--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She knew the intensity of adolescence…" description: "\"She knew the intensity of adolescence, and knew no cure for it except growing up. And then one has age and experience, and mourns the loss of intensity..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/sara-paretsky-8563_adolescence_she-knew-the-intensity-of-adolescence-an_642550.jpg" --- # She knew the intensity of adolescence, and knew no cure… ![“She knew the intensity of adolescence, and knew no cure for it except growing up. And then one has age and experience, and mourns the loss of intensity. Maybe it's why musicians and mathmaticians are said to peak young-poetry needs the fire of an unbounded universe.” quote by Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/sara-paretsky-8563_adolescence_she-knew-the-intensity-of-adolescence-an_642550.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/sara-paretsky-8563_adolescence_she-knew-the-intensity-of-adolescence-an_642550.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/sara-paretsky-8563_adolescence_she-knew-the-intensity-of-adolescence-an_642550.jpg) > “She knew the intensity of adolescence, and knew no cure for it except growing up. And then one has age and experience, and mourns the loss of intensity. Maybe it's why musicians and mathmaticians are said to peak young-poetry needs the fire of an unbounded universe.” [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Youthful intensity fades with age, yet experience offers depth; artistic peaks often occur early. **In simple terms:** Youthful intensity fades, experience deepens. Key Takeaway Value both youth and experience. Themes age growth creativity nostalgia wisdom Mood melancholic inspired Type literary reflective When to use this quote - career mentorship - creative projects - education curricula Key Concepts developmental psychology artistic cycles life stages Questions to Reflect On - How do you nurture creativity at any age? - What does “intensity” mean to you? A Different Perspective Early peaks may limit later recognition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adolescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescence/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Age and experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-and-experience/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Intensity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intensity/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musician/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Songwriting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/songwriting/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [I think I had gotten messages really young that poetry wasn't for me, that it was for, basically, some dead white men. My experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-think-i-had-gotten-messages-really-young-that-poetry-wasn-t-for-me/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [A twenty-one-year-old writer is likely to be inhibited by a lack of usable experience. Childhood and adolescence were something I knew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/a-twenty-one-year-old-writer-is-likely-to-be-inhibited-by-a-lack-of/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [There were instances when I felt cheated because my feeling of social service was neither acknowledged or reciprocated by the second party. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudha-murty/there-were-instances-when-i-felt-cheated-because-my-feeling-of-social/) [Sudha Murty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudha-murty/) > [“As the demands of the positions differed, and as I grew in age and experience, I found that I had changed as a leader.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-mcchrystal/as-the-demands-of-the-positions-differed-and-as-i-grew-in-age-and/) [Stanley McChrystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-mcchrystal/) > [If you can't hear language, you won't be able to understand language and experience normal development. Every minute spent without hearing is a minute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kassie-depaiva/if-you-can-t-hear-language-you-won-t-be-able-to-understand-language/) [Kassie DePaiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kassie-depaiva/) > [The prospect of an early death sits differently upon each person. In some it gifts maturity far outweighing their age and experience: calm acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/the-prospect-of-an-early-death-sits-differently-upon-each-person-in/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [I actually think the BBC and, to a lesser extent, ITV have recognised for quite a while that age and experience count for quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-rippon/i-actually-think-the-bbc-and-to-a-lesser-extent-itv-have-recognised/) [Angela Rippon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-rippon/) > [“It occurs to me that I've been wrong about something: I always assumed that age and experience weather you, make you more resilient. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/it-occurs-to-me-that-i-ve-been-wrong-about-something-i-always-assumed/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [People mature with age and experience. I hope I more resemble a fine wine than bad vinegar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-kaplan/people-mature-with-age-and-experience-i-hope-i-more-resemble-a-fine/) Rick Kaplan > [I think confidence comes with age and experience, honestly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-macdonald/i-think-confidence-comes-with-age-and-experience-honestly/) [Danielle Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-macdonald/) > [There is so much pressure to be thin, and you constantly compare yourself to others. But confidence is something that comes with age and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherie-lunghi/there-is-so-much-pressure-to-be-thin-and-you-constantly-compare/) [Cherie Lunghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherie-lunghi/) > [In their effort to divorce language and experience, deconstructionist critics remind me of middle-class parents who do not allow their children to play in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/in-their-effort-to-divorce-language-and-experience-deconstructionist/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [We do not attend to the advice of the sage and experienced because we think they are old, forgetting that they once were young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-do-not-attend-to-the-advice-of-the-sage-and-experienced-because-we/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Of course one never knows in draft if it's going to turn out, even with my age and experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumer-godden/of-course-one-never-knows-in-draft-if-it-s-going-to-turn-out-even/) [Rumer Godden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumer-godden/) > [There's a vintage which comes with age and experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/there-s-a-vintage-which-comes-with-age-and-experience/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) ## More by Sara Paretsky > [Rule number something or other -- never tell