--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You had been a paper boy to me all these…" description: "\"You had been a paper boy to me all these years - two dimensions as a character on the page and two different, but still flat, dimensions as a person. B..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/john-green-12_being-real_you-had-been-a-paper-boy-to-me-all-these_3003072.jpg" --- # You had been a paper boy to me all these years - two… ![“You had been a paper boy to me all these years - two dimensions as a character on the page and two different, but still flat, dimensions as a person. But that night you turned out to be real.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/john-green-12_being-real_you-had-been-a-paper-boy-to-me-all-these_3003072.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/john-green-12_being-real_you-had-been-a-paper-boy-to-me-all-these_3003072.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed0/john-green-12_being-real_you-had-been-a-paper-boy-to-me-all-these_3003072.jpg) > “You had been a paper boy to me all these years - two dimensions as a character on the page and two different, but still flat, dimensions as a person. But that night you turned out to be real.” [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. The narrator likens a person to a flat, two‑dimensional figure until they reveal depth and reality, highlighting growth and authenticity. **In simple terms:** People can seem shallow until they show true depth. Key Takeaway Seek genuine connection beyond surface impressions. Themes growth authenticity perception relationships Mood hopeful introspective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - Friendship - romantic interest - personal discovery - storytelling Key Concepts Literature character development psychology Questions to Reflect On - What moments revealed someone's deeper self to you? - How do you move beyond first impressions? A Different Perspective Risk of idealizing or misreading others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-real/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) ## Related quotes > [The nice thing about a video game is that you can explore the dimensions of a character so much more deeply than you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-conroy/the-nice-thing-about-a-video-game-is-that-you-can-explore-the/) [Kevin Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-conroy/) > [It's nice to see different dimensions of a character. A love interest and family life are always, I think, important in creating layers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nazanin-boniadi/it-s-nice-to-see-different-dimensions-of-a-character-a-love-interest/) [Nazanin Boniadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nazanin-boniadi/) > [Never put anything on paper, my boy, and never trust a man with a small black moustache.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/never-put-anything-on-paper-my-boy-and-never-trust-a-man-with-a-small/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [I was going to be the best paper boy ever. I used my Sting-Ray bike and got the papers there after school. People know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/i-was-going-to-be-the-best-paper-boy-ever-i-used-my-sting-ray-bike/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [I was a paper boy, beginning the summer between my fourth-grade and fifth-grade years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-boies/i-was-a-paper-boy-beginning-the-summer-between-my-fourth-grade-and/) [David Boies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-boies/) > [Something about that whole process of building the structure of that game turned into a real kind of lightbulb moment for me as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-novik/something-about-that-whole-process-of-building-the-structure-of-that/) [Naomi Novik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-novik/) > [There's such a feeling of satisfaction when something you imagined turned into something real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prabal-gurung/there-s-such-a-feeling-of-satisfaction-when-something-you-imagined/) [Prabal Gurung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prabal-gurung/) > [“I might have been made of metal once, but not anymore. Like Pinocchio, I'd turned into a real girl. So far it sucked. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-standiford/i-might-have-been-made-of-metal-once-but-not-anymore-like-pinocchio-i/) [Natalie Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-standiford/) > [By the time I was 15, my mother had turned me into a real clotheshorse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-swanson/by-the-time-i-was-15-my-mother-had-turned-me-into-a-real-clotheshorse/) [Gloria Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-swanson/) > [I've made up stuff that's turned out to be real, that's the spooky part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/i-ve-made-up-stuff-that-s-turned-out-to-be-real-that-s-the-spooky-part/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [As it happened, all three of us turned out to be real writers--a coincidence almost too large to be termed mere coincidence in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-it-happened-all-three-of-us-turned-out-to-be-real-writers-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [ Gonna rain like a cow pissin' on a flat rock" \[drugstore clerk to detective Virgil Flowers\] Dark of the Moon, p.7 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sandford/gonna-rain-like-a-cow-pissin-on-a-flat-rock-drugstore-clerk-to/) [John Sandford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sandford/) > [Flat muscled and honey coloured. Sea secrets in his eyes. A silver raindrop in his ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flat-muscled-and-honey-coloured-sea-secrets-in-his-eyes-a-silver/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drenched our teeples, drowned the cocks! You sulphurour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/blow-winds-and-crack-your-cheeks-rage-blow-you-cataracts-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## 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 Being real quotes > [Don't be in such a hurry to condemn a person because she doesn't do what you do, or think as you think or as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcom-x/don-t-be-in-such-a-hurry-to-condemn-a-person-because-she-doesn-t-do/) [Malcom X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcom-x/) > [Well, I don't want to be king, I want to be real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/well-i-don-t-want-to-be-king-i-want-to-be-real/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [Going through unknown people's profiles and judging them by their pictures is totally normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pradeep-chandra/going-through-unknown-people-s-profiles-and-judging-them-by-their/) Pradeep Chandra > [When you are important to another person, they will always find a way to make time for you - no excuses, no lies, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-are-important-to-another-person-they-will-always-find-a-way/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you speak the truth watch the fuck niggas start hating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-speak-the-truth-watch-the-fuck-niggas-start-hating/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think about everyone in my life that was harsh with me or who gave me tough love and told me things that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlamagne-tha-god/i-think-about-everyone-in-my-life-that-was-harsh-with-me-or-who-gave/) [Charlamagne Tha God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlamagne-tha-god/) > [Laugh at every mistakes and realize that no one is perfect. We are human. All of us are imperfect, so there's no point judging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/laugh-at-every-mistakes-and-realize-that-no-one-is-perfect-we-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Give yourself a chance to live because nobody will live it for you when you die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-yourself-a-chance-to-live-because-nobody-will-live-it-for-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You've noticed a change huh ? She doesn't text you as often . She never calls you anymore . When she does text you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delaney-ridnour/you-ve-noticed-a-change-huh-she-doesn-t-text-you-as-often-she-never/) [Delaney Ridnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delaney-ridnour/) > [I wish that one day you would finally realize that the person that is willing to love you forever is the person you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khat-leen/i-wish-that-one-day-you-would-finally-realize-that-the-person-that-is/) [Khat Leen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khat-leen/) > [..If you love her/him then why give up, nobody said love was easy and nobody said love was hard... a relationship is what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tevin-bostic/if-you-love-her-him-then-why-give-up-nobody-said-love-was-easy-and/) [TEVIN BOSTIC](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tevin-bostic/) > [I learned a tremendous amount about what was important to me as a head coach in that I was not in charge. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-carroll/i-learned-a-tremendous-amount-about-what-was-important-to-me-as-a/) [Pete Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-carroll/) > [Im loving you not because you're giving me what I need, Instead I'm loving you because you're giving me this feeling I never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/im-loving-you-not-because-you-re-giving-me-what-i-need-instead-i-m/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [Be who you want to be, not what people want to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-who-you-want-to-be-not-what-people-want-to-see/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There should be in eloquence that which is pleasing and that which is real; but that which is pleasing should itself be real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/there-should-be-in-eloquence-that-which-is-pleasing-and-that-which-is/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) [Browse all 1,607 Being real quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-real/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You had been a paper boy to me all these years - two dimensions as a character on the page and two different, but still flat, dimensions as a person. 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