosperity more brilliant, and lightens adversity by dividing and sharing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friendship-makes-prosperity-more-brilliant-and-lightens-adversity-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/if-we-are-to-have-another-contest-in-the-near-future-of-our-national/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [We often forget that Spain controlled big parts of Europe, in Italy and the Netherlands. In the Middle Ages, Spain and Portugal were so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-fisher/we-often-forget-that-spain-controlled-big-parts-of-europe-in-italy/) [Max Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-fisher/) > [The geometry reveals five development direction for applications (each with endless possibilities); dividing, dwelling, trestle, fenestration and artistic installation. I find these enabled designs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dror-benshetrit/the-geometry-reveals-five-development-direction-for-applications-each/) Dror Benshetrit > [She bent her finger and then straightened it. The mystery was in the instant before it moved, the dividing moment between not moving and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/she-bent-her-finger-and-then-straightened-it-the-mystery-was-in-the/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Well, I think that there's a very thin dividing line between success and failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/well-i-think-that-there-s-a-very-thin-dividing-line-between-success/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Hospitality means primarily the creation of free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hospitality-means-primarily-the-creation-of-free-space-where-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Religion is here to unite us. It's not here to divide us. If it's dividing us, it's not God's religion, it's something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamza-yusuf/religion-is-here-to-unite-us-it-s-not-here-to-divide-us-if-it-s/) [Hamza Yusuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamza-yusuf/) > [So many things in the world have happened before. But it's like they never did. Every new thing that happens to a person, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/so-many-things-in-the-world-have-happened-before-but-it-s-like-they/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [It's a reality of film festivals that you can't see everything. You're dividing your time between seeing films and utilizing that unique space to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-powers/it-s-a-reality-of-film-festivals-that-you-can-t-see-everything-you-re/) [Thom Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-powers/) > [The middle way cannot be achieved by dividing two extremes in half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/the-middle-way-cannot-be-achieved-by-dividing-two-extremes-in-half/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) Browse all 219 Dividing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "it was possible to grow up in an instant, that you could look down and see the line in the sand dividing your life now from what it used to be.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jodi Picoult" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-was-possible-to-grow-up-in-an-instant-that-you-could-look-down-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dividing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-was-possible-to-grow-up-in-an-instant-that-you-could-look-down-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/jodi-picoult-45_dividing_it-was-possible-to-grow-up-in-an-instant_2919211.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/jodi-picoult-45_dividing_it-was-possible-to-grow-up-in-an-instant_2919211.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/jodi-picoult-45_dividing_it-was-possible-to-grow-up-in-an-instant_2919211.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“it was possible to grow up in an instant, that you could look down and see the line in the sand dividing…” — Jodi Picoult", "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": "Jodi Picoult", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "it was possible to grow up...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-was-possible-to-grow-up-in-an-instant-that-you-could-look-down-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-was-possible-to-grow-up-in-an-instant-that-you-could-look-down-and/#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 } } ] } ```