--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I sat down to write I just felt like…" description: "\"When I sat down to write I just felt like a geek writing about myself. And then it dawned on me, just because of the way I am, I can't stop talking, an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/paula-poundstone-7706_felt_when-i-sat-down-to-write-i-just-felt-lik_712256.jpg" --- # When I sat down to write I just felt like a geek writing… ![“When I sat down to write I just felt like a geek writing about myself. And then it dawned on me, just because of the way I am, I can't stop talking, and part of the problem is that anything that gets said reminds me of something that happened to me one time, and invariably I cut people off and…” quote by Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/paula-poundstone-7706_felt_when-i-sat-down-to-write-i-just-felt-lik_712256.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/paula-poundstone-7706_felt_when-i-sat-down-to-write-i-just-felt-lik_712256.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/paula-poundstone-7706_felt_when-i-sat-down-to-write-i-just-felt-lik_712256.jpg) > “When I sat down to write I just felt like a geek writing about myself. And then it dawned on me, just because of the way I am, I can't stop talking, and part of the problem is that anything that gets said reminds me of something that happened to me one time, and invariably I cut people off and talk about myself.” [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑centered talk stems from personal trauma, leading to habitual self‑reference and cutting others off. **In simple terms:** Talk about self due to past pain. Key Takeaway Practice active listening, limit self‑focus. Themes communication self‑awareness habit psychology Mood introspective practical Type advice self‑help When to use this quote - therapy sessions - team meetings - friend gatherings - public speaking Key Concepts self‑reference social interaction personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How does your past shape your conversation style? - What steps help you listen more? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex social dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Felt Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-like/) [Geek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geek/) [Geek Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geek-writing-5615976/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Like Geek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-geek-763278/) [One time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-time/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Sat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sat/) [Stop talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-talking/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Dawned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-dawned-5615977/) ## Related quotes > [I feel like geek is about obsession. I feel like I geek out on certain things and that just means it's a mad devotion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-famuyiwa/i-feel-like-geek-is-about-obsession-i-feel-like-i-geek-out-on-certain/) [Rick Famuyiwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-famuyiwa/) > [People come up to me at conventions and say, 'I was such an outcast, I felt like such a geek, and when I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-peterson/people-come-up-to-me-at-conventions-and-say-i-was-such-an-outcast-i/) [Cassandra Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-peterson/) > [Here's why I like geek culture: People like what they like because they like it. They're not trying to fit into any mainstream likes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-bell/here-s-why-i-like-geek-culture-people-like-what-they-like-because/) [Kristen Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-bell/) > [Sam was waiting for her,his gaze sweeping over her. "Looks great." "I look like a geek," Lucy said. "I smell like a brewery. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/sam-was-waiting-for-her-his-gaze-sweeping-over-her-looks-great-i-look/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [I've got two cows licks; when I was a kid, all the boys in school used to have curtains, and my hair never used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/i-ve-got-two-cows-licks-when-i-was-a-kid-all-the-boys-in-school-used/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [I'm like a geek that grew up playing with Star Wars toys and creating action sequences, essentially, with toys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-kinberg/i-m-like-a-geek-that-grew-up-playing-with-star-wars-toys-and-creating/) [Simon Kinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-kinberg/) > [That is not what Geek means to me. We are more than the hobbies that we do or the things that we like. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicia-day/that-is-not-what-geek-means-to-me-we-are-more-than-the-hobbies-that/) [Felicia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicia-day/) > [Among my friends, I am still that guy who is just out of college and nobody treats me like a geek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anoop-menon/among-my-friends-i-am-still-that-guy-who-is-just-out-of-college-and/) [Anoop Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anoop-menon/) > [“Atticus:"I found it difficult not to grin like a geek at a Trekkie convention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/atticus-i-found-it-difficult-not-to-grin-like-a-geek-at-a-trekkie/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [Once you stop talking about the female body empowering itself vis-à-vis male forays or invasions or male demands or the necessity to respond to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/once-you-stop-talking-about-the-female-body-empowering-itself-vis-vis/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [“War is always more complex. Economics, history, religion all have a role, but not for the ones dodging the bullets. They just get blown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-carter/war-is-always-more-complex-economics-history-religion-all-have-a-role/) [Bill Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-carter/) > [“The night we met, we started off with coffee and politics, but it was one of those nights where you just can't stop talking.