--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The day passed as it always did—in slow…" description: "\"“The day passed as it always did—in slow motion, with a thousand plaintive glances at the clock. But now it was even more unbearable, because every min..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/john-green-12_slow-motion_the-day-passed-as-it-always-did-in-slow_1368653.jpg" --- # The day passed as it always did—in slow motion, with a… ![“The day passed as it always did—in slow motion, with a thousand plaintive glances at the clock. But now it was even more unbearable, because every minute I wasted in school was another minute in which I failed to find her.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/john-green-12_slow-motion_the-day-passed-as-it-always-did-in-slow_1368653.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/john-green-12_slow-motion_the-day-passed-as-it-always-did-in-slow_1368653.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/john-green-12_slow-motion_the-day-passed-as-it-always-did-in-slow_1368653.jpg) > ““The day passed as it always did—in slow motion, with a thousand plaintive glances at the clock. But now it was even more unbearable, because every minute I wasted in school was another minute in which I failed to find her.”” [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. He describes the painful passage of time, feeling each school minute wasted without finding love. **In simple terms:** Time feels endless and painful without love. Key Takeaway Cherish time and seek connection. Themes love time pain Mood melancholic hopeful Type literary emotional When to use this quote - dating - personal growth - mindfulness Key Concepts existential longing youthful yearning school life Questions to Reflect On - What does each wasted minute teach you? - How can you find meaning beyond romance? A Different Perspective Love may not be the only remedy for wasted time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clock Unbearable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock-unbearable-4706611/) [Every Minute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-minute/) [Minute Failed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minute-failed-4706613/) [Minute Wasted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minute-wasted-807079/) [Slow motion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow-motion/) [Unbearable Minute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbearable-minute-4706612/) [Wasted School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasted-school-3135512/) ## Related quotes > [“I wish she would grow up. She wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she'll waste all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/i-wish-she-would-grow-up-she-wasted-all-her-school-time-wanting-to-be/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“She wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she'll waste all the rest of her life trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/she-wasted-all-her-school-time-wanting-to-be-the-age-she-is-now-and/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“If you waste a minute, you have wasted life and if you waste an hour, you have wasted life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/if-you-waste-a-minute-you-have-wasted-life-and-if-you-waste-an-hour/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“You must realize that whenever you waste a second you are wasting life. If you waste a minute, you have wasted life and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-must-realize-that-whenever-you-waste-a-second-you-are-wasting/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“A minute wasted is part of a life gone”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/a-minute-wasted-is-part-of-a-life-gone/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Every minute wasted on complexity is a minute stolen from creation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-born/every-minute-wasted-on-complexity-is-a-minute-stolen-from-creation/) [Greg Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-born/) > [A minute wasted is an hour rejected; the same way a minute lost is never regained. Time is money that is more easily spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samule-kermis/a-minute-wasted-is-an-hour-rejected-the-same-way-a-minute-lost-is/) [Samule Kermis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samule-kermis/) > [Now there she goes again, the dopest Ethiopian, And now the world around me be gets movin in slow motion Whenever she happens to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatlip/now-there-she-goes-again-the-dopest-ethiopian-and-now-the-world/) [Fatlip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatlip/) > [“When he poured a taste of Madeira for the Master Sommelier at my table, a splash of wine hit the rim of the glass.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-bosker/when-he-poured-a-taste-of-madeira-for-the-master-sommelier-at-my/) [Bianca Bosker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-bosker/) > [My very first scrimmage at Kansas, I got dunked on so hard by Tarik Black that I almost quit. Tarik dunked on me so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-embiid/my-very-first-scrimmage-at-kansas-i-got-dunked-on-so-hard-by-tarik/) [Joel Embiid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-embiid/) > [“My world speeds up. After years of moving along in slow motion, I am suddenly surging through the moments. He touches me, and like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-cantrell/my-world-speeds-up-after-years-of-moving-along-in-slow-motion-i-am/) [Julie Cantrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-cantrell/) > [There were probably about five games in my career where everything was moving in slow motion and you could be out there all day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-taylor/there-were-probably-about-five-games-in-my-career-where-everything/) [Lawrence Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-taylor/) > [“...I've decided ... love is an eternity of slow motion replays ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/i-ve-decided-love-is-an-eternity-of-slow-motion-replays/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [My life is a crystal teardrop. There are snowflakes falling in the teardrop and little figures trudging in slow motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/my-life-is-a-crystal-teardrop-there-are-snowflakes-falling-in-the/) [Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/) ## 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 Slow motion quotes > [My life is a crystal teardrop. There are snowflakes falling in the teardrop and little figures trudging in slow motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/my-life-is-a-crystal-teardrop-there-are-snowflakes-falling-in-the/) [Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/) > [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“...I've decided ... love is an eternity of slow motion replays ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/i-ve-decided-love-is-an-eternity-of-slow-motion-replays/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [There were probably about five games in my career where everything was moving in slow motion and you could be out there all day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-taylor/there-were-probably-about-five-games-in-my-career-where-everything/) [Lawrence Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-taylor/) > [“My world speeds up. After years of moving along in slow motion, I am suddenly surging through the moments. He touches me, and like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-cantrell/my-world-speeds-up-after-years-of-moving-along-in-slow-motion-i-am/) [Julie Cantrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-cantrell/) > [My very first scrimmage at Kansas, I got dunked on so hard by Tarik Black that I almost quit. Tarik dunked on me so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-embiid/my-very-first-scrimmage-at-kansas-i-got-dunked-on-so-hard-by-tarik/) [Joel Embiid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-embiid/) > [“When he poured a taste of Madeira for the Master Sommelier at my table, a splash of wine hit the rim of the glass.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-bosker/when-he-poured-a-taste-of-madeira-for-the-master-sommelier-at-my/) [Bianca Bosker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-bosker/) > [Now there she goes again, the dopest Ethiopian, And now the world around me be gets movin in slow motion Whenever she happens to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatlip/now-there-she-goes-again-the-dopest-ethiopian-and-now-the-world/) [Fatlip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatlip/) > [“Philosophy is thinking in slow motion. It breaks down, describes and assesses moves we ordinarily make at great speed - to do with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-campbell/philosophy-is-thinking-in-slow-motion-it-breaks-down-describes-and/) [John Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-campbell/) > [In my first-ever shot, there was a big shell that was dropped on my belly in slow motion. I even asked the director why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ileana-d-cruz/in-my-first-ever-shot-there-was-a-big-shell-that-was-dropped-on-my/) [Ileana D'Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ileana-d-cruz/) > [O Time with your teethy years! You swallow up all things little by little in a slow-motion, wrinkling process of dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/o-time-with-your-teethy-years-you-swallow-up-all-things-little-by/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [“A-Actually, the flower that sprang up would have been the iris or larkspur, not the modern hyacinth, but that is how it earned its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-mcnaught/a-actually-the-flower-that-sprang-up-would-have-been-the-iris-or/) [Judith McNaught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-mcnaught/) > [“In an ideal world, we might have dreamed of a benevolent hand intervening so that one of them tarried a little longer while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timoth-e-de-fombelle/in-an-ideal-world-we-might-have-dreamed-of-a-benevolent-hand/) [Timothée de Fombelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timoth-e-de-fombelle/) > [“Her attention was on the first knight, pulling back his bowstring, taking aim. 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