--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Who had that young man been who had…" description: "\"“Who had that young man been who had thought himself so old and worldly-wise? He was a stranger to me now.”\" — Robin Hobb" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/robin-hobb-489_young-man_who-had-that-young-man-been-who-had-thou_1154630.jpg" --- # Who had that young man been who had thought himself so old… ![“Who had that young man been who had thought himself so old and worldly-wise? He was a stranger to me now.” quote by Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/robin-hobb-489_young-man_who-had-that-young-man-been-who-had-thou_1154630.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/robin-hobb-489_young-man_who-had-that-young-man-been-who-had-thou_1154630.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/robin-hobb-489_young-man_who-had-that-young-man-been-who-had-thou_1154630.jpg) > ““Who had that young man been who had thought himself so old and worldly-wise? He was a stranger to me now.”” [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on aging, feeling that a once‑young, confident person now seems foreign and distant. **In simple terms:** Aging makes one feel like a stranger to themselves. Key Takeaway Embrace change and seek self‑understanding. Themes age identity reflection alienation Mood reflective philosophical Type literary personal When to use this quote - midlife crisis - personal growth - mentorship Key Concepts self‑perception time wisdom Questions to Reflect On - How have you changed over the years? - What parts of yourself feel unfamiliar now? A Different Perspective Self‑recognition can be challenging with time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [Valancy herself had never quite relinquished a certain pitiful, shamed, little hope that Romance would come her way yet—never, until this wet, horrible morning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/valancy-herself-had-never-quite-relinquished-a-certain-pitiful-shamed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Eventually I lost the idea that I could have a career. I thought I was too old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dixie-carter/eventually-i-lost-the-idea-that-i-could-have-a-career-i-thought-i-was/) [Dixie Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dixie-carter/) > [I felt rather exhausted, and wondered, rather shocked at my callous thought, why old people were sometimes such a strain. Worse than young children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-felt-rather-exhausted-and-wondered-rather-shocked-at-my-callous/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“He thought of the old commonplace about how giving up vices didn’t make you live longer, but just made it feel as though you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-connolly/he-thought-of-the-old-commonplace-about-how-giving-up-vices-didn-t/) [John Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-connolly/) > [I suppose my insecurity with dating someone a lot younger would be that he'd get to a point where he thought I was too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleen-nolan/i-suppose-my-insecurity-with-dating-someone-a-lot-younger-would-be/) [Coleen Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleen-nolan/) > [“Georgie never thought she’d be old enough to talk about life in big decade-long chunks like this.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/georgie-never-thought-she-d-be-old-enough-to-talk-about-life-in-big/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“What the hell am I? I thought. Too old to be a real teenager, too young to drink. Old enough to die in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-raeder/what-the-hell-am-i-i-thought-too-old-to-be-a-real-teenager-too-young/) [Leah Raeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-raeder/) > [ In fact, \[Bernard Leach\] was several generations removed from us. At that time we were there, I think Alix \[MacKenzie\] and I were 26… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/in-fact-bernard-leach-was-several-generations-removed-from-us-at-that/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [I used to think that I could be successful if I pretended to be a 23-year-old black woman. 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I saw him in the 1950s, and I thought he was old then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-feel-like-i-ve-been-watching-irwin-corey-forever-i-saw-him-in-the/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) ## More by Robin Hobb > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“But that is not true for all folk. Some folk are meant to argue with fate. And win.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/but-that-is-not-true-for-all-folk-some-folk-are-meant-to-argue-with/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I tried to leave you alone, Fitz. To find what peace you could, even if it excluded me from your life.” Ten years ago,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-tried-to-leave-you-alone-fitz-to-find-what-peace-you-could-even-if/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Do you think you're taking Etta out of here?" "Yes," Kennit called over his shoulder up the sairs. "What about all these dead men?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/do-you-think-you-re-taking-etta-out-of-here-yes-kennit-called-over/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“A way out is a way in. Then,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/a-way-out-is-a-way-in-then/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Die in your dreams, wake up insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/die-in-your-dreams-wake-up-insane/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I felt a familiar squeezing in what I thought must be my heart. I had heard of being "heartbroken" or "heavy-hearted" but I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-felt-a-familiar-squeezing-in-what-i-thought-must-be-my-heart-i-had/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“They spoke of a dream of a child who bore the heart of a wolf.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/they-spoke-of-a-dream-of-a-child-who-bore-the-heart-of-a-wolf/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“We all perish in our last attempt to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/we-all-perish-in-our-last-attempt-to-live/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“There is always power in holding a secret.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/there-is-always-power-in-holding-a-secret/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“... finally realizing that life was to be lived, rather than hoarded against an unseen tomorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/finally-realizing-that-life-was-to-be-lived-rather-than-hoarded/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Why, I suddenly wondered, had I wasted all those hours I could have spent with her? Why hadn’t I gone with them, to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/why-i-suddenly-wondered-had-i-wasted-all-those-hours-i-could-have/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I think I made a better boy than I do a man, I admitted ruefully to the wolf. Why not wait until you've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-think-i-made-a-better-boy-than-i-do-a-man-i-admitted-ruefully-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“So, with all the wide world to choose from, you didn't choose at all. You simply stopped wandering one day”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/so-with-all-the-wide-world-to-choose-from-you-didn-t-choose-at-all/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I don't think I can stand it much longer,” he warned her. “Something will have to give way. And I fear it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-don-t-think-i-can-stand-it-much-longer-he-warned-her-something-will/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) [Explore all 500 Robin Hobb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## More Stranger quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [A place has almost the shyness of a person, with strangers; and its secret is not to be surprised by a too direct interrogation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-symons/a-place-has-almost-the-shyness-of-a-person-with-strangers-and-its/) [Arthur Symons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-symons/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [I admire President Obama's ability to trust strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-admire-president-obama-s-ability-to-trust-strangers/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [It’s sad when friends become enemies. But what’s even worse is when they become strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayley-williams/it-s-sad-when-friends-become-enemies-but-what-s-even-worse-is-when/) [Hayley Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayley-williams/) > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Standing as a witness in all things means being kind in all things, being the first to say hello, being the first to smile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-d-nadauld/standing-as-a-witness-in-all-things-means-being-kind-in-all-things/) [Margaret D. Nadauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-d-nadauld/) > [Most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallowing in the troubles and sins of five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-neuroses-and-some-psychoses-can-be-traced-to-the-unnecessary-and/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [It is part of God's plan for us that Christ shall come to us in everyone; it is in their particular role that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caryll-houselander/it-is-part-of-god-s-plan-for-us-that-christ-shall-come-to-us-in/) [Caryll Houselander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caryll-houselander/) > [Naked in front of strangers? I can barely be naked in front of my lovers; in front of myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara/naked-in-front-of-strangers-i-can-barely-be-naked-in-front-of-my/) [Clara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara/) > [Cameras are a lifesaver for very shy people who have nowhere else to hide. Behind a lens they can disguise the fact that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/cameras-are-a-lifesaver-for-very-shy-people-who-have-nowhere-else-to/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [We were at a Giants game, and my manager told me, 'Sadie, you have an audition for a show called 'Stranger Things,'' and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadie-sink/we-were-at-a-giants-game-and-my-manager-told-me-sadie-you-have-an/) [Sadie Sink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadie-sink/) > [One can show no greater respect than to weep for a stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/one-can-show-no-greater-respect-than-to-weep-for-a-stranger/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) [Browse all 2,663 Stranger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Who had that young man been who had thought himself so old and worldly-wise? 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