---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's certainly a portion of my brain…"
description: "\"There's certainly a portion of my brain that is always tuned to making wry observations about the world, but that portion of my brain was alive and wel..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/roxane-gay-520_alive_there-s-certainly-a-portion-of-my-brain_2093814.png"
---

#  There's certainly a portion of my brain that is always…

![“There's certainly a portion of my brain that is always tuned to making wry observations about the world, but that portion of my brain was alive and well before Twitter.” quote by Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/roxane-gay-520_alive_there-s-certainly-a-portion-of-my-brain_2093814.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/roxane-gay-520_alive_there-s-certainly-a-portion-of-my-brain_2093814.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/roxane-gay-520_alive_there-s-certainly-a-portion-of-my-brain_2093814.png)

> “There's certainly a portion of my brain that is always tuned to making wry observations about the world, but that portion of my brain was alive and well before Twitter.”

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Humor and critical observation predate social media; personal wit persists beyond platforms.

**In simple terms:** Wry observations existed before Twitter.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate personal humor independent of online trends.

Themes

humor media self‑identity

Mood

thoughtful playful

Type

literary cultural

When to use this quote

- writing workshops
- public speaking
- social media strategy
- personal branding

Key Concepts

literature psychology digital culture

Questions to Reflect On

- How does social media shape your natural sense of humor?
- Can you maintain wit without digital validation?

A Different Perspective

Online platforms can amplify but also constrain authentic voice.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Alive And Well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive-and-well/) [Alive Twitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive-twitter-4150643/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Brain Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain-alive-2809926/) [Brain Tuned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain-tuned-1194897/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Portion Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portion-brain-4150644/) [Portions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portions/) [Twitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twitter/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Wry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wry/) [Wry Observations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wry-observations-4150642/)

## Related quotes

> [The different political systems, religions and social habits demonstrate that the same brain can be tuned in different manners. But the tuning capacity is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodolfo-llinas/the-different-political-systems-religions-and-social-habits/)

[Rodolfo Llinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodolfo-llinas/)

> [Fortunately I own a vintage brain, and I am alive and well in the 21st century, still making records, still working at an intense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-visconti/fortunately-i-own-a-vintage-brain-and-i-am-alive-and-well-in-the-21st/)

[Tony Visconti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-visconti/)

> [My health, thank God, has kept my brain alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/my-health-thank-god-has-kept-my-brain-alive/)

[Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/)

> [“Education means to keep brain alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-poison-king-2/education-means-to-keep-brain-alive/)

[Dr poison king](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-poison-king-2/)

> [This was a new recognition that perfection is admirable but a trifle inhuman, and that a stumbling kind of semi-success can be much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-angell/this-was-a-new-recognition-that-perfection-is-admirable-but-a-trifle/)

[Roger Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-angell/)

> [“His mastery of the hard-luck story was of a kind never achieved by persons not wholly concentrated on themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/his-mastery-of-the-hard-luck-story-was-of-a-kind-never-achieved-by/)

[Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/)

> [Glimpses is dead-on about the high and tight nineties even as it reaches out for the sweet hereafter of the sixties. It longs for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-barthelme/glimpses-is-dead-on-about-the-high-and-tight-nineties-even-as-it/)

[Frederick Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-barthelme/)

> [“Sai stands in his spineless way, young but antiquated, studious but not clever, a thick steel watch on his wrist, his oiled black hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manu-jospeh/sai-stands-in-his-spineless-way-young-but-antiquated-studious-but-not/)

[Manu Jospeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manu-jospeh/)

> [“Vegard and Riston's job today was to guard and protect me. And considering that I was in a tower room in the Guardians' citadel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shearin/vegard-and-riston-s-job-today-was-to-guard-and-protect-me-and/)

[Lisa Shearin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shearin/)

> [ I find her \[Frances Trollope\] simply delightful, even in her prejudices and cantankerousness. It is a gift to an author to find a funny,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-morris/i-find-her-frances-trollope-simply-delightful-even-in-her-prejudices/)

[Charles R. Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-morris/)

> [Already known as one of America’s best and wittiest poets, William Trowbridge has, in Ship of Fool, found the perfect vessel to convey his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-harper-webb/already-known-as-one-of-america-s-best-and-wittiest-poets-william/)

[Charles Harper Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-harper-webb/)

> [Lennon's was one of the first voices I emulated when I began to sing. When we held tryouts in my pal's dad's living room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-henley/lennon-s-was-one-of-the-first-voices-i-emulated-when-i-began-to-sing/)

[Don Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-henley/)

