--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now, I learned a long time ago how to be…" description: "\"“Now, I learned a long time ago how to be quiet on the outside while I'm freaking on the inside. How to turn away like I don't see all the things that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/laura-wiess-8970_left-behind_now-i-learned-a-long-time-ago-how-to-be_1551997.jpg" --- # Now, I learned a long time ago how to be quiet on the… ![“Now, I learned a long time ago how to be quiet on the outside while I'm freaking on the inside. How to turn away like I don't see all the things that need to be seen, just to keep peace. How to lie low and act like I want nothing, expect nothing, and hope for nothing so I don't become more trouble…” quote by Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/laura-wiess-8970_left-behind_now-i-learned-a-long-time-ago-how-to-be_1551997.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/laura-wiess-8970_left-behind_now-i-learned-a-long-time-ago-how-to-be_1551997.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/laura-wiess-8970_left-behind_now-i-learned-a-long-time-ago-how-to-be_1551997.jpg) > ““Now, I learned a long time ago how to be quiet on the outside while I'm freaking on the inside. How to turn away like I don't see all the things that need to be seen, just to keep peace. How to lie low and act like I want nothing, expect nothing, and hope for nothing so I don't become more trouble than I'm worth. I'm five months short of eighteen and I know how to be cursed and ignored and left behind, how to swallow a thousand tears and ignore a thousand delibarate cruelties, but it's two in the morning on New Year's Eve and I'm mad and scared and bone tired and really, really sick of acting like I'm grateful to be staying on a hairy, sagging, dog-stained couch in a junky, mildewed trailer with a fat, dangerous, volatile drunk who sweats stale beer and wallows in his own wastewater, and who doesn't think there's one thing wrong with taking his crap life out on his dog, who comes bellying back for forgiveness every single time, no matter how rotten the treatment-”” [Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) ## 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 masks inner turmoil with a calm exterior, sacrificing authenticity for safety. **In simple terms:** Hiding pain behind calmness. Key Takeaway Allow yourself honest expression. Themes identity self-care emotional labor survival abuse Mood somber introspective Type narrative confessional When to use this quote - personal relationships - family dynamics - mental health - self‑preservation Key Concepts authenticity psychological coping trauma response Questions to Reflect On - When have you pretended to be okay? - What risks come from suppressing true feelings? 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Is that fair to anyone who's alone? These are all days you gotta be with someone.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kightlinger/it-goes-christmas-new-year-s-eve-valentine-s-day-is-that-fair-to/) [Laura Kightlinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kightlinger/) > [“I don’t just want you to like me, I want to be one of the most joy-inducing human beings that you’ve ever encountered. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/i-don-t-just-want-you-to-like-me-i-want-to-be-one-of-the-most-joy/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) ## More by Laura Wiess > [“Oh, baby girl," he says with a sigh. "I am so, so sorry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/oh-baby-girl-he-says-with-a-sigh-i-am-so-so-sorry/) [Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) > [“How about giving your old man a break here, huh, Chirp?" 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What fun.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/oh-there-s-a-wholesome-outing-i-say-let-s-all-skip-down-to-the-cop/) [Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) > [“Yeah, I know I've changed. Nothing gets to me anymore. Well, okay, except for stuff in the past. Back then I was all innocent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/yeah-i-know-i-ve-changed-nothing-gets-to-me-anymore-well-okay-except/) [Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) > [“Silence was the key to self-preservation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/silence-was-the-key-to-self-preservation/) [Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) > [“Hate the behavior, not the individual.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/hate-the-behavior-not-the-individual/) [Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) > [“We wait to be rescued, but for whatever reason, no one comes. We figure that if no one protects us then we must not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/we-wait-to-be-rescued-but-for-whatever-reason-no-one-comes-we-figure/) [Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) > [“Ignorance of the outcome doesn't exempt you from the consequences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/ignorance-of-the-outcome-doesn-t-exempt-you-from-the-consequences/) [Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) > [“And maybe love is terrifying. I'm terrified now, but not in the way she would think. I'm terrified because I hate who she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/and-maybe-love-is-terrifying-i-m-terrified-now-but-not-in-the-way-she/) [Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) > [“The distant threat of eternal damnation pales in comparison to the immediate gratification of corrupting young skin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/the-distant-threat-of-eternal-damnation-pales-in-comparison-to-the/) [Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) [Explore all 75 Laura Wiess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) ## More Eighteen quotes > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [My first encounter with yoga was in 1969 with my older brother Doug. I was thirteen years old, and he was eighteen. He'd learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-swensen/my-first-encounter-with-yoga-was-in-1969-with-my-older-brother-doug-i/) [David F. Swensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-swensen/) > [“Caleb frowns at him. "How old are you, anyway?" "Eighteen." "And you don't think you're too old to be with my little sister?" Tobias…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/caleb-frowns-at-him-how-old-are-you-anyway-eighteen-and-you-don-t/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“It was only as he put his hand on the door that he became aware of complete silence beyond it, a silence which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-only-as-he-put-his-hand-on-the-door-that-he-became-aware-of/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“She escaped from the schools when she turned eighteen. 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The rest of your life is nothing but a bunch of big beautiful tomorrows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-abrams/so-what-do-you-know-about-life-when-you-re-eighteen-the-rest-of-your/) [Lauren Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-abrams/) > [My first real acting job was 'Skins' at eighteen years old, and I just kind of grew into myself in those two years; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-pasqualino/my-first-real-acting-job-was-skins-at-eighteen-years-old-and-i-just/) [Luke Pasqualino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-pasqualino/) > [Eighteen months before I was born, my mother was in Auschwitz. She weighed 49 pounds. She always told me that God saved her so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/eighteen-months-before-i-was-born-my-mother-was-in-auschwitz-she/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [“Forever feels a long time when you're eighteen. 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How to lie low and act like I want nothing, expect nothing, and hope for nothing so I don't become more trouble than I'm worth. I'm five months short of eighteen and I know how to be cursed and ignored and left behind, how to swallow a thousand tears and ignore a thousand delibarate cruelties, but it's two in the morning on New Year's Eve and I'm mad and scared and bone tired and really, really sick of acting like I'm grateful to be staying on a hairy, sagging, dog-stained couch in a junky, mildewed trailer with a fat, dangerous, volatile drunk who sweats stale beer and wallows in his own wastewater, and who doesn't think there's one thing wrong with taking his crap life out on his dog, who comes bellying back for forgiveness every single time, no matter how rotten the treatment-”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Laura Wiess" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/now-i-learned-a-long-time-ago-how-to-be-quiet-on-the-outside-while-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eighteen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/now-i-learned-a-long-time-ago-how-to-be-quiet-on-the-outside-while-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/laura-wiess-8970_left-behind_now-i-learned-a-long-time-ago-how-to-be_1551997.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/laura-wiess-8970_left-behind_now-i-learned-a-long-time-ago-how-to-be_1551997.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/laura-wiess-8970_left-behind_now-i-learned-a-long-time-ago-how-to-be_1551997.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Now, I learned a long time ago how to be quiet on the outside while I'm freaking on the inside. 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