--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For a young person, anybody who's sorting…" description: "\"For a young person, anybody who's sorting out and trying to make a life for himself or herself, to have the opportunity each day to set down - sit down..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/355/john-edgar-wideman-7347_culture_for-a-young-person-anybody-who-s-sorting_1836832.jpg" --- # For a young person, anybody who's sorting out and trying… ![“For a young person, anybody who's sorting out and trying to make a life for himself or herself, to have the opportunity each day to set down - sit down and then set down thoughts, words - it's a crucial, crucial way of staying alive, of not allowing yourself and not allowing the culture outside…” quote by John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/355/john-edgar-wideman-7347_culture_for-a-young-person-anybody-who-s-sorting_1836832.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/355/john-edgar-wideman-7347_culture_for-a-young-person-anybody-who-s-sorting_1836832.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/355/john-edgar-wideman-7347_culture_for-a-young-person-anybody-who-s-sorting_1836832.jpg) > “For a young person, anybody who's sorting out and trying to make a life for himself or herself, to have the opportunity each day to set down - sit down and then set down thoughts, words - it's a crucial, crucial way of staying alive, of not allowing yourself and not allowing the culture outside yourself to totally dominate your life.” [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Regular reflection helps maintain personal autonomy against external pressures and internal chaos. **In simple terms:** Writing daily preserves self‑control and identity. Key Takeaway Write daily to protect your sense of self. Themes self‑care reflection autonomy Mood contemplative intentional Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - journaling - therapy - creative work - stress management Key Concepts mindfulness identity culture psychology Questions to Reflect On - How often do you pause to write? - What thoughts surface when you journal? A Different Perspective Neglecting reflection can lead to overwhelm and loss of direction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [Dominate Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dominate-life-1918420/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Set Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/set-thoughts-2292611/) [Staying alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staying-alive/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-person/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [On a Terrence Malick set, your thoughts are his voice. You think you're thinking, but actually he's thinking for you. He speaks to you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-kurylenko/on-a-terrence-malick-set-your-thoughts-are-his-voice-you-think-you-re/) [Olga Kurylenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-kurylenko/) > [In an emergency, you rarely get one consistent piece of advice. You usually have two or three people with two or three different ideas.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-giuliani/in-an-emergency-you-rarely-get-one-consistent-piece-of-advice-you/) [Rudy Giuliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-giuliani/) > [“... "if you restrict earthly things, you set up your thoughts free for the spiritual.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/if-you-restrict-earthly-things-you-set-up-your-thoughts-free-for-the/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [Get deep with me. 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A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donella-meadows/we-know-it-is-impossible-to-go-on-finding-moving-and-wasting-oil/) [Donella Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donella-meadows/) > [I notice that so many of my peers, aging ingénues, rock stars, are moving along in life into their wrinkles with an adoring audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-dyke-parks/i-notice-that-so-many-of-my-peers-aging-ing-nues-rock-stars-are/) [Van Dyke Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-dyke-parks/) > [“Have you noticed that none of the things that I’ve suggested to keep you motivated in nursing school are directly linked to nursing school?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-porter-thomas/have-you-noticed-that-none-of-the-things-that-i-ve-suggested-to-keep/) [Caroline Porter Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-porter-thomas/) > [There are two aspect of life. One is evil.Protect yourself from self destructive evil like anger, jealousy,arrogance, false pride, self pity & ego. Another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/there-are-two-aspect-of-life-one-is-evil-protect-yourself-from-self/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [A vacation is a time to enjoy yourself while reality lurks in the shadows, waiting to dominate your life once more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-a-babb/a-vacation-is-a-time-to-enjoy-yourself-while-reality-lurks-in-the/) [Frederick A Babb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-a-babb/) > [Sometimes we are too polite with our suffering and allow it to dominate our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/sometimes-we-are-too-polite-with-our-suffering-and-allow-it-to/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [“Even a short-lived visit to the bottom level of society means that one is faced with one of the most important decisions one has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/even-a-short-lived-visit-to-the-bottom-level-of-society-means-that/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [Abbott and Costello were huge for me as a very young person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-heidecker/abbott-and-costello-were-huge-for-me-as-a-very-young-person/) [Tim Heidecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-heidecker/) > [For a young person who is perhaps thinking about coming out or is unsure of their sexuality - being called names is something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-morgan/for-a-young-person-who-is-perhaps-thinking-about-coming-out-or-is/) [Nicky Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-morgan/) > [1920 was an auspicious year for a young person to enter the world as an American citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/1920-was-an-auspicious-year-for-a-young-person-to-enter-the-world-as/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) > [I would recommend any young person who wants to be an actor to go and get some training.