--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think I was very happy, and the…" description: "\"“I don't think I was very happy, and the problem with being a thirteen-year-old depressive is that when the rest of life is so uproarious, which it inv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/nick-hornby-325_childhood_i-don-t-think-i-was-very-happy-and-the-p_1855858.png" --- # I don't think I was very happy, and the problem with being… ![“I don't think I was very happy, and the problem with being a thirteen-year-old depressive is that when the rest of life is so uproarious, which it invariably is, there is no suitable context for the gloom.” quote by Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/nick-hornby-325_childhood_i-don-t-think-i-was-very-happy-and-the-p_1855858.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/nick-hornby-325_childhood_i-don-t-think-i-was-very-happy-and-the-p_1855858.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/nick-hornby-325_childhood_i-don-t-think-i-was-very-happy-and-the-p_1855858.png) > ““I don't think I was very happy, and the problem with being a thirteen-year-old depressive is that when the rest of life is so uproarious, which it invariably is, there is no suitable context for the gloom.”” [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A teenage depressive feels out of place when surrounding life is noisy and chaotic, lacking a suitable context for their gloom. **In simple terms:** Teenagers can feel isolated when the world feels too loud. Key Takeaway Seek supportive spaces that validate all emotions. Themes adolescence mental health social context loneliness Mood empathetic reflective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - school - family gatherings - online communities - therapy sessions Key Concepts depression contextual mismatch emotional isolation Questions to Reflect On - How can we create inclusive environments for varied emotional states? - What role does community play in normalizing melancholy? A Different Perspective Societal pressure to stay upbeat can marginalize those feeling down. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Depressive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressive/) [Gloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gloom/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Rest of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest-of-life/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) ## Related quotes > [I think I am naturally depressive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-think-i-am-naturally-depressive/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I've had countless conversations with or about people who are "sleeping in separate bedrooms", as if sleeping in the same bed is all there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-ve-had-countless-conversations-with-or-about-people-who-are/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [Not for the first time in my life, and certainly not for the last, a self-righteous gloom had edged out all semblance of logic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/not-for-the-first-time-in-my-life-and-certainly-not-for-the-last-a/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [It's just that romance, with its dips and turns and glooms and highs, its swoops and swoons and blues, is a natural metaphor for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/it-s-just-that-romance-with-its-dips-and-turns-and-glooms-and-highs/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [Having a thirteen-year-old in the family is like having a general-admission ticket to the movies, radio and TV. You get to understand that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lerner/having-a-thirteen-year-old-in-the-family-is-like-having-a-general/) [Max Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lerner/) > [“That her niece should find such profound pleasure in the company of a thirteen-year-old black girl--and, more to the point, always within the precincts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcdowell/that-her-niece-should-find-such-profound-pleasure-in-the-company-of-a/) [Michael McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcdowell/) > [“Andrew would also drape his arm around my shoulders and then leave it there. Don't get me wrong, there's a thirteen-year-old girl inside of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-thompson/andrew-would-also-drape-his-arm-around-my-shoulders-and-then-leave-it/) [Alicia Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-thompson/) > [I was a thirteen-year-old boy for thirty years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-rooney/i-was-a-thirteen-year-old-boy-for-thirty-years/) [Mickey Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-rooney/) > [“I'm apparently in love with a thirteen-year-old who makes lewd sex jokes in public, shamelessly plays footsy with me under the table the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-banner/i-m-apparently-in-love-with-a-thirteen-year-old-who-makes-lewd-sex/) [Daryl Banner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-banner/) > [“Most days I woke up brimming with a sudden terror--that I'd forgotten to do essential things, that I'd never make friends in Colorado, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-read/most-days-i-woke-up-brimming-with-a-sudden-terror-that-i-d-forgotten/) Cornelia Read > [“Chucking her under her chin, he said, "What are you doing here, honey? You're not even old enough to know how bad life gets."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/chucking-her-under-her-chin-he-said-what-are-you-doing-here-honey-you/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“We were typical, happy thirteen-year-olds who were going out - which meant we never talked or really acknowledged one another. It was wonderful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-munn/we-were-typical-happy-thirteen-year-olds-who-were-going-out-which/) [Olivia Munn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-munn/) > [A thirteen-year-old is a kaleidoscope of different personalities, if not in most ways a mere figment of her own imagination. At that age, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/a-thirteen-year-old-is-a-kaleidoscope-of-different-personalities-if/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [“Dr. Armonson stitched up her wrist wounds. Within five minutes of the transfusion he declared her out of danger. Chucking her under the chin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/dr-armonson-stitched-up-her-wrist-wounds-within-five-minutes-of-the/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [Dan," she said. "I'm worried about him. It's not right that a thirteen-year-old knows as much as he does bout stealing things." " You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-smith/dan-she-said-i-m-worried-about-him-it-s-not-right-that-a-thirteen/) [Roland Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-smith/) ## More by Nick Hornby > [You can wait forever for the muse to sit on your shoulder, but most of the time you know what has to