--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Before I met Maria, I was your basic…" description: "\"“Before I met Maria, I was your basic craven hermit. I spent most of my time in my room, in love with my walls, hiding out from the world with my fanzi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/rob-sheffield-1368_english-major_before-i-met-maria-i-was-your-basic-crav_2194597.jpg" --- # Before I met Maria, I was your basic craven hermit. I… ![“Before I met Maria, I was your basic craven hermit. I spent most of my time in my room, in love with my walls, hiding out from the world with my fanzines and my records. I thought I was happier that way. I had developed these monastic habits to protect myself from something, probably, but whatever…” quote by Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/rob-sheffield-1368_english-major_before-i-met-maria-i-was-your-basic-crav_2194597.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/rob-sheffield-1368_english-major_before-i-met-maria-i-was-your-basic-crav_2194597.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/rob-sheffield-1368_english-major_before-i-met-maria-i-was-your-basic-crav_2194597.jpg) > ““Before I met Maria, I was your basic craven hermit. I spent most of my time in my room, in love with my walls, hiding out from the world with my fanzines and my records. I thought I was happier that way. I had developed these monastic habits to protect myself from something, probably, but whatever it was, the monastic habits had turned into the bigger problem. In my headphones, I led a life of romance and incident and intrigue, none of which had anything to do with the world outside my Walkman. I was an English major, obsessed with Oscar Wilde and Walter Pater and Algernon Swinburne, thrilling to the exploits of my decadent aesthete poet idols, even though my only experience with decadence was reading about it.”” [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Isolation can become a habit that later hinders growth; escaping reality via media creates false comfort. **In simple terms:** Isolation can become harmful. Key Takeaway Break out of self‑imposed walls. Themes isolation media growth selfawareness Mood introspective hopeful Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - college life - creative work - personal development Key Concepts selfimposed habits escapism Questions to Reflect On - How do your habits protect you? - What steps can you take to engage with the world? A Different Perspective Comfort zones can be hard to leave. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [English major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-major/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) ## Related quotes > [This specially for some people I met here...Maria,Tenzin, Vishu (GRRR), Mary, Aman, Hani, Courtney, Rizo, Sam, Victoria,Stephanie,Mayma(:P)Emma, and nina.. Thanks a lot peeps.. love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vishnu/this-specially-for-some-people-i-met-here-maria-tenzin-vishu-grrr/) [Vishnu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vishnu/) > [“I will find you another long-forgotten Queen Mab poem in no time. Depend on it. I refuse to let Cody or anyone else know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-millar/i-will-find-you-another-long-forgotten-queen-mab-poem-in-no-time/) [Martin Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-millar/) > [I do tend to be an analyzer. I'm an old English major from way back, so I do have fun tearing apart texts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-nixon/i-do-tend-to-be-an-analyzer-i-m-an-old-english-major-from-way-back-so/) [Cynthia Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-nixon/) > [My roommate in college in Austin, Texas, was Wes Anderson. Wes always wanted to be a director. I was an English major in college,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wilson/my-roommate-in-college-in-austin-texas-was-wes-anderson-wes-always/) [Owen Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wilson/) > [There's no doubt that scientific training helps many authors to write better science fiction. And yet, several of the very best were English majors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/there-s-no-doubt-that-scientific-training-helps-many-authors-to-write/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“Sylvia Plath" A miniature mad talent? Sylvia Plath, who'll wipe off the spit of your integrity, rising in the saddle to slash at Auschwitz,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/sylvia-plath-a-miniature-mad-talent-sylvia-plath-who-ll-wipe-off-the/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [More than anything, being an English major made me more appreciative of authors and what an incredible feat it is to just finish a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mangan/more-than-anything-being-an-english-major-made-me-more-appreciative/) [Dan Mangan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mangan/) > [During his weekly address to the nation, President Obama discussed higher education and said, 'The most important skill you can sell is your knowledge.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/during-his-weekly-address-to-the-nation-president-obama-discussed/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [The number one secret of being a successful writer is this: marry an English major.