> [As he followed Bill back to the others a wry though came to him, born no doubt of the wine he had drunk. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/as-he-followed-bill-back-to-the-others-a-wry-though-came-to-him-born/)

[J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/)

> [Do you know what I am going to tell you, he said with his wry mouth, a pint of plain is your only man.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/do-you-know-what-i-am-going-to-tell-you-he-said-with-his-wry-mouth-a/)

[Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/)

> [The writing is a joy, so seamless you nearly miss the sheer artistry of the style and the terrific, wry humour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-bruen/the-writing-is-a-joy-so-seamless-you-nearly-miss-the-sheer-artistry/)

[Ken Bruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-bruen/)

## More by Roxane Gay

> [“Human endurance fascinates me, probably too much because more often than not, I think of life in terms of enduring instead of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/human-endurance-fascinates-me-probably-too-much-because-more-often/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [“Being useful was a balm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/being-useful-was-a-balm/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [No woman or man is any one thing and the men in my stories, well, some of them are good and some of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/no-woman-or-man-is-any-one-thing-and-the-men-in-my-stories-well-some/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [“I was a daydreamer and I resented being pulled out of my daydreams to deal with the business of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-was-a-daydreamer-and-i-resented-being-pulled-out-of-my-daydreams-to/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [Feminism is, I hope, a way to a better future for everyone who inhabits this world. Feminism should not be something that needs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/feminism-is-i-hope-a-way-to-a-better-future-for-everyone-who-inhabits/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [Fiction offers escape but it also interrogates the world we live in, whether the past, present or future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/fiction-offers-escape-but-it-also-interrogates-the-world-we-live-in/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [“I've noticed while cooking, how ingredients in their individual and naked state and be a bit repulsive but necessary, kind of like people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-ve-noticed-while-cooking-how-ingredients-in-their-individual-and/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [“I shouted, “This is not right,” knowing my words were useless. There’s no room for such distinctions in a country where too many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-shouted-this-is-not-right-knowing-my-words-were-useless-there-s-no/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [Most of my favorite tweets go completely ignored but most of my favorite tweets are probably really lame or inside jokes between me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/most-of-my-favorite-tweets-go-completely-ignored-but-most-of-my/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [“What about other women of color? For Hispanic and Latina women, Indian women, Middle Eastern women, Asian women, their absence in popular culture is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/what-about-other-women-of-color-for-hispanic-and-latina-women-indian/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [There has been, and there will continue to be, vigorous discussions about race in America. I worry that little will come of these discussions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/there-has-been-and-there-will-continue-to-be-vigorous-discussions/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [Writing, at its best and truest, can offer solace and salvation for both readers and writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/writing-at-its-best-and-truest-can-offer-solace-and-salvation-for/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [“I knew I was in love with The Hunger Games when I did not want to get off the treadmill”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-knew-i-was-in-love-with-the-hunger-games-when-i-did-not-want-to-get/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [“Just because you survive something does not mean you are strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/just-because-you-survive-something-does-not-mean-you-are-strong/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [“Celebrities understand the economy of thinness, and most of them are willing to participate in that economy, taking to social media, where they pose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/celebrities-understand-the-economy-of-thinness-and-most-of-them-are/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

[Explore all 503 Roxane Gay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

## More Alive quotes

> [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/)

[Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/)

> [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/)

[David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/)

> [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/)

[Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/)

> [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

> [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/)

[Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/)

> [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/)

[David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/)

> [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/)

[James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/)

> [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/)

[Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/)

> [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/)

[Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/)

> [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/)

[Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/)

> [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/)

[John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/)

> [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/)

[William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/)

[Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There's certainly a portion of my brain that is always tuned to making wry observations about the world, but that portion of my brain was alive and well before Twitter.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Roxane Gay"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/there-s-certainly-a-portion-of-my-brain-that-is-always-tuned-to/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Alive"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/there-s-certainly-a-portion-of-my-brain-that-is-always-tuned-to/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/roxane-gay-520_alive_there-s-certainly-a-portion-of-my-brain_2093814.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/roxane-gay-520_alive_there-s-certainly-a-portion-of-my-brain_2093814.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f12/roxane-gay-520_alive_there-s-certainly-a-portion-of-my-brain_2093814.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There's certainly a portion of my brain that is always tuned to making wry observations about the world, but…” — Roxane Gay",
                "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": "Roxane Gay",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There's certainly a portion of my...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/there-s-certainly-a-portion-of-my-brain-that-is-always-tuned-to/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/there-s-certainly-a-portion-of-my-brain-that-is-always-tuned-to/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