be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-wait-forever-for-the-muse-to-sit-on-your-shoulder-but-most-of/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > […I've had a bad week." What's happened?" Nothing's happened. I've had a bad week in my head, is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-ve-had-a-bad-week-what-s-happened-nothing-s-happened-i-ve-had-a-bad/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“When they – I cannot bring myself to use the first-person plural in this instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/when-they-i-cannot-bring-myself-to-use-the-first-person-plural-in/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“What you don't ever catch a glimpse of on your wedding day - because how could you? - is that some days you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/what-you-don-t-ever-catch-a-glimpse-of-on-your-wedding-day-because/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You've got to kick off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/a-good-compilation-tape-like-breaking-up-is-hard-to-do-and-takes-ages/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I'm still not a very good white wine, but I'm drinkable - you could put me in a punch, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-m-still-not-a-very-good-white-wine-but-i-m-drinkable-you-could-put/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I never mind the accusations of domesticity, as long as people recognise that all of us, even the luckiest, will live lives in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-never-mind-the-accusations-of-domesticity-as-long-as-people/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I wasted the 1980s. I wasted every minute at Cambridge talking to people who knew more about music than I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-wasted-the-1980s-i-wasted-every-minute-at-cambridge-talking-to/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I took her outside on to a little roof terrace that looked like it never got the sun at nay time of the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-took-her-outside-on-to-a-little-roof-terrace-that-looked-like-it/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I feel as though I have been having conversations like this all my life. None of us is young anymore, but what has just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-feel-as-though-i-have-been-having-conversations-like-this-all-my/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I'm OK. Really. I can find people. I'll be all right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-m-ok-really-i-can-find-people-i-ll-be-all-right/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Read any women's magazine and you'll see the same complaint over and over again: men - those little boys ten or twenty or thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/read-any-women-s-magazine-and-you-ll-see-the-same-complaint-over-and/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Defansçılar her zaman forvetçilerden daha iyi analizcilerdir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/defans-lar-her-zaman-forvet-ilerden-daha-iyi-analizcilerdir/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [On New Year's Eve he ould make a resolution to recover some his previous scepticism, but until then he would do as the Romans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/on-new-year-s-eve-he-ould-make-a-resolution-to-recover-some-his/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [It's no good looking to writers for definitions of what constitutes proper writing, because you will drive yourself crazy, and you won't find anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/it-s-no-good-looking-to-writers-for-definitions-of-what-constitutes/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) [Explore all 645 Nick Hornby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) ## More Childhood quotes > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [“From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/from-childhood-s-hour-i-have-not-been-as-others-were-i-have-not-seen/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [I had a rough upbringing. Group homes. Foster homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shamrock/i-had-a-rough-upbringing-group-homes-foster-homes/) [Frank Shamrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shamrock/) > [When I talk about my childhood I used to say it as if it was scripted and I'd make jokes because it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/when-i-talk-about-my-childhood-i-used-to-say-it-as-if-it-was-scripted/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [Downstairs in my house, I have a museum room. I keep all of my awards down there, and childhood photos, and even all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/downstairs-in-my-house-i-have-a-museum-room-i-keep-all-of-my-awards/) [R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [On paper, it looks rough, but I had a great childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-morton/on-paper-it-looks-rough-but-i-had-a-great-childhood/) [Samantha Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-morton/) > [Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/let-positive-strong-helpful-thoughts-enter-into-your-brains-from-very/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-started-to-draw-let-alone-write-if-my/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) [Browse all 5,837 Childhood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I don't think I was very happy, and the problem with being a thirteen-year-old depressive is that when the rest of life is so uproarious, which it invariably is, there is no suitable context for the gloom.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nick Hornby" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-don-t-think-i-was-very-happy-and-the-problem-with-being-a-thirteen/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Childhood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-don-t-think-i-was-very-happy-and-the-problem-with-being-a-thirteen/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/nick-hornby-325_childhood_i-don-t-think-i-was-very-happy-and-the-p_1855858.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/nick-hornby-325_childhood_i-don-t-think-i-was-very-happy-and-the-p_1855858.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/nick-hornby-325_childhood_i-don-t-think-i-was-very-happy-and-the-p_1855858.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't think I was very happy, and the problem with being a thirteen-year-old depressive is that when the…” — Nick Hornby", "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": "Nick Hornby", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I don't think I was very...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-don-t-think-i-was-very-happy-and-the-problem-with-being-a-thirteen/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-don-t-think-i-was-very-happy-and-the-problem-with-being-a-thirteen/#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 } } ] } ```