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-number-one-secret-of-being-a-successful-writer-is-this-marry-an/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [“I swear on Peter Stuyvesant’s peg leg that the country that became the U.S. bears a closer family resemblance to the devil-may-care merchants of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/i-swear-on-peter-stuyvesant-s-peg-leg-that-the-country-that-became/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [The feeling persists that no one can simultaneously be a respectable writer and understand how a refrigerator works, just as no gentleman wears a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-feeling-persists-that-no-one-can-simultaneously-be-a-respectable/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The English major reads because, as rich as the one life he has may be, one life is not enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-edmundson/the-english-major-reads-because-as-rich-as-the-one-life-he-has-may-be/) [Mark Edmundson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-edmundson/) > [“I suppose I could have been nicer when I was at Columbia. I could have been polite, respectful, turned in my papers on time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/i-suppose-i-could-have-been-nicer-when-i-was-at-columbia-i-could-have/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [“It's my job as best friend to make sure he's not a serial killer. Or an English major, not sure which one's worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/it-s-my-job-as-best-friend-to-make-sure-he-s-not-a-serial-killer-or/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [I ended up doing four or five plays in college and being an English major with my thesis in language acquisition, which I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/i-ended-up-doing-four-or-five-plays-in-college-and-being-an-english/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) ## More by Rob Sheffield > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I suck at fighting. I have never really learned how to talk and be mad at the same time. If I have angry words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-suck-at-fighting-i-have-never-really-learned-how-to-talk-and-be-mad/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [Morrissey was my Mrs. Garrett, the house mother from the Facts of Life, a soothing adult figure giving me words of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/morrissey-was-my-mrs-garrett-the-house-mother-from-the-facts-of-life/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I had never gotten the hang of dating — I was always going to be somebody who either had a girlfriend or didn't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-had-never-gotten-the-hang-of-dating-i-was-always-going-to-be/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [The hottest trash-disco star in the world: Ke$ha! She has a lot in common with Kiss, actually, even spelling her name with a dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/the-hottest-trash-disco-star-in-the-world-ke-ha-she-has-a-lot-in/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“on the 11th of every month my friend elizabeth would say, "well we made it through another month. so do we get her back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/on-the-11th-of-every-month-my-friend-elizabeth-would-say-well-we-made/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“What doesn't kill you maims you, cripples you, leaves you weak, makes you whiny and full of yourself at the same time. The more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/what-doesn-t-kill-you-maims-you-cripples-you-leaves-you-weak-makes/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“But when you're a teenage boy, you can be narrow-minded about things that are girlie, things that are frivolous, things that are pop. Boys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/but-when-you-re-a-teenage-boy-you-can-be-narrow-minded-about-things/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I've never heard of anybody getting rid of their prized Exile postcards, much less actually writing on them and sending them through the mail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-ve-never-heard-of-anybody-getting-rid-of-their-prized-exile/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's always that one song that gets to you. You can hide, but the song comes to find you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/it-s-always-that-one-song-that-gets-to-you-you-can-hide-but-the-song/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [There are all kinds of mix tapes. there is always a reason to make one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/there-are-all-kinds-of-mix-tapes-there-is-always-a-reason-to-make-one/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“By the time you're an adult, you're used to seeing your friends disappear into their five-year plans. They drop out to get married, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/by-the-time-you-re-an-adult-you-re-used-to-seeing-your-friends/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“Last fall, I was sitting at the kitchen table of two friends who have been together since 1972. They tell me a story about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/last-fall-i-was-sitting-at-the-kitchen-table-of-two-friends-who-have/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [Tonight, I feel like my whole body is made out of memories. I'm a mix-tape, a cassette that's been rewound so many times you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/tonight-i-feel-like-my-whole-body-is-made-out-of-memories-i-m-a-mix/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“You're in a physical landscape you share with this bizarre and fundamentally alien creature, not