---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I want to appear ordinary, but I have it…"
description: "\"I want to appear ordinary, but I have it understood that I am not.\" — Mason Cooley"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/mason-cooley-92_appear_i-want-to-appear-ordinary-but-i-have-it_1883206.png"
---

#  I want to appear ordinary, but I have it understood that I…

![“I want to appear ordinary, but I have it understood that I am not.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/mason-cooley-92_appear_i-want-to-appear-ordinary-but-i-have-it_1883206.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/mason-cooley-92_appear_i-want-to-appear-ordinary-but-i-have-it_1883206.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/mason-cooley-92_appear_i-want-to-appear-ordinary-but-i-have-it_1883206.png)

> “I want to appear ordinary, but I have it understood that I am not.”

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker recognizes a self‑awareness that contradicts a desire to blend in, highlighting an inner conflict between authenticity and conformity.

**In simple terms:** I know I’m different despite wanting to seem normal.

Key Takeaway

Embrace your true self.

Themes

identity authenticity self‑awareness

Mood

reflective conflicted

Type

personal philosophical

When to use this quote

- social gatherings
- personal branding
- creative work
- public speaking

Key Concepts

existentialism self‑acceptance

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you reconcile being true to yourself with fitting in?
- What aspects of your uniqueness can you share positively?

A Different Perspective

May lead to isolation if authenticity is not balanced with social harmony.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [You don't want to appear as if you are not a team player, but at the same time, you don't want to be taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-smith/you-don-t-want-to-appear-as-if-you-are-not-a-team-player-but-at-the/)

[Judy Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-smith/)

> [“The sense of wishing to be known only for what one really is is like putting on an old, easy, comfortable garment. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grayson/the-sense-of-wishing-to-be-known-only-for-what-one-really-is-is-like/)

[David Grayson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grayson/)

> [I like writing people from a slightly sharp angle and then throwing more light on them. I think in life we see somebody and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/i-like-writing-people-from-a-slightly-sharp-angle-and-then-throwing/)

[Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/)

> [The world was made up of people putting one foot in front of the other; and a life might appear ordinary simply because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/the-world-was-made-up-of-people-putting-one-foot-in-front-of-the/)

[Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/)

> [I'd lied many times: to bolster my credentials, to elicit sympathy, to make myself appear less ordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/i-d-lied-many-times-to-bolster-my-credentials-to-elicit-sympathy-to/)

[Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/)

> [The young artist... will discover out of ordinary things the meaning of ordinariness. He will not try to make them extraordinary. Only their real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/the-young-artist-will-discover-out-of-ordinary-things-the-meaning-of/)

[Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/)

> [I reject all evidence that my fabulous beloved is an ordinary person who worries, watches TV, and has bouts of indigestion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/i-reject-all-evidence-that-my-fabulous-beloved-is-an-ordinary-person/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [It is the ordinariness of us that is the same in all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-toussaint/it-is-the-ordinariness-of-us-that-is-the-same-in-all-of-us/)

[Lorraine Toussaint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-toussaint/)

> [The theme of the collection this time is MONSTER. It's not about the typical Monster you find in sci-fi and video games. The expression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rei-kawakubo/the-theme-of-the-collection-this-time-is-monster-it-s-not-about-the/)

[Rei Kawakubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rei-kawakubo/)

> [We are storytelling animals, and cannot bear to acknowledge the ordinariness of our daily lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-are-storytelling-animals-and-cannot-bear-to-acknowledge-the/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [One day the ordinariness will be terminally punctuated by the extraordinary full stop of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/one-day-the-ordinariness-will-be-terminally-punctuated-by-the/)

[Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/)

> [Becoming the beloved is pulling the truth revealed to me from above down into the ordinariness of what I am, in fact, thinking of,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/becoming-the-beloved-is-pulling-the-truth-revealed-to-me-from-above/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Occasionally some individuals let the seeming ordinariness of life dampen their spirits. Though actually coping and growning, others lack the quiet, inner-soul satisfaction that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/occasionally-some-individuals-let-the-seeming-ordinariness-of-life/)

[Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/)

> [“Odd, don't you think? I have seen war, and invasions and riots. I have heard of massacres and brutalities beyond imagining, and I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-pears/odd-don-t-you-think-i-have-seen-war-and-invasions-and-riots-i-have/)

[Iain Pears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-pears/)

> [When you're being truly creative, time stands still, and you enter a dimension that can carry you beyond the ordinariness of everyday life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-linn/when-you-re-being-truly-creative-time-stands-still-and-you-enter-a/)

[Denise Linn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-linn/)

