--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's like she thinks my job is to please…" description: "\"“It's like she thinks my job is to please her, and that should be my dearest wish, and when I don't please her - I get shut out.”\" — John Green" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/john-green-12_mothers_it-s-like-she-thinks-my-job-is-to-please_1608739.jpg" --- # It's like she thinks my job is to please her, and that… ![“It's like she thinks my job is to please her, and that should be my dearest wish, and when I don't please her - I get shut out.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/john-green-12_mothers_it-s-like-she-thinks-my-job-is-to-please_1608739.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/john-green-12_mothers_it-s-like-she-thinks-my-job-is-to-please_1608739.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/john-green-12_mothers_it-s-like-she-thinks-my-job-is-to-please_1608739.jpg) > ““It's like she thinks my job is to please her, and that should be my dearest wish, and when I don't please her - I get shut out.”” [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. She expects you to prioritize her needs, and failure to do so leads to emotional rejection. **In simple terms:** She wants you to please her. Key Takeaway Prioritize mutual respect. Themes relationships expectations emotional labor Mood empathetic concerned Type advice observational When to use this quote - romantic partnerships - friendships - family dynamics Key Concepts communication boundaries self‑worth Questions to Reflect On - How can you set healthy expectations? - What does “dearest wish” mean in a balanced relationship? A Different Perspective One‑sided expectations can cause resentment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mothers/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [“My job is not to worry about what everyone else thinks about me but to discover what I think. 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But when she thinks about it, she doesn't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-dwyer-hickey/tatty-says-oh-yes-she-knows-what-he-s-like-but-when-she-thinks-about/) Christine Dwyer Hickey > [Having someone who looks like us but thinks like them is worse than having no one at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/having-someone-who-looks-like-us-but-thinks-like-them-is-worse-than/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Was she in any way like us? thinks Tony. Or, to put it the other way around: Are we in any way like her?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/was-she-in-any-way-like-us-thinks-tony-or-to-put-it-the-other-way/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“I don't know how it is with others, and my feeling is that I cannot be like any other. 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That is my dearest wish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryuichi-sakamoto/to-record-the-perfect-album-that-is-my-dearest-wish/) [Ryuichi Sakamoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryuichi-sakamoto/) > [“...his dearest wish was that he could have a quiet life free from his obligations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-plaidy/his-dearest-wish-was-that-he-could-have-a-quiet-life-free-from-his/) [Jean Plaidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-plaidy/) > [To hear your voice, to see you smile, To sit and talk to you a while. To be together in the same old way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/to-hear-your-voice-to-see-you-smile-to-sit-and-talk-to-you-a-while-to/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [What you want is what you need. Your dearest wish comes straight from your core, loaded with vital information about who you are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-sher/what-you-want-is-what-you-need-your-dearest-wish-comes-straight-from/) [Barbara Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-sher/) > [“Is that so?” he asked. “I’d always thought the world was a wish-granting factory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/is-that-so-he-asked-i-d-always-thought-the-world-was-a-wish-granting/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) ## 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. 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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 Mothers quotes > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [“Time plays tricks on mothers. It teases you with breaks and brief caesuras, only to skip wildly forward, bringing breathtaking changes to your baby's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/time-plays-tricks-on-mothers-it-teases-you-with-breaks-and-brief/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [The world needs our mothers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liya-kebede/the-world-needs-our-mothers/) [Liya Kebede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liya-kebede/) > [Most men are secretly still mad at their mothers for throwing away their comic books. They would be valuable now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-rudner/most-men-are-secretly-still-mad-at-their-mothers-for-throwing-away/) [Rita Rudner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-rudner/) > [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [I agree that mommy wars are not good for any mothers: that such wars are time and effort wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-tsing-loh/i-agree-that-mommy-wars-are-not-good-for-any-mothers-that-such-wars/) [Sandra Tsing Loh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-tsing-loh/) > [“A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/a-mother-is-always-the-beginning-she-is-how-things-begin/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [The writer who is a mother should, I think, record everything she can: make notes, keep journals, take photographs, use a tape recorder, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-ostriker/the-writer-who-is-a-mother-should-i-think-record-everything-she-can/) [Alicia Ostriker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-ostriker/) > [My mother 'gave teas' the way other mothers breathed. Her own mother 'gave teas.' All of their friends 'gave teas,' each involving butter cookies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/my-mother-gave-teas-the-way-other-mothers-breathed-her-own-mother/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother's Day. Is this day necessary? . . . Isn't it bad public policy? . . . No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/unpleasant-questions-are-being-raised-about-mother-s-day-is-this-day/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [“The short sharp shock of three thousand mother two hundred mothers. The ones who picked through the supermarket debris for pieces of their dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-short-sharp-shock-of-three-thousand-mother-two-hundred-mothers/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Mothers love you to the end, and she didn't want to hold me back from my livelihood. 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