alien because she's female but alien because you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/you-re-in-a-physical-landscape-you-share-with-this-bizarre-and/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) [Explore all 249 Rob Sheffield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) ## More English major quotes > [I ended up doing four or five plays in college and being an English major with my thesis in language acquisition, which I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/i-ended-up-doing-four-or-five-plays-in-college-and-being-an-english/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [“It's my job as best friend to make sure he's not a serial killer. Or an English major, not sure which one's worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/it-s-my-job-as-best-friend-to-make-sure-he-s-not-a-serial-killer-or/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [“I suppose I could have been nicer when I was at Columbia. I could have been polite, respectful, turned in my papers on time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/i-suppose-i-could-have-been-nicer-when-i-was-at-columbia-i-could-have/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [“The English major reads because, as rich as the one life he has may be, one life is not enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-edmundson/the-english-major-reads-because-as-rich-as-the-one-life-he-has-may-be/) [Mark Edmundson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-edmundson/) > [The feeling persists that no one can simultaneously be a respectable writer and understand how a refrigerator works, just as no gentleman wears a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-feeling-persists-that-no-one-can-simultaneously-be-a-respectable/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I swear on Peter Stuyvesant’s peg leg that the country that became the U.S. bears a closer family resemblance to the devil-may-care merchants of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/i-swear-on-peter-stuyvesant-s-peg-leg-that-the-country-that-became/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [The number one secret of being a successful writer is this: marry an English major.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-number-one-secret-of-being-a-successful-writer-is-this-marry-an/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [During his weekly address to the nation, President Obama discussed higher education and said, 'The most important skill you can sell is your knowledge.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/during-his-weekly-address-to-the-nation-president-obama-discussed/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [More than anything, being an English major made me more appreciative of authors and what an incredible feat it is to just finish a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mangan/more-than-anything-being-an-english-major-made-me-more-appreciative/) [Dan Mangan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mangan/) > [“Sylvia Plath" A miniature mad talent? Sylvia Plath, who'll wipe off the spit of your integrity, rising in the saddle to slash at Auschwitz,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/sylvia-plath-a-miniature-mad-talent-sylvia-plath-who-ll-wipe-off-the/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [There's no doubt that scientific training helps many authors to write better science fiction. And yet, several of the very best were English majors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/there-s-no-doubt-that-scientific-training-helps-many-authors-to-write/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [My roommate in college in Austin, Texas, was Wes Anderson. Wes always wanted to be a director. I was an English major in college,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wilson/my-roommate-in-college-in-austin-texas-was-wes-anderson-wes-always/) [Owen Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wilson/) > [I do tend to be an analyzer. I'm an old English major from way back, so I do have fun tearing apart texts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-nixon/i-do-tend-to-be-an-analyzer-i-m-an-old-english-major-from-way-back-so/) [Cynthia Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-nixon/) > [“I will find you another long-forgotten Queen Mab poem in no time. Depend on it. I refuse to let Cody or anyone else know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-millar/i-will-find-you-another-long-forgotten-queen-mab-poem-in-no-time/) [Martin Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-millar/) > [“You going back?' he asks. 'Where?' 'College,' he says. 'You plan on going back?' And before she can think of a proper answer, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-anderson-jr/you-going-back-he-asks-where-college-he-says-you-plan-on-going-back/) [Patrick Anderson Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-anderson-jr/) [Browse all 81 English major quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-major/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Before I met Maria, I was your basic craven hermit. I spent most of my time in my room, in love with my walls, hiding out from the world with my fanzines and my records. I thought I was happier that way. I had developed these monastic habits to protect myself from something, probably, but whatever it was, the monastic habits had turned into the bigger problem. In my headphones, I led a life of romance and incident and intrigue, none of which had anything to do with the world outside my Walkman. 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