--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I got married at 17, had three kids by…" description: "\"I got married at 17, had three kids by the time I was 24, and have never had much time alone. I never had time to develop hobbies. Now, if I have nothi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a2/michael-learned-30182_alone_i-got-married-at-17-had-three-kids-by-th_1721504.jpg" --- # I got married at 17, had three kids by the time I was 24… ![“I got married at 17, had three kids by the time I was 24, and have never had much time alone. I never had time to develop hobbies. Now, if I have nothing to do, I just find myself cleaning drawers incessantly.” quote by Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a2/michael-learned-30182_alone_i-got-married-at-17-had-three-kids-by-th_1721504.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a2/michael-learned-30182_alone_i-got-married-at-17-had-three-kids-by-th_1721504.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a2/michael-learned-30182_alone_i-got-married-at-17-had-three-kids-by-th_1721504.jpg) > “I got married at 17, had three kids by the time I was 24, and have never had much time alone. I never had time to develop hobbies. Now, if I have nothing to do, I just find myself cleaning drawers incessantly.” [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early responsibilities limited personal time, leading to compulsive organizing as a coping habit. **In simple terms:** Busy life can create compulsive habits. Key Takeaway Find balanced personal time. Themes family responsibility time scarcity compulsive behavior Mood reflective hopeful Type self‑help psychological When to use this quote - parenting - career development - stress management Key Concepts coping mechanisms habit formation work‑life balance Questions to Reflect On - What healthy outlets can replace compulsive cleaning? - How can you schedule intentional downtime? A Different Perspective May mask underlying unmet needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) [By the time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/by-the-time/) [Cleaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleaning/) [Cleaning Drawers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleaning-drawers-1343368/) [Develop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/develop/) [Develop Hobbies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/develop-hobbies-1343366/) [Find](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find/) [Got](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Hobbies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hobbies/) [Hobbies Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hobbies-just-1343367/) [Incessantly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incessantly/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Married](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/married/) [Married 17](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/married-17-1343365/) [Much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/much/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myself/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-alone/) ## Related quotes > [My hobbies just sort of gradually became my vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-yankovic/my-hobbies-just-sort-of-gradually-became-my-vocation/) [Al Yankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-yankovic/) > [I have not had any opportunity to develop any hobbies, habits, anything like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annamie-paul/i-have-not-had-any-opportunity-to-develop-any-hobbies-habits-anything/) [Annamie Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annamie-paul/) > [My family was, I think, a bit more radical than most Mormons, especially on the question of gender. So in my mind, growing up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/my-family-was-i-think-a-bit-more-radical-than-most-mormons-especially/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [I was schooled at home, then didn't go to university because I married when I was 17. I didn't go into work until late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolina-herrera/i-was-schooled-at-home-then-didn-t-go-to-university-because-i-married/) [Carolina Herrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolina-herrera/) > [I learned years ago, I adore acting and I think it's the most alive I know how to be - almost - but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-turner/i-learned-years-ago-i-adore-acting-and-i-think-it-s-the-most-alive-i/) [Kathleen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-turner/) > [I've been married for 17 years and you know how the actors say, "It's really technical. Those scenes are not sexy. They're just so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-mann/i-ve-been-married-for-17-years-and-you-know-how-the-actors-say-it-s/) [Leslie Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-mann/) > [My wife - I married my onscreen girlfriend from 'Growing Pains', Mike Seaver's girlfriend, and we've been married for 17 years - so marriage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-cameron/my-wife-i-married-my-onscreen-girlfriend-from-growing-pains-mike/) [Kirk Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-cameron/) > [I was married when I was 17. I knew nothing. I was full of romance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-swanson/i-was-married-when-i-was-17-i-knew-nothing-i-was-full-of-romance/) [Gloria Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-swanson/) > [Nobody should get married at 17.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-vanderbilt/nobody-should-get-married-at-17/) [Gloria Vanderbilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-vanderbilt/) > [The good thing about Pittsburgh, it's a good place to be raised... it doesn't tolerate assholes. You're either a good guy or you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/the-good-thing-about-pittsburgh-it-s-a-good-place-to-be-raised-it/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [The creation continues incessantly through the media of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-creation-continues-incessantly-through-the-media-of-man/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had bought two male chimps from a primate colony in Holland. They lived next to each other in separate cages for several months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiaan-barnard/i-had-bought-two-male-chimps-from-a-primate-colony-in-holland-they/) [Christiaan Barnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiaan-barnard/) > [Love clamors far more incessantly and passionately at a closed gate than an open one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-corelli/love-clamors-far-more-incessantly-and-passionately-at-a-closed-gate/) [Marie Corelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-corelli/) > [Do what you know you ought to do. Why should we ever go abroad, even across the way, to ask a neighbor's advice? There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/do-what-you-know-you-ought-to-do-why-should-we-ever-go-abroad-even/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [If you want to know how to make people shun you and laugh at you behind your back and even despise you, here is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-want-to-know-how-to-make-people-shun-you-and-laugh-at-you/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) ## More by Michael Learned > [If you care about what you do, you don't want to let people down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/if-you-care-about-what-you-do-you-don-t-want-to-let-people-down/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) > [All of us from The Waltons still love each other. I think were closer than some real