--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I could try to pretend that I didn't care…" description: "\"I could try to pretend that I didn't care anymore, but it could never be true again. You can't just make yourself matter, and then die, Alaska, because..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/john-green-12_alaska_i-could-try-to-pretend-that-i-didn-t-car_2306111.jpg" --- # I could try to pretend that I didn't care anymore, but it… ![“I could try to pretend that I didn't care anymore, but it could never be true again. You can't just make yourself matter, and then die, Alaska, because now, I am irretrievably different, and I'm sorry I let you go, yes, but you made the choice.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/john-green-12_alaska_i-could-try-to-pretend-that-i-didn-t-car_2306111.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/john-green-12_alaska_i-could-try-to-pretend-that-i-didn-t-car_2306111.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/john-green-12_alaska_i-could-try-to-pretend-that-i-didn-t-car_2306111.jpg) > “I could try to pretend that I didn't care anymore, but it could never be true again. You can't just make yourself matter, and then die, Alaska, because now, I am irretrievably different, and I'm sorry I let you go, yes, but you made the choice.” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pretending indifference is unsustainable; authenticity requires confronting feelings. **In simple terms:** You can't fake not caring forever. Key Takeaway Embrace honesty about emotions. Themes authenticity grief self‑acceptance relationships Mood melancholic introspective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - friendship - personal crisis - healing - self‑reflection Key Concepts emotional truth personal growth loss Questions to Reflect On - What emotions are you avoiding? - How can you express genuine care? A Different Perspective May be painful to face truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alaska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alaska/) [Alaska Irretrievably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alaska-irretrievably-3206799/) [Being true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Didn Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didn-care/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [I m sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-m-sorry/) [Irretrievably Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irretrievably-different-3206798/) [Letting you go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letting-you-go/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Pretend Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretend-didn-1015178/) [Sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorry/) [Sorry Let](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorry-let-821047/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [You can't just make yourself matter and then die, Alaska, because now I am irretrievably different..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-can-t-just-make-yourself-matter-and-then-die-alaska-because-now-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [You can't just make yourself matter and then die, Alaska, because now I am irretrievably different, and I'm sorry I let you go, yes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-can-t-just-make-yourself-matter-and-then-die-alaska-because-now-i-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I could try to pretend that I didn't care anymore, but it could never be true again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-could-try-to-pretend-that-i-didn-t-care-anymore-but-it-could-never/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [You don't get there the easy way. If you feel sorry for yourself, and you let yourself go down, you will drown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-reynolds/you-don-t-get-there-the-easy-way-if-you-feel-sorry-for-yourself-and/) [Debbie Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-reynolds/) > [“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you go. You’re mine now, God help you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skye-warren/i-m-sorry-but-i-can-t-let-you-go-you-re-mine-now-god-help-you/) [Skye Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skye-warren/) > [“We need you." "I'm sorry, but I can't let that keep me here anymore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/we-need-you-i-m-sorry-but-i-can-t-let-that-keep-me-here-anymore/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [One day you'll realize you pushed away the one person who was always there for you when no one else was and when that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-day-you-ll-realize-you-pushed-away-the-one-person-who-was-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I feel sorry for myself. To let me be myself for some period of time and found out that all of her phrases wont…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-seraphino/i-feel-sorry-for-myself-to-let-me-be-myself-for-some-period-of-time/) [Ariel Seraphino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-seraphino/) > [I'm sorry I let everybody down, I'm fighting just to pay my bills. I don't have the stomach for this anymore... I don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-m-sorry-i-let-everybody-down-i-m-fighting-just-to-pay-my-bills-i/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [Baby, I'm sorry. Please forgive me for all the wrong I've done. Please come back home girl. I know you can no longer trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyz-ii-men/baby-i-m-sorry-please-forgive-me-for-all-the-wrong-i-ve-done-please/) [Boyz II Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyz-ii-men/) > [I still love you and I always will, but it's time for me to say goodbye. It's time for me to try life without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaylynn-thompson/i-still-love-you-and-i-always-will-but-it-s-time-for-me-to-say/) [Kaylynn Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaylynn-thompson/) > [I want you back. Im sorry. I should have never let you go. Am I too late?