--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Adolescence-is it the first time in life…" description: "\"Adolescence-is it the first time in life we discover that we have something terrible to hide from those who love us?\" — John Irving" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/john-irving-337_adolescence_adolescence-is-it-the-first-time-in-life_2368951.png" --- # Adolescence-is it the first time in life we discover that… ![“Adolescence-is it the first time in life we discover that we have something terrible to hide from those who love us?” quote by John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/john-irving-337_adolescence_adolescence-is-it-the-first-time-in-life_2368951.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/john-irving-337_adolescence_adolescence-is-it-the-first-time-in-life_2368951.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/john-irving-337_adolescence_adolescence-is-it-the-first-time-in-life_2368951.png) > “Adolescence-is it the first time in life we discover that we have something terrible to hide from those who love us?” [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adolescence reveals hidden flaws that we fear exposing to loved ones, creating inner conflict and secrecy. **In simple terms:** Teenagers often hide painful truths from those they care about. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and share your struggles with trusted loved ones. Themes identity family secrecy adolescence vulnerability Mood anxious reflective Type personal psychological When to use this quote - family gatherings - therapy sessions - friend conversations - school counseling Key Concepts psychology self‑acceptance trust Questions to Reflect On - What are you hiding from those who love you? - How might openness change your relationships? A Different Perspective Fear of rejection can prevent honest communication. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adolescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [In no order of things is adolescence the time of the simple life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-erskine-stuart/in-no-order-of-things-is-adolescence-the-time-of-the-simple-life/) [Janet Erskine Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-erskine-stuart/) > [Adolescence can be a time of turmoil and turbulence, of stress and storm. Rebellion against authority and against convention is to be expected and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haim-ginott/adolescence-can-be-a-time-of-turmoil-and-turbulence-of-stress-and/) [Haim Ginott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haim-ginott/) > [Adolescence as the time when an individual ‘recapitulates’ the savage stage of the race’s past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/adolescence-as-the-time-when-an-individual-recapitulates-the-savage/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [L'adolescence est le seul temps o u' l'on ait appris quelque chose. Adolescence is the only time when we can learn something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/l-adolescence-est-le-seul-temps-o-u-l-on-ait-appris-quelque-chose/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Adolescence is that time when I think, it can be- it's the cruelest place on Earth. It can really be heartless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/adolescence-is-that-time-when-i-think-it-can-be-it-s-the-cruelest/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [“But adolescence is a time of hurts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-elwell-hunt/but-adolescence-is-a-time-of-hurts/) [Angela Elwell Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-elwell-hunt/) > [Adolescence, the time to live, experience, love before the monotonia of adulthood, so let's live the day without hate or sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/adolescence-the-time-to-live-experience-love-before-the-monotonia-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Adolescence--the time when teens begin to do things adults do--now happens later. Thirteen-year-olds--and even 18-year-olds-- are less likely to act like adults and spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-twenge/adolescence-the-time-when-teens-begin-to-do-things-adults-do-now/) [Jean M. Twenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-twenge/) > [When you push me AWAY, is it cuz you don't WANT ME? Or is it cuz you wanna hide your LOVE for me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-herrera-2/when-you-push-me-away-is-it-cuz-you-don-t-want-me-or-is-it-cuz-you/) [Alexandra-Herrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-herrera-2/) > [You can not hide from love but love hide from you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion/you-can-not-hide-from-love-but-love-hide-from-you/) Marion > [There comes a time in life where you will become and adult so that means it'll be a time to push away those childish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/telisa-mclaughlin/there-comes-a-time-in-life-where-you-will-become-and-adult-so-that/) [Telisa McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/telisa-mclaughlin/) > [It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/it-takes-half-your-life-before-you-discover-life-is-a-do-it-yourself/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [What I really want out of life is to discover something new: something mankind didn't know was possible to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-holmes/what-i-really-want-out-of-life-is-to-discover-something-new-something/) [Elizabeth Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-holmes/) > [The greatest discovery in life is to discover that our essential nature does not share the limits nor the destiny of the body and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-spira/the-greatest-discovery-in-life-is-to-discover-that-our-essential/) [Rupert Spira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-spira/) > [The great quest of life has always been to discover truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/the-great-quest-of-life-has-always-been-to-discover-truth/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) ## More by John Irving > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean––make sure they know what they mean!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/watch-out-for-people-who-call-themselves-religious-make-sure-you-know/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [The desire to never leave your side, the desire to never see you again. The desire to see your face asleep on the pillow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/the-desire-to-never-leave-your-side-the-desire-to-never-see-you-again/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I had been a student in Vienna, and one of the neat little things I had found out was about that zoo. