---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nice,' I say, realizing only afterward…"
description: "\"Nice,' I say, realizing only afterward that I've mimicked her, a bad habit of mine; I'm like one of those animals that imitates its predators to surviv..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/melissa-bank-7849_animal_nice-i-say-realizing-only-afterward-that_1243690.png"
---

#  Nice,' I say, realizing only afterward that I've mimicked…

![“Nice,' I say, realizing only afterward that I've mimicked her, a bad habit of mine; I'm like one of those animals that imitates its predators to survive.” quote by Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/melissa-bank-7849_animal_nice-i-say-realizing-only-afterward-that_1243690.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/melissa-bank-7849_animal_nice-i-say-realizing-only-afterward-that_1243690.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/melissa-bank-7849_animal_nice-i-say-realizing-only-afterward-that_1243690.png)

> “Nice,' I say, realizing only afterward that I've mimicked her, a bad habit of mine; I'm like one of those animals that imitates its predators to survive.”

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

## 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 realizes she has imitated someone she dislikes, likening herself to an animal mimicking predators for survival.

**In simple terms:** Imitation can be a survival tactic.

Key Takeaway

Reflect on why you copy others.

Themes

identity imitation survival

Mood

thoughtful introspective

Type

literary psychological

When to use this quote

- self‑reflection
- therapy
- literary analysis

Key Concepts

psychology behavioral science

Questions to Reflect On

- What drives you to mimic others?
- How can you develop your own voice?

A Different Perspective

Imitation may undermine authenticity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Bad habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-habit/) [Bad habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-habits/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Imitates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imitates/) [Imitates Predators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imitates-predators-3891747/) [Mimicked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mimicked-1082658/) [Mimicked Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mimicked-bad-3891748/) [Nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice/) [Predator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predator/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Ve Mimicked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ve-mimicked-3891749/)

## Related quotes

> [If it were true that children mimicked their teachers, you'd sure have a helluva lot more nuns running around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/if-it-were-true-that-children-mimicked-their-teachers-you-d-sure-have/)

[Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/)

> [I was a mimic when I was a child. I mimicked the teacher and made friends that way, actually. That was a very subversive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-was-a-mimic-when-i-was-a-child-i-mimicked-the-teacher-and-made/)

[Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/)

> [I believe, as they say, that you can't be what you don't see, and since I saw a lot of smart women in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-longoria/i-believe-as-they-say-that-you-can-t-be-what-you-don-t-see-and-since/)

[Eva Longoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-longoria/)

> [“We won’t let you die, Willa.” I mimicked, brushing off my boy-clothes and shoving my hair out of my face. “We’ll just teleport you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaymin-eve/we-won-t-let-you-die-willa-i-mimicked-brushing-off-my-boy-clothes-and/)

[Jaymin Eve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaymin-eve/)

> [“Competitors must be monitored, but never mimicked”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-mcqueen/competitors-must-be-monitored-but-never-mimicked/)

[Rod McQueen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-mcqueen/)

> [“The taps mimicked the theme song to The X-Files.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-g-riddle/the-taps-mimicked-the-theme-song-to-the-x-files/)

[A.G. Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-riddle/)

> [He had a head which statuaries loved to copy, and a foot the deformity of which the beggars in the streets mimicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/he-had-a-head-which-statuaries-loved-to-copy-and-a-foot-the-deformity/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [“I am for an art that imitates the human, that is comic, if necessary, or violent, or whatever is necessary. I am for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-am-for-an-art-that-imitates-the-human-that-is-comic-if-necessary-or/)

[Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/)

> [Art, as far as it is able, follows nature, as a pupil imitates his master; thus your art must be, as it were, God's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/art-as-far-as-it-is-able-follows-nature-as-a-pupil-imitates-his/)

[Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/)

> [Sometimes art imitates life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/sometimes-art-imitates-life/)

[Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/)

> [Nature imitates mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gian-carlo-rota/nature-imitates-mathematics/)

[Gian-Carlo Rota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gian-carlo-rota/)

> [Art may imitate life, but life imitates TV.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/art-may-imitate-life-but-life-imitates-tv/)

[Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/)

> [Perhaps the least cheering statement ever made on the subject of art is that life imitates it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/perhaps-the-least-cheering-statement-ever-made-on-the-subject-of-art/)

[Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/)

> [I'm an actor, and I keep observing people and their reactions to figure out what they are thinking. There's only so much you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preity-zinta/i-m-an-actor-and-i-keep-observing-people-and-their-reactions-to/)