families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/all-of-us-from-the-waltons-still-love-each-other-i-think-were-closer/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) > [I don't mean to insult television, but a lot of the time, it's pretty straightforward. If you say, 'I love you,' you mean 'I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/i-don-t-mean-to-insult-television-but-a-lot-of-the-time-it-s-pretty/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) > [I'm grateful that I have a theater career because television isn't kind to you when you're over forty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/i-m-grateful-that-i-have-a-theater-career-because-television-isn-t/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) > [I dont mean to insult television, but a lot of the time, its pretty straightforward. If you say, I love you, you mean I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/i-dont-mean-to-insult-television-but-a-lot-of-the-time-its-pretty/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) > [For a long time, I resisted seeing 'The Sound of Music,' but when I finally did, I cried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/for-a-long-time-i-resisted-seeing-the-sound-of-music-but-when-i/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) > [I got married very young and put my career on the back burner for the most part because that's what you did in those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/i-got-married-very-young-and-put-my-career-on-the-back-burner-for-the/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) > [Nobody can understand the pressures of doing an hour-long TV show unless you've done one. Even when you're not on call, you still are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/nobody-can-understand-the-pressures-of-doing-an-hour-long-tv-show/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) > [I used to pride myself on the fact that I kept a house running and never burdened anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/i-used-to-pride-myself-on-the-fact-that-i-kept-a-house-running-and/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) > [I was certainly typecast for a while on television because I was always being cast as the 'compassionate mother' or whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/i-was-certainly-typecast-for-a-while-on-television-because-i-was/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) > [I used to love people for what they could be. I thought love was how hard you tried and how much you sacrificed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/i-used-to-love-people-for-what-they-could-be-i-thought-love-was-how/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) > [All of us from 'The Waltons' still love each other. I think we're closer than some real families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/all-of-us-from-the-waltons-still-love-each-other-i-think-we-re-closer/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) > [When I was a girl, my grandmother would take me during the holidays to see the windows at Saks and Rockefeller Center.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/when-i-was-a-girl-my-grandmother-would-take-me-during-the-holidays-to/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) > [As an actor, one of my greatest fears is losing my memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/as-an-actor-one-of-my-greatest-fears-is-losing-my-memory/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) > [I never had a driving ambition to be a star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-learned/i-never-had-a-driving-ambition-to-be-a-star/) [Michael Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) [Explore all 17 Michael Learned quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-learned/) ## More Alone quotes > [I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-taken-away-from-myself-quite-easily-i-kind-of-start/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [Perhaps our own opposition to even the level of European integration we have now, let alone any more, is well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/perhaps-our-own-opposition-to-even-the-level-of-european-integration/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/) [Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/) > [With my songs, the question is always, 'Can you pull it off live, alone on just an acoustic guitar?' That's the litmus test. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-colvin/with-my-songs-the-question-is-always-can-you-pull-it-off-live-alone/) [Shawn Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-colvin/) > [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. I go to sleep when I'm tired, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-should-have-liked-to-get-married-but-over-many-decades-i-have-lived/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [I am not alone in that I've had times of unemployment - unemployment is huge amongst disabled people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-jones/i-am-not-alone-in-that-i-ve-had-times-of-unemployment-unemployment-is/) [Rosie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-jones/) > [I never knew a heart could feel so cold so empty so broken until now , I don't know what to say I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-knew-a-heart-could-feel-so-cold-so-empty-so-broken-until-now/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you're disabled or different from what general society deems normal, it's fine. There will always be people who won't accept you, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-simmonds/if-you-re-disabled-or-different-from-what-general-society-deems/) [Millicent Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-simmonds/) > [Real love is a permanently self-enlarging experience…A Journey With My Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luckybannu/real-love-is-a-permanently-self-enlarging-experience-a-journey-with/) [Luckybannu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luckybannu/) > [“What I'm trying to say is that I spent the last four months learning to be alone, avoiding the world, hating pretty much anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-cremer/what-i-m-trying-to-say-is-that-i-spent-the-last-four-months-learning/) [Andrea Cremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-cremer/) > [I'm used to being alone in a quiet, isolated environment - I'm kind of a low-energy, low-vibration, low-stamina person to begin with - so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-m-used-to-being-alone-in-a-quiet-isolated-environment-i-m-kind-of-a/) [Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I have developed a nasty habit of losing to the guy who wins the tournament, and that alone makes you think what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-robertson/i-have-developed-a-nasty-habit-of-losing-to-the-guy-who-wins-the/) [Neil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-robertson/) > [As a child, I was this record collector/listener that would sit in a room and listen to the entire Beatles catalog alone, over and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/as-a-child-i-was-this-record-collector-listener-that-would-sit-in-a/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) > [How one hates to think of oneself as alone. How one avoids it. It seems to imply rejection or unpopularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/how-one-hates-to-think-of-oneself-as-alone-how-one-avoids-it-it-seems/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) [Browse all 3,082 Alone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I got married at 17, had three kids by the time I was 24, and have never had much time alone. I never had time to develop hobbies. 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