--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So many things that seemed crucial and…" description: "\"So many things that seemed crucial and excruciatingly hard ended and then didn't matter anymore, forever after\" — Mona Simpson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/mona-simpson-11854_ended_so-many-things-that-seemed-crucial-and-e_1143843.png" --- # So many things that seemed crucial and excruciatingly hard… ![“So many things that seemed crucial and excruciatingly hard ended and then didn't matter anymore, forever after” quote by Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/mona-simpson-11854_ended_so-many-things-that-seemed-crucial-and-e_1143843.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/mona-simpson-11854_ended_so-many-things-that-seemed-crucial-and-e_1143843.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/mona-simpson-11854_ended_so-many-things-that-seemed-crucial-and-e_1143843.png) > “So many things that seemed crucial and excruciatingly hard ended and then didn't matter anymore, forever after” [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hardships that once seemed vital and painful often lose their importance over time, revealing their temporary nature. **In simple terms:** Big problems can become insignificant later. Key Takeaway Focus on present challenges, not future anxieties. Themes growth perspective impermanence Mood thoughtful calm Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - career setbacks - personal loss - health crises - relationship issues Key Concepts existential reflection psychology Questions to Reflect On - Which past difficulty feels less important now? - How does this perspective affect current decisions? A Different Perspective Not all struggles fade; some leave lasting impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crucial Excruciatingly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crucial-excruciatingly-3200445/) [Ended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ended/) [Ended Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ended-didn-3200447/) [Ever after](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ever-after/) [Excruciatingly Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excruciatingly-hard-3200446/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Hard Ended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-ended-308846/) [Letting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letting/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) ## Related quotes > [“A friendship that can be ended didn't ever start.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mellin-de-saint-gelais/a-friendship-that-can-be-ended-didn-t-ever-start/) [Mellin de Saint-Gelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mellin-de-saint-gelais/) > [Just because a marriage ended didn't mean that it hadn't been happy at times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/just-because-a-marriage-ended-didn-t-mean-that-it-hadn-t-been-happy/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) > [“A friendship that can be ended didn't even stand”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mellin-de-saint-gelais/a-friendship-that-can-be-ended-didn-t-even-stand/) [Mellin de Saint-Gelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mellin-de-saint-gelais/) > [When we started Aftermath, we had something like 20 artists, and it was driving me crazy. I couldn't sit down and focus on any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-dre/when-we-started-aftermath-we-had-something-like-20-artists-and-it-was/) [Dr. Dre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-dre/) > [Your story isn't over yet. a semi colon is used when a sentence could have ended but it didn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loi/your-story-isn-t-over-yet-a-semi-colon-is-used-when-a-sentence-could/) [Loi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loi/) > [Feel lucky for what you have when you have it. Isn't that the point? Happily ever after doesn't mean happy forever. The ever after,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/feel-lucky-for-what-you-have-when-you-have-it-isn-t-that-the-point/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [There is no need for revenge. Living happily ever after is a sign that you have not let the past beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-need-for-revenge-living-happily-ever-after-is-a-sign-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do you know why happily ever after is a lie?" Snow asked. "Because life is change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-c-hines/do-you-know-why-happily-ever-after-is-a-lie-snow-asked-because-life/) [Jim C. Hines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-c-hines/) > [Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/cinderella-and-the-prince-lived-they-say-happily-ever-after-like-two/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [That means life itself is a fairy tale. Like the characters, we all live and love and search for a happily-ever-after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/that-means-life-itself-is-a-fairy-tale-like-the-characters-we-all/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [- "Women should all move to Amazonia, or at least vacation there four times a year." - "Amazonia?" - "It's the girl world in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/women-should-all-move-to-amazonia-or-at-least-vacation-there-four/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [Believe nothing, O monks, just because you have been told it, or it is commonly believed, or because it is traditional or because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/believe-nothing-o-monks-just-because-you-have-been-told-it-or-it-is/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Happily ever after never happens in the second act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyd-k-packer/happily-ever-after-never-happens-in-the-second-act/) [Boyd K. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyd-k-packer/) > [True love is taking the risk that it won't be a happily-ever-after. True love is joining hands with the man who loves you for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cara-lockwood/true-love-is-taking-the-risk-that-it-won-t-be-a-happily-ever-after/) [Cara Lockwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cara-lockwood/) > [Had I been brighter, the ladies been gentler, the Scotch been weaker, had the gods been kinder, had the dice been hotter, this could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-rooney/had-i-been-brighter-the-ladies-been-gentler-the-scotch-been-weaker/) [Mickey Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-rooney/) ## More by Mona Simpson > [“Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Does it improve upon the silence?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/is-it-true-is-it-kind-is-it-necessary-does-it-improve-upon-the-silence/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I've never had an exclusive relationship to a room where I write. I used to want one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-ve-never-had-an-exclusive-relationship-to-a-room-where-i-write-i/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I do have food in my books. Different people eat different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-do-have-food-in-my-books-different-people-eat-different-ways/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I grew up as an only child with a single mother. Because we were poor and because I knew my father had emigrated from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-grew-up-as-an-only-child-with-a-single-mother-because-we-were-poor/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [“A mother's happiness; something you recognize and then forget; it didn't seem to matter much, though it spread through our bodies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/a-mother-s-happiness-something-you-recognize-and-then-forget-it-didn/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I'm a simple cook, and there's a lot I don't eat. But food is important. It translates so easily into pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-m-a-simple-cook-and-there-s-a-lot-i-don-t-eat-but-food-is-important/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I knew I would hate my best memory because it would prove that people could fake love or that love could end or worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-knew-i-would-hate-my-best-memory-because-it-would-prove-that-people/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [Once upon a time, my mother lived in the posh downtown of Homs, Syria. She described my grandfather as a king in a storybook,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/once-upon-a-time-my-mother-lived-in-the-posh-downtown-of-homs-syria/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [In my 30s, I wrote in the back house of a ramshackle Spanish Revival we rented across from the ocean in the Santa Monica…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/in-my-30s-i-wrote-in-the-back-house-of-a-ramshackle-spanish-revival/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I read a lot of books about psychopaths. I read a wonderful book Amy Hempel gave me about the guy who created criminal profiling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-read-a-lot-of-books-about-psychopaths-i-read-a-wonderful-book-amy/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/fashion-is-what-seems-beautiful-now-but-looks-ugly-later-art-can-be/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I eventually made the reunion with my father that I'd used as a default daydream throughout my childhood, but by then, we'd both outgrown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-eventually-made-the-reunion-with-my-father-that-i-d-used-as-a/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I remember the excitement of finding a great pancake recipe in 'Gourmet.' It felt as if it were mine. And it was Berkeley, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-remember-the-excitement-of-finding-a-great-pancake-recipe-in/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [Gossip is essentially storytelling: storytelling about people whom we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/gossip-is-essentially-storytelling-storytelling-about-people-whom-we/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > ['Casebook' is my attempt at a love story. I had a vision of a difficult love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/casebook-is-my-attempt-at-a-love-story-i-had-a-vision-of-a-difficult/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) [Explore all 57 Mona Simpson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) ## More Ended quotes > [I studied philosophy and ended on sociology. For some reason, all the advanced courses in philosophy were offered 4:30 to 6:30, so I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-jackson/i-studied-philosophy-and-ended-on-sociology-for-some-reason-all-the/) [Lawrence Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-jackson/) > [I didn't finish high school - left home when I was 15. I moved away to Fresno and worked as a grocery clerk. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-covey/i-didn-t-finish-high-school-left-home-when-i-was-15-i-moved-away-to/) [Joy Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-covey/) > [I ended up becoming so self-conscious that my songs stopped being about my life and started being about what people thought of my music.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-phair/i-ended-up-becoming-so-self-conscious-that-my-songs-stopped-being/) [Liz Phair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-phair/) > [Everything is ended if you forgive and forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/everything-is-ended-if-you-forgive-and-forget/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [My whole life sort of ended when my mom died.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/my-whole-life-sort-of-ended-when-my-mom-died/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [I stayed in the astronaut program until 1993. People ask me why I left. I thought I had a lot of things to contribute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-stayed-in-the-astronaut-program-until-1993-people-ask-me-why-i-left/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [I just put myself in a hotel and was smoking coke for a while. Then I met up with the wrong people. I ended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-wallice/i-just-put-myself-in-a-hotel-and-was-smoking-coke-for-a-while-then-i/) [Marc Wallice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-wallice/) > [History may someday record that the Arab awakening that began with the Arab revolt of 1916 against the Ottomans ended about a century later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/history-may-someday-record-that-the-arab-awakening-that-began-with/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [“The best relationships fade out and you're not even sure when it ended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-c-brown/the-best-relationships-fade-out-and-you-re-not-even-sure-when-it-ended/) [Derrick C. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-c-brown/) > [When I talk about the end of apartheid, I prefer not to claim the honor that I have ended it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-w-de-klerk/when-i-talk-about-the-end-of-apartheid-i-prefer-not-to-claim-the/) [F. W. de Klerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-w-de-klerk/) > [I took Second City out of desperation, and that's what ended up working out. It shows that you should be doing a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hader/i-took-second-city-out-of-desperation-and-that-s-what-ended-up/) [Bill Hader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hader/) > [What's interesting about Stephen Baldwin is that me and Dana Gould were originally cast for 'Bio-Dome' - but Pauly Shore and Baldwin ended up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harland-williams/what-s-interesting-about-stephen-baldwin-is-that-me-and-dana-gould/) [Harland Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harland-williams/) > [I wanted to be a writer and I ended up being a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-colin-campbell/i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-and-i-ended-up-being-a-writer/) [Lady Colin Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-colin-campbell/) > [The character of the monkey just grew from something out of his face and my granddad's personality. They fused, and that's what I ended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-conti/the-character-of-the-monkey-just-grew-from-something-out-of-his-face/) [Nina Conti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-conti/) > [In my mid-twenties, I said to myself: 'I can't perform anymore!' I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't perform for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-kayden/in-my-mid-twenties-i-said-to-myself-i-can-t-perform-anymore-i-didn-t/) [Spencer Kayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-kayden/) [Browse all 625 Ended quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ended/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So many things that seemed crucial and excruciatingly hard ended and then didn't matter anymore, forever after", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mona Simpson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/so-many-things-that-seemed-crucial-and-excruciatingly-hard-ended-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ended" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/so-many-things-that-seemed-crucial-and-excruciatingly-hard-ended-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/mona-simpson-11854_ended_so-many-things-that-seemed-crucial-and-e_1143843.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/mona-simpson-11854_ended_so-many-things-that-seemed-crucial-and-e_1143843.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/mona-simpson-11854_ended_so-many-things-that-seemed-crucial-and-e_1143843.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So many things that seemed crucial and excruciatingly hard ended and then didn't matter anymore, forever after” — Mona Simpson", "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": "Mona Simpson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "So many things that seemed crucial...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/so-many-things-that-seemed-crucial-and-excruciatingly-hard-ended-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/so-many-things-that-seemed-crucial-and-excruciatingly-hard-ended-and/#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 } } ] } ```