[Preity Zinta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preity-zinta/)

> [Nature, so far as in her lies, imitates God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/nature-so-far-as-in-her-lies-imitates-god/)

[Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/)

## More by Melissa Bank

> [Sometimes you’re loved because of your weaknesses. What you can’t do is sometimes more compelling than what you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/sometimes-you-re-loved-because-of-your-weaknesses-what-you-can-t-do/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

> [She said that her father's death had been the hardest thing in her life. "We are all children until our fathers die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/she-said-that-her-father-s-death-had-been-the-hardest-thing-in-her/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

> [“When I could talk, I said, "I don't know what I did wrong." Dena sighed, "You care too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/when-i-could-talk-i-said-i-don-t-know-what-i-did-wrong-dena-sighed/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

> [“I have acute pancreatitis." "I thought it was just average looking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/i-have-acute-pancreatitis-i-thought-it-was-just-average-looking/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

> [“He gazed at me. "You've grown up honey." It felt good to hear it. I thought maybe he was right. Then it occurred to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/he-gazed-at-me-you-ve-grown-up-honey-it-felt-good-to-hear-it-i/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

> [“I want him to tell my why, but he doesn't say anything. It seems possible that Matthew is gay and possible that he isn't;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/i-want-him-to-tell-my-why-but-he-doesn-t-say-anything-it-seems/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

> [You sense that he's dangerous but don't now why - and wonder if it's because he makes you feel safer than you've ever felt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/you-sense-that-he-s-dangerous-but-don-t-now-why-and-wonder-if-it-s/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

> [The only relationships I haven't wrecked right away were the ones that wrecked me later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/the-only-relationships-i-haven-t-wrecked-right-away-were-the-ones/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

> [We are all children until our fathers die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/we-are-all-children-until-our-fathers-die/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

> [“My theory was that if you had breasts, boys wanted to have sex with you, which wasn't exactly a big compliment, since they wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/my-theory-was-that-if-you-had-breasts-boys-wanted-to-have-sex-with/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

> [I live by Edith Whartons rule to get rid of anything neither useful nor beautiful. So I put the TV out on the street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/i-live-by-edith-whartons-rule-to-get-rid-of-anything-neither-useful/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

> [You will say good-bye for all the right reasons. You're tired of living in wait for his apocalypse. You have your own fight on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/you-will-say-good-bye-for-all-the-right-reasons-you-re-tired-of/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

> [“I said, "It's not like that." I wanted to convince her. I said "We think alike." Oh, my dear," she said. "A man thinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/i-said-it-s-not-like-that-i-wanted-to-convince-her-i-said-we-think/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

> [Whenever people say they didn't like the main character of a book, they mean they didn't like the book. The main character has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/whenever-people-say-they-didn-t-like-the-main-character-of-a-book/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

> [It scares me how fast I go from disliking to loving him, and I wonder if it’s this way for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/it-scares-me-how-fast-i-go-from-disliking-to-loving-him-and-i-wonder/)

[Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

[Explore all 85 Melissa Bank quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/)

## More Animal quotes

> [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/)

[Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/)

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/)

[Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/)

> [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/)

[Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/)

> [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/)

[Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/)

> [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/)

[Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/)

> [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/)

[Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/)

> [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/)

[Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/)

> [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/)

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

> [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/)

[Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/)

[Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Nice,' I say, realizing only afterward that I've mimicked her, a bad habit of mine; I'm like one of those animals that imitates its predators to survive.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Melissa Bank"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/nice-i-say-realizing-only-afterward-that-i-ve-mimicked-her-a-bad/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Animal"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/nice-i-say-realizing-only-afterward-that-i-ve-mimicked-her-a-bad/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/melissa-bank-7849_animal_nice-i-say-realizing-only-afterward-that_1243690.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/melissa-bank-7849_animal_nice-i-say-realizing-only-afterward-that_1243690.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/melissa-bank-7849_animal_nice-i-say-realizing-only-afterward-that_1243690.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Nice,' I say, realizing only afterward that I've mimicked her, a bad habit of mine; I'm like one of those…” — Melissa Bank",
                "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": "Melissa Bank",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Nice,' I say, realizing only afterward...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/nice-i-say-realizing-only-afterward-that-i-ve-mimicked-her-a-bad/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/nice-i-say-realizing-only-afterward-that-i-ve-mimicked-her-a-bad/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