## More by Mason Cooley

> [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Money comes to life as it is spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/money-comes-to-life-as-it-is-spent/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Even the most fickle are faithful to a few bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-fickle-are-faithful-to-a-few-bad-habits/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/literary-tradition-is-full-of-lies-about-poverty-the-jolly-beggar-the/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Experience teaches us, but we scarcely know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/experience-teaches-us-but-we-scarcely-know-what/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [The body has a mind of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-body-has-a-mind-of-its-own/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-retirement-i-look-for-days-off-from-my-days-off-mason-cooley/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [My intentions go one way, my desires another. Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vacations-prove-that-a-life-of-pleasure-is-overrated/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/outside-literature-high-flown-sentiments-are-merely-exasperating/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

[Explore all 1,401 Mason Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

## More Appear quotes

> [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/)

[Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/)

> [“Give someone more time and they'll appear to have done more with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/give-someone-more-time-and-they-ll-appear-to-have-done-more-with-it/)

[Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/)

> [“Appear On Your Fear, It Will Disappear”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syed-sharukh/appear-on-your-fear-it-will-disappear/)

[Syed Sharukh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syed-sharukh/)

> [Though the world may often appear to be more charitable than the church, it is crucial to remember that, for the church, the care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/though-the-world-may-often-appear-to-be-more-charitable-than-the/)

[Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/)

> [“A might force, a consummate power lieth concealed in the world of being. Fix your gaze upon it and upon its unifying influences, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baha-u-llah/a-might-force-a-consummate-power-lieth-concealed-in-the-world-of/)

[Baha'u'llah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baha-u-llah/)

> [War is big and there are only so many reporters and only so many places for their words and images to appear. Choices are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/war-is-big-and-there-are-only-so-many-reporters-and-only-so-many/)

[Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/)

> [Whatever the reason, American Muslims appear far less inclined to support the global jihad than their European counterparts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/whatever-the-reason-american-muslims-appear-far-less-inclined-to/)

[Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/)

> [Usually, the leaders appear in the moment of the highest stress, when it is time, speaking symbolically, to go to the barricades. Then people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-bukovsky/usually-the-leaders-appear-in-the-moment-of-the-highest-stress-when/)

[Vladimir Bukovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-bukovsky/)

> [My face frowns by default, so when I'm most calm is when I appear the least approachable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-leung/my-face-frowns-by-default-so-when-i-m-most-calm-is-when-i-appear-the/)

[Ken Leung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-leung/)

> [Who are you?" "I am Death," said the creature. "I thought that was obvious." "But you're so small!" "Only because you are small. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/who-are-you-i-am-death-said-the-creature-i-thought-that-was-obvious/)

[Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/)

> [Growing up as a singer, and a cast member, and now as an adult, a songwriter, I get the luxury of choosing the kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/growing-up-as-a-singer-and-a-cast-member-and-now-as-an-adult-a/)

[Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/)

> [“You need a third option," he said. "Yeah. I guess i do." He nodded, absorbing this. "Well," he said,"For what it's worth, it's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/you-need-a-third-option-he-said-yeah-i-guess-i-do-he-nodded-absorbing/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [There's not much difference between what I appear to be on stage and what I am. I think people like that, that I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-not-much-difference-between-what-i-appear-to-be-on-stage-and/)

[Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/)

> [Newspapers are not free and they never have been. They can appear to be so, but someone, somewhere is covering the costs whether that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-brooke/newspapers-are-not-free-and-they-never-have-been-they-can-appear-to/)

[Heather Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-brooke/)

> [I won't divulge the details, but there's a way to call somebody's phone and have whatever number you want appear on the caller I.D.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-malina/i-won-t-divulge-the-details-but-there-s-a-way-to-call-somebody-s/)

[Joshua Malina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-malina/)

Browse all 401 Appear quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I want to appear ordinary, but I have it understood that I am not.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mason Cooley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/i-want-to-appear-ordinary-but-i-have-it-understood-that-i-am-not/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Appear"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/i-want-to-appear-ordinary-but-i-have-it-understood-that-i-am-not/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/mason-cooley-92_appear_i-want-to-appear-ordinary-but-i-have-it_1883206.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/mason-cooley-92_appear_i-want-to-appear-ordinary-but-i-have-it_1883206.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/mason-cooley-92_appear_i-want-to-appear-ordinary-but-i-have-it_1883206.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I want to appear ordinary, but I have it understood that I am not.” — Mason Cooley",
                "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": "Mason Cooley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I want to appear ordinary, but...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/i-want-to-appear-ordinary-but-i-have-it-understood-that-i-am-not/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/i-want-to-appear-ordinary-but-i-have-it-understood-that-i-am-not/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