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humaira/i-want-you-back-im-sorry-i-should-have-never-let-you-go-am-i-too-late/) [Humaira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humaira/) > [Can we screw the 'sorry' part and let me hit you back instead?" Vishous to Butch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/can-we-screw-the-sorry-part-and-let-me-hit-you-back-instead-vishous/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [You're sorry, so let it go? Tell you what, when Hell freezes over I'll think about letting it go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlyn-norton/you-re-sorry-so-let-it-go-tell-you-what-when-hell-freezes-over-i-ll/) [Kaitlyn Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlyn-norton/) > [“We're family, right? We foul up and say we're sorry and let it go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-daley/we-re-family-right-we-foul-up-and-say-we-re-sorry-and-let-it-go/) [Christina Daley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-daley/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Alaska quotes > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Grief is like an ocean. It comes in waves - some waves are bigger than others and you cannot prepare for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-lane/grief-is-like-an-ocean-it-comes-in-waves-some-waves-are-bigger-than/) [Summer Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-lane/) > [There's no doubt 'normal' is changing - spring actually came a month early in Alaska, for example, and we had to stop filming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-rice/there-s-no-doubt-normal-is-changing-spring-actually-came-a-month/) [Travis Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-rice/) > [Kids in Alaska don't know they're growing up on the Last Frontier. It's just what they see on the license plates, and it's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/kids-in-alaska-don-t-know-they-re-growing-up-on-the-last-frontier-it/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [What the hell is instant? Nothing is instant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/what-the-hell-is-instant-nothing-is-instant/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/they-re-our-next-door-neighbors-and-you-can-actually-see-russia-from/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [If the world were an orange with 18 segments meeting at the top (the North Pole), roughly 8 of them would be in Russia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shoumatoff/if-the-world-were-an-orange-with-18-segments-meeting-at-the-top-the/) [Alex Shoumatoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-shoumatoff/) > [And I just got the ghost, and I'm calling it Casper but that is so cold, it belong in Alaska.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/and-i-just-got-the-ghost-and-i-m-calling-it-casper-but-that-is-so/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [Like any traveler, I'm always looking for those experiences that are almost unique to any place, and watching films around Alaska of the skies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/like-any-traveler-i-m-always-looking-for-those-experiences-that-are/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/a-changing-environment-will-affect-alaska-more-than-any-other-state/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [Mitt Romney understands the importance of Alaska as a leader in our country's energy production and I look forward to working with him on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-murkowski/mitt-romney-understands-the-importance-of-alaska-as-a-leader-in-our/) [Lisa Murkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-murkowski/) > [Why would even I say we can't stop drilling in the Gulf? Because we have no alternatives. Whether or not we drill in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/why-would-even-i-say-we-can-t-stop-drilling-in-the-gulf-because-we/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [On the lip of the Grand Canyon. I've always wanted to do that. My very first TV special out of the Olympics was on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boitano/on-the-lip-of-the-grand-canyon-i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-that-my-very/) [Brian Boitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boitano/) > [“The canopy of trees overhead is so thick that only bits and pieces of blue sky can be seen overhead. Narrow rays of sunshine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-g-foster/the-canopy-of-trees-overhead-is-so-thick-that-only-bits-and-pieces-of/) [Vanessa G. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-g-foster/) > [Let's make a deal: You figure out what the labyrinth is and how to get out of it, and i'll get you laid. -Alaska…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/let-s-make-a-deal-you-figure-out-what-the-labyrinth-is-and-how-to-get/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Browse all 320 Alaska quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alaska/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I could try to pretend that I didn't care anymore, but it could never be true again. You can't just make yourself matter, and then die, Alaska, because now, I am irretrievably different, and I'm sorry I let you go, yes, but you made the choice.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-could-try-to-pretend-that-i-didn-t-care-anymore-but-it-could-never-3/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alaska" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-could-try-to-pretend-that-i-didn-t-care-anymore-but-it-could-never-3/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/john-green-12_alaska_i-could-try-to-pretend-that-i-didn-t-car_2306111.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/john-green-12_alaska_i-could-try-to-pretend-that-i-didn-t-car_2306111.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/john-green-12_alaska_i-could-try-to-pretend-that-i-didn-t-car_2306111.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I could try to pretend that I didn't care anymore, but it could never be true again. You can't just make…” — John Green", "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 Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I could try to pretend that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-could-try-to-pretend-that-i-didn-t-care-anymore-but-it-could-never-3/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-could-try-to-pretend-that-i-didn-t-care-anymore-but-it-could-never-3/#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 } } ] } ```