--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are not defined by the things we do in…" description: "\"“We are not defined by the things we do in order to survive. We do not apologize for them,” she says quietly, eyes never leaving mine. “Maybe they have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/laura-sebastian-106257_rebellion_we-are-not-defined-by-the-things-we-do-i_903824.jpg" --- # We are not defined by the things we do in order to… ![“We are not defined by the things we do in order to survive. We do not apologize for them,” she says quietly, eyes never leaving mine. “Maybe they have broken you, but you are a sharper weapon because of it. And it is time to strike.” quote by Laura Sebastian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/laura-sebastian-106257_rebellion_we-are-not-defined-by-the-things-we-do-i_903824.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/laura-sebastian-106257_rebellion_we-are-not-defined-by-the-things-we-do-i_903824.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/laura-sebastian-106257_rebellion_we-are-not-defined-by-the-things-we-do-i_903824.jpg) > ““We are not defined by the things we do in order to survive. We do not apologize for them,” she says quietly, eyes never leaving mine. “Maybe they have broken you, but you are a sharper weapon because of it. And it is time to strike.”” Laura Sebastian ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pain can become a source of strength, turning brokenness into a sharper weapon for action. **In simple terms:** Hardship can sharpen you. Key Takeaway Use past pain as strength. Themes strength resilience transformation agency Mood hopeful determined Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - self‑empowerment Key Concepts weapon metaphor personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How have hardships sharpened you? - What weapon does your past give you? A Different Perspective Pain may not always empower. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Rebellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebellion/) [Rebels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebels/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Weapon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapon/) ## Related quotes > [“I want to apologize to you,” she says calmly. “Oh yeah? For what?” I don’t have time for this. We don’t have time for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-want-to-apologize-to-you-she-says-calmly-oh-yeah-for-what-i-don-t/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [In the clearness of this Himalayan air, mountains draw near, and in such splendor, tears come quietly to my eyes and cool on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/in-the-clearness-of-this-himalayan-air-mountains-draw-near-and-in/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“You have found the person with whom you wish to share all the days of your life." His eyes lifted to mine and settled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syrie-james/you-have-found-the-person-with-whom-you-wish-to-share-all-the-days-of/) [Syrie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syrie-james/) > [“What they ask—quietly, with eyes too old for their years—is to be seen. To be held in the gaze of someone who will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-j-garmon/what-they-ask-quietly-with-eyes-too-old-for-their-years-is-to-be-seen/) Ivy J Garmon > [Towards four o'clock, the rebels felt strong enough to take the offensive. A brigade with a battery under Earle managed to strike the Federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-villard/towards-four-o-clock-the-rebels-felt-strong-enough-to-take-the/) [Henry Villard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-villard/) > [“Most personalities have been obliged to be rebels. Half their strength has been wasted in friction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/most-personalities-have-been-obliged-to-be-rebels-half-their-strength/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I started, actually, as an analyst on African affairs, mainly on Al Jazeera. I remember the first few series were about Saudi students, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadah-khanfar/i-started-actually-as-an-analyst-on-african-affairs-mainly-on-al/) [Wadah Khanfar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadah-khanfar/) > [America is a land of creators and rebels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/america-is-a-land-of-creators-and-rebels/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [Honduras is strongly anti-Communist, maintains no diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, and has provided vital support for United States-backed rebels fighting to overthrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/honduras-is-strongly-anti-communist-maintains-no-diplomatic-relations/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [We do not come to God as bad people trying to become good people; we come as rebels to lay down our arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/we-do-not-come-to-god-as-bad-people-trying-to-become-good-people-we/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The task of youth is not only its own salvation but the salvation of those against whom it rebels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-addams/the-task-of-youth-is-not-only-its-own-salvation-but-the-salvation-of/) [Jane Addams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-addams/) > [It seems that the rebels found the chaos of transition more difficult to accept than the tyranny they had known before. They joyfully welcomed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/it-seems-that-the-rebels-found-the-chaos-of-transition-more-difficult/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“My dream is to create something so beautiful that it encourages people to present the best version of themselves to me everywhere I go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-caligiuri/my-dream-is-to-create-something-so-beautiful-that-it-encourages/) [Ross Caligiuri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-caligiuri/) > [“Try to think of it as though we are rewriting history––the first time this experience occurred you and I never kissed in this Dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-caligiuri/try-to-think-of-it-as-though-we-are-rewriting-history-the-first-time/) [Ross Caligiuri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-caligiuri/) > [Persecution matures young rebels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/persecution-matures-young-rebels/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) ## More by Laura Sebastian > [“He is a stone, incapable of feeling anything, and I don't like being reminded that he's also human. I don't like to be reminded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-sebastian/he-is-a-stone-incapable-of-feeling-anything-and-i-don-t-like-being/) Laura Sebastian Explore all 2 Laura Sebastian quotes ## More Rebellion quotes > [ He \[ the son\]'s grown up listening to all types of music, and the natural form of rebellion is to find the one genre… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-knowles/he-the-son-s-grown-up-listening-to-all-types-of-music-and-the-natural/) [Solange Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solange-knowles/) > [Repression will provoke rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-williamson/repression-will-provoke-rebellion/) Hugh Williamson > ["Spirituality" wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/spirituality-wrongly-understood-or-pursued-is-a-major-source-of-human/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [The strongest rebellion may be expressed in quiet, undramatic behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-spock/the-strongest-rebellion-may-be-expressed-in-quiet-undramatic-behavior/) [Benjamin Spock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-spock/) > [Republican despotism is more fertile in acts of tyranny, because everyone has a hand in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/republican-despotism-is-more-fertile-in-acts-of-tyranny-because/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Poetry is a lousy form of activism; it doesn't really change much. And maybe we can point to one or two historical times when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-gottlieb/poetry-is-a-lousy-form-of-activism-it-doesn-t-really-change-much-and/) [Daphne Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-gottlieb/) > [The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-only-way-to-deal-with-an-unfree-world-is-to-become-so-absolutely/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-he-said-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [ \[Christian rebellion\] arises from the doctrine of mankind made in the image of God, and therefore protests against all forms of dehumanization. It sets… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/christian-rebellion-arises-from-the-doctrine-of-mankind-made-in-the/) [John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/) > [“Try to think of it as though we are rewriting history––the first time this experience occurred you and I never kissed in this Dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-caligiuri/try-to-think-of-it-as-though-we-are-rewriting-history-the-first-time/) [Ross Caligiuri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-caligiuri/) > [Suspicion on one side breeds suspicion on the other, and new weapons beget counter-weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/suspicion-on-one-side-breeds-suspicion-on-the-other-and-new-weapons/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [When you come from a family of communists and you go through your teenage rebellion, what's the best way of rebelling from a family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-browder/when-you-come-from-a-family-of-communists-and-you-go-through-your/) [Bill Browder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-browder/) > [Throughout the last century there were multiple attempts at giving Afghan women more autonomy, to change marriage laws, to abolish the practice of bride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/throughout-the-last-century-there-were-multiple-attempts-at-giving/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred ans sixty-three, all persons held as slaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/that-on-the-first-day-of-january-in-the-year-of-our-lord-one-thousand/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [N.W.A had something in common with the Rolling Stones and MC5 and groups like that: the voice of rebellion. It's rebellion against your parents.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-heller/n-w-a-had-something-in-common-with-the-rolling-stones-and-mc5-and/) [Jerry Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-heller/) [Browse all 1,038 Rebellion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebellion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We are not defined by the things we do in order to survive. We do not apologize for them,” she says quietly, eyes never leaving mine. “Maybe they have broken you, but you are a sharper weapon because of it. 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