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steph-campbell/the-night-we-met-we-started-off-with-coffee-and-politics-but-it-was/) [Steph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steph-campbell/) > [“I sat up. Slowly. Between the belly dancing, the fire, the visit to Dave and it's aftermath, the night had taken its toll. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rardin/i-sat-up-slowly-between-the-belly-dancing-the-fire-the-visit-to-dave/) [Jennifer Rardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rardin/) > [“This warmth over the telephone. Is it possible for home to be a person and not a place? Bridgette used to be home to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-perkins/this-warmth-over-the-telephone-is-it-possible-for-home-to-be-a-person/) [Stephanie Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-perkins/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More by Paula Poundstone > [You know, in politics when you come in third, it's a win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-poundstone/you-know-in-politics-when-you-come-in-third-it-s-a-win/) [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) > [The problem with cats is that they get the same exact look whether they see a moth or an ax-murderer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-poundstone/the-problem-with-cats-is-that-they-get-the-same-exact-look-whether/) [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) > [I don't need a holiday or a feast to feel grateful for my children, the sun, the moon, the roof over my head, music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-poundstone/i-don-t-need-a-holiday-or-a-feast-to-feel-grateful-for-my-children/) [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) > [There are really only so many foods and so many ways you can prepare them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-poundstone/there-are-really-only-so-many-foods-and-so-many-ways-you-can-prepare/) [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) > [I like to work on New Year's Eve. It has a nice spirit; a nice feel about it. If you are all about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-poundstone/i-like-to-work-on-new-year-s-eve-it-has-a-nice-spirit-a-nice-feel/) [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) > [I hate it when my hair is engaged in unauthorized activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-poundstone/i-hate-it-when-my-hair-is-engaged-in-unauthorized-activities/) [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) > [“Deep-rooted happiness may require a sense of purpose. If I don't feel that I am in some small way contributing to the greater good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-poundstone/deep-rooted-happiness-may-require-a-sense-of-purpose-if-i-don-t-feel/) [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) > [The wages of sin are death, but by the time taxes are taken out, it's just sort of a tired feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-poundstone/the-wages-of-sin-are-death-but-by-the-time-taxes-are-taken-out-it-s/) [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) > [I did auditions at a club called the Comedy Connection. They wanted nothing to do with me. But one night they were doing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-poundstone/i-did-auditions-at-a-club-called-the-comedy-connection-they-wanted/) [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) > [I can make things, but I don't cook them, exactly. Like salmon, I can stick that in a pan. Or the other day I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-poundstone/i-can-make-things-but-i-don-t-cook-them-exactly-like-salmon-i-can/) [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) > [I've always thought that if my death was imminent, I would read. When I can't focus on a book, I tend to keep reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-poundstone/i-ve-always-thought-that-if-my-death-was-imminent-i-would-read-when-i/) [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) > [I know a little bit about handicapping. If the horse has an IV, you want to stay - away from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-poundstone/i-know-a-little-bit-about-handicapping-if-the-horse-has-an-iv-you/) [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) > [I only do two things in my life, and that's take care of my kids and work. 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The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [Hackney gets a bit of a bad rap, but it's the only place I've ever lived that felt like a community. I know my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-horgan/hackney-gets-a-bit-of-a-bad-rap-but-it-s-the-only-place-i-ve-ever/) [Sharon Horgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-horgan/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [The more I read about feeding times, sleep times and waking-up times, the more inadequate and miserable I felt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-porter/the-more-i-read-about-feeding-times-sleep-times-and-waking-up-times/) [Gail Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-porter/) > [I have touched with a sense of art some people-they felt the love and the life. 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