--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I mean, he was something that happened to…" description: "\"I mean, he was something that happened to me, you know? But before he was this minor figure in the drama of my life he was - you know, the central figu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/john-green-12_drama_i-mean-he-was-something-that-happened-to_1573825.jpg" --- # I mean, he was something that happened to me, you know?… ![“I mean, he was something that happened to me, you know? But before he was this minor figure in the drama of my life he was - you know, the central figure in the drama of his own life.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/john-green-12_drama_i-mean-he-was-something-that-happened-to_1573825.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/john-green-12_drama_i-mean-he-was-something-that-happened-to_1573825.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/john-green-12_drama_i-mean-he-was-something-that-happened-to_1573825.jpg) > “I mean, he was something that happened to me, you know? But before he was this minor figure in the drama of my life he was - you know, the central figure in the drama of his own life.” [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. A minor character in one’s life can be the central figure in their own story, highlighting differing perspectives. **In simple terms:** People view themselves as protagonists. Key Takeaway Recognize others’ central narratives. Themes perspective identity storytelling Mood thoughtful empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - conflict resolution - writing Key Concepts subjectivity self‑importance Questions to Reflect On - How do you center others’ experiences? - What does this reveal about empathy? A Different Perspective Assuming others are peripheral can cause misunderstanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drama/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“That something is not impossible does not mean that it happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-goldsworthy/that-something-is-not-impossible-does-not-mean-that-it-happened/) [Adrian Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-goldsworthy/) > [A lyric has to mean something to me, something that has happened to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-rawls/a-lyric-has-to-mean-something-to-me-something-that-has-happened-to-me/) [Lou Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-rawls/) > [“The scapegoat is a central figure in human life. A community that feels threatened identifies groups or individuals responsible for the crisis, casts them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-slezkine/the-scapegoat-is-a-central-figure-in-human-life-a-community-that/) Yuri Slezkine > [“It's easy to allow the world to collapse down to our own stories. To see ourselves as the central figure in the only story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-david-hutchinson/it-s-easy-to-allow-the-world-to-collapse-down-to-our-own-stories-to/) [Shaun David Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-david-hutchinson/) > [I thought he was an interesting central figure, central character, one who is definitely not your typical central character figure in a film, who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-warburton/i-thought-he-was-an-interesting-central-figure-central-character-one/) [Patrick Warburton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-warburton/) > [“What happened?" he asked brusquely, interrupting me. 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Deal with it and move on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stankyrich/drama-is-a-part-of-life-drama-has-its-place-but-its-place-is-not/) Stankyrich > [I think that no matter how much you don't like yourself or the drama of your life you can still find some comedy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lee-jones/i-think-that-no-matter-how-much-you-don-t-like-yourself-or-the-drama/) [Tommy Lee Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lee-jones/) > [“Every one of us has been called to be an actor in the drama of life and everyone has a role to play as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/every-one-of-us-has-been-called-to-be-an-actor-in-the-drama-of-life/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“The central drama of my life is about being a fraud, alas. 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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. 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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 Drama quotes > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [Music is a job, but I figured out ways to get my mind into a place where I could be creative. I actually discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flume/music-is-a-job-but-i-figured-out-ways-to-get-my-mind-into-a-place/) [Flume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flume/) > ['Rear Window' isn't really a horror film, but it is a psychological drama, which I love. It is very tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/rear-window-isn-t-really-a-horror-film-but-it-is-a-psychological/) [Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [All drama is conflict. Without conflict, there is no action. Without action, there is no character. Without character, there is no story. And without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-field/all-drama-is-conflict-without-conflict-there-is-no-action-without/) [Syd Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd-field/) > [I never did drama at school. I did it for one term, when it was compulsory, and I hated it. Tennis was the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-mitchell/i-never-did-drama-at-school-i-did-it-for-one-term-when-it-was/) [Luke Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-mitchell/) > [I never wanted to be the lead on a TV drama. It just robs you of your life, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-noth/i-never-wanted-to-be-the-lead-on-a-tv-drama-it-just-robs-you-of-your/) [Chris Noth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-noth/) > [When I discovered drama, I felt a connection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-fearon/when-i-discovered-drama-i-felt-a-connection/) [Ray Fearon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-fearon/) > [Dont hate me cause ur man want me dont be jealouse cause hes thinking of when he says he loves u dont hate him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana/dont-hate-me-cause-ur-man-want-me-dont-be-jealouse-cause-hes-thinking/) [Ana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana/) > [I hadn't been to drama school. I hadn't been to university and acted there. I had no qualifications behind me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jason/i-hadn-t-been-to-drama-school-i-hadn-t-been-to-university-and-acted/) [David Jason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jason/) > [I was painfully shy, so my aunt suggested to my mum that me and my brother go to Stage 84, a performing arts school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-cooke/i-was-painfully-shy-so-my-aunt-suggested-to-my-mum-that-me-and-my/) [Christian Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-cooke/) > [I kind of pride myself on coming onto things that are well-oiled machines and finding a way to bring what I bring and fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/i-kind-of-pride-myself-on-coming-onto-things-that-are-well-oiled/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [They say that art comes from the soul. 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