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-had-been-a-student-in-vienna-and-one-of-the-neat-little-things-i/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“God, I think I just hit a high E-flat - and I really held it!" Esmeralda said, after one of her more prolonged orgasms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/god-i-think-i-just-hit-a-high-e-flat-and-i-really-held-it-esmeralda/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Nostalgia!" Miss Frost cried. "You´re nostalgic!" She repeated. "Just how old are you, William?" She asked. "Seventeen, " I told her. "Seventeen!" Miss Frost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/nostalgia-miss-frost-cried-you-re-nostalgic-she-repeated-just-how-old/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [ “JUST BECAUSE A BUNCH OF ATHEISTS ARE BETTER WRITERS THAN THE GUYS WHO WROTE THE BIBLE DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE THEM RIGHT!" \[Owen Meany\] said… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/just-because-a-bunch-of-atheists-are-better-writers-than-the-guys-who/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is much easier to be flexible about where a story begins than it ever was for me to change my mind about where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/it-is-much-easier-to-be-flexible-about-where-a-story-begins-than-it/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Only the chicken-lover will understand me. He will give me a kindly look, maybe mildly desirous. His eyes will tell me: You might look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/only-the-chicken-lover-will-understand-me-he-will-give-me-a-kindly/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [You're nice,' Cushie told him, squeezing his hand. 'And you're my oldest friend.' But they both must have known that you can know someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/you-re-nice-cushie-told-him-squeezing-his-hand-and-you-re-my-oldest/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Because of A Prayer for Owen Meany, many of my readers assume I am “religious.” I go to church only occasionally—like a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/because-of-a-prayer-for-owen-meany-many-of-my-readers-assume-i-am/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Did anyone who was in love and was unsatisfied with how he was loved in return ever feel saved?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/did-anyone-who-was-in-love-and-was-unsatisfied-with-how-he-was-loved/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“I TRUST THAT GOD WILL HELP ME, BECAUSE WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO LOOKS VERY HARD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-trust-that-god-will-help-me-because-what-i-m-supposed-to-do-looks/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) [Explore all 641 John Irving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## More Adolescence quotes > [They must move from a psychological state of victimization to a psychological state of accepting responsibility. The Palestinians must leave behind their revolutionary adolescence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-shavit/they-must-move-from-a-psychological-state-of-victimization-to-a/) [Ari Shavit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-shavit/) > [Having children truly ends adolescence. We are all either parents or children: responsibility-takers or those who demand from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/having-children-truly-ends-adolescence-we-are-all-either-parents-or/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [Teenage girls are extremists who see the world in black-and- white terms, missing shades of gray. Life is either marvelous or notworth living. School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pipher/teenage-girls-are-extremists-who-see-the-world-in-black-and-white/) [Mary Pipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pipher/) > [Teenagers complain there's nothing to do, then stay out all night doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-phillips/teenagers-complain-there-s-nothing-to-do-then-stay-out-all-night/) [Bob Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-phillips/) > [The idols of one's adolescence tend to endure - you never forget how you worshipped them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-idols-of-one-s-adolescence-tend-to-endure-you-never-forget-how/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [The donning of the ear buds marks the beginning of teen life, when children set off on their own for the passage through adolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/the-donning-of-the-ear-buds-marks-the-beginning-of-teen-life-when/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [Adolescence is when the very worst and best impulses in the human soul struggle against each other for possession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/adolescence-is-when-the-very-worst-and-best-impulses-in-the-human/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Most adults would not dream of belittling, humiliating, or bullying (verbally or physically) another adult. But many of the same adults think nothing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/most-adults-would-not-dream-of-belittling-humiliating-or-bullying/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“He'd possessed all the key elements of a school shooter: hormones, misery, ammunition. People wondered how something like Columbine could happen. Jude wondered why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/he-d-possessed-all-the-key-elements-of-a-school-shooter-hormones/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [ I remember realizing, when I did Little Women \[1994\], that that was the only time girls that age were being written about. It was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/i-remember-realizing-when-i-did-little-women-1994-that-that-was-the/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [Content without style is propaganda or adolescence. Style without content is decadence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/content-without-style-is-propaganda-or-adolescence-style-without/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Adolescence is interesting. I mean, all of life is interesting and all of life is transitionary. But I think there is an exponential growth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-henson/adolescence-is-interesting-i-mean-all-of-life-is-interesting-and-all/) [Bill Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-henson/) > [“Yet GenX'er teens didn't slow down--they were just as likely to drive, drink alcohol, and date as their Boomer peers and more likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-twenge/yet-genx-er-teens-didn-t-slow-down-they-were-just-as-likely-to-drive/) [Jean M. Twenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-twenge/) [Browse all 787 Adolescence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Adolescence-is it the first time in life we discover that we have something terrible to hide from those who love us?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Irving" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/adolescence-is-it-the-first-time-in-life-we-discover-that-we-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adolescence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/adolescence-is-it-the-first-time-in-life-we-discover-that-we-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/john-irving-337_adolescence_adolescence-is-it-the-first-time-in-life_2368951.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/john-irving-337_adolescence_adolescence-is-it-the-first-time-in-life_2368951.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/john-irving-337_adolescence_adolescence-is-it-the-first-time-in-life_2368951.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Adolescence-is it the first time in life we discover that we have something terrible to hide from those who…” — John Irving", "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 Irving", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Adolescence-is it the first time in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/adolescence-is-it-the-first-time-in-life-we-discover-that-we-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/adolescence-is-it-the-first-time-in-life-we-discover-that-we-have/#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 } } ] } ```