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-hawke/i-would-recommend-any-young-person-who-wants-to-be-an-actor-to-go-and/) [Maya Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-hawke/) ## More by John Edgar Wideman > [My mother loved my father. From my view, she let him get away with too much. It broke my heart to see him in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/my-mother-loved-my-father-from-my-view-she-let-him-get-away-with-too/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [Too much is made for us; too much is given to us - even those of us who are underprivileged. The poverty is given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/too-much-is-made-for-us-too-much-is-given-to-us-even-those-of-us-who/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [A great artist transforms our world, removes scales from our eyes, plugs from our ears, gloves from our fingertips, teaches us to perceive reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/a-great-artist-transforms-our-world-removes-scales-from-our-eyes/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [That's what writing is: it's imagining that you can make a world. That's what basketball is, too: it's imagining the game as a world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/that-s-what-writing-is-it-s-imagining-that-you-can-make-a-world-that/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [I'm very hard-nosed and cold-blooded and I can walk past a drowning man. If I have someplace else to go, well, tough s\*\*t. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/i-m-very-hard-nosed-and-cold-blooded-and-i-can-walk-past-a-drowning/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [I get off on anticipating and waiting much more than I get off on the actual event.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/i-get-off-on-anticipating-and-waiting-much-more-than-i-get-off-on-the/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [You have to be a minor superhero just to get to be a dignified man, and that's kind of exacerbated for men of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/you-have-to-be-a-minor-superhero-just-to-get-to-be-a-dignified-man/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [Stories are told over time, and so they naturally accrue meanings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/stories-are-told-over-time-and-so-they-naturally-accrue-meanings/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [That's been my routine for years and years... Up early before everybody else, before I get connected, before I get bugged, before I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/that-s-been-my-routine-for-years-and-years-up-early-before-everybody/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [My father was intelligent and closed-mouthed. He knew a lot more than what he was ever going to tell you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/my-father-was-intelligent-and-closed-mouthed-he-knew-a-lot-more-than/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [What I wanted to do in talking about basketball in 'Hoop Roots' was retrieve the game as something to participate in, not to watch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/what-i-wanted-to-do-in-talking-about-basketball-in-hoop-roots-was/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [Books are an attempt to control something that's uncontrollable. That's one of the beauties of African American life. There was this thing called slavery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/books-are-an-attempt-to-control-something-that-s-uncontrollable-that/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [That's one of the beauties, I think, of African American life. There was this thing called slavery and adjustments were made. It literally destroyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/that-s-one-of-the-beauties-i-think-of-african-american-life-there-was/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [Things seem to fall apart inevitably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/things-seem-to-fall-apart-inevitably/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [My aunt Geraldine was the unofficial historian and storyteller. She had all the information about family members and the gossip that came out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/my-aunt-geraldine-was-the-unofficial-historian-and-storyteller-she/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) [Explore all 92 John Edgar Wideman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) ## More Culture quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [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 was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. 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Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) [Browse all 15,940 Culture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For a young person, anybody who's sorting out and trying to make a life for himself or herself, to have the opportunity each day to set down - sit down and then set down thoughts, words - it's a crucial, crucial way of staying alive, of not allowing yourself and not allowing the culture outside yourself to totally dominate your life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Edgar Wideman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/for-a-young-person-anybody-who-s-sorting-out-and-trying-to-make-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Culture" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/for-a-young-person-anybody-who-s-sorting-out-and-trying-to-make-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/355/john-edgar-wideman-7347_culture_for-a-young-person-anybody-who-s-sorting_1836832.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/355/john-edgar-wideman-7347_culture_for-a-young-person-anybody-who-s-sorting_1836832.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/355/john-edgar-wideman-7347_culture_for-a-young-person-anybody-who-s-sorting_1836832.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For a young person, anybody who's sorting out and trying to make a life for himself or herself, to have the…” — John Edgar Wideman", "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": "John Edgar Wideman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For a young person, anybody who's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/for-a-young-person-anybody-who-s-sorting-out-and-trying-to-make-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/for-a-young-person-anybody-who-s-sorting-out-and-trying-to-make-a/#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 } } ] } ```