anybody anything unless you're going to get something better in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/rule-number-something-or-other-never-tell-anybody-anything-unless-you/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [Heart surgeons do not have the world's smallest egos: when you ask them to name the world's three leading practitioners, they never can remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/heart-surgeons-do-not-have-the-world-s-smallest-egos-when-you-ask/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [I always wrote; my first story was published in the magazine The American Girl when I was 11](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/i-always-wrote-my-first-story-was-published-in-the-magazine-the/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [I'm a grandmother, and a mighty proud one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/i-m-a-grandmother-and-a-mighty-proud-one/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [Organizer is kind of a grand term for what I was doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/organizer-is-kind-of-a-grand-term-for-what-i-was-doing/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [I thought it was time for a tough, smart, likable female private investigator, and that's how VI came to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/i-thought-it-was-time-for-a-tough-smart-likable-female-private/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [Don't tell me I have latent sexism or racism that I need to confront. I don't believe that. I think we are so burned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/don-t-tell-me-i-have-latent-sexism-or-racism-that-i-need-to-confront/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [The possibility of bringing white-collar criminals to justice is ever receding over the horizon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/the-possibility-of-bringing-white-collar-criminals-to-justice-is-ever/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [These events are swirling around them. In the white community, people felt like they had no control over their neighborhoods, their destiny. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/these-events-are-swirling-around-them-in-the-white-community-people/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [No agent wants to see a book until he or she has decided whether to pursue the relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/no-agent-wants-to-see-a-book-until-he-or-she-has-decided-whether-to/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [“But one of them had on an Army medal, a service medal, something like that. Do you know all of Chad's Army friends?" Radke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/but-one-of-them-had-on-an-army-medal-a-service-medal-something-like/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [Live disasters are wonderful attractions when you're safe on the other side of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/live-disasters-are-wonderful-attractions-when-you-re-safe-on-the/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [“about your actions. You keep me totally in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/about-your-actions-you-keep-me-totally-in/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [Around the time I turned 30, I wanted to publish a novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/around-the-time-i-turned-30-i-wanted-to-publish-a-novel/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [I'm very honoured that there is a loyal following and I hope it continues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/i-m-very-honoured-that-there-is-a-loyal-following-and-i-hope-it/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) [Explore all 80 Sara Paretsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) ## More Adolescence quotes > [They must move from a psychological state of victimization to a psychological state of accepting responsibility. The Palestinians must leave behind their revolutionary adolescence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-shavit/they-must-move-from-a-psychological-state-of-victimization-to-a/) [Ari Shavit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-shavit/) > [Having children truly ends adolescence. We are all either parents or children: responsibility-takers or those who demand from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/having-children-truly-ends-adolescence-we-are-all-either-parents-or/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [Teenage girls are extremists who see the world in black-and- white terms, missing shades of gray. Life is either marvelous or notworth living. School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pipher/teenage-girls-are-extremists-who-see-the-world-in-black-and-white/) [Mary Pipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pipher/) > [Teenagers complain there's nothing to do, then stay out all night doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-phillips/teenagers-complain-there-s-nothing-to-do-then-stay-out-all-night/) [Bob Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-phillips/) > [The idols of one's adolescence tend to endure - you never forget how you worshipped them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-idols-of-one-s-adolescence-tend-to-endure-you-never-forget-how/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [The donning of the ear buds marks the beginning of teen life, when children set off on their own for the passage through adolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/the-donning-of-the-ear-buds-marks-the-beginning-of-teen-life-when/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [Adolescence is when the very worst and best impulses in the human soul struggle against each other for possession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/adolescence-is-when-the-very-worst-and-best-impulses-in-the-human/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Most adults would not dream of belittling, humiliating, or bullying (verbally or physically) another adult. But many of the same adults think nothing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/most-adults-would-not-dream-of-belittling-humiliating-or-bullying/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“He'd possessed all the key elements of a school shooter: hormones, misery, ammunition. People wondered how something like Columbine could happen. Jude wondered why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/he-d-possessed-all-the-key-elements-of-a-school-shooter-hormones/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [ I remember realizing, when I did Little Women \[1994\], that that was the only time girls that age were being written about. It was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/i-remember-realizing-when-i-did-little-women-1994-that-that-was-the/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [Content without style is propaganda or adolescence. Style without content is decadence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/content-without-style-is-propaganda-or-adolescence-style-without/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Adolescence is interesting. I mean, all of life is interesting and all of life is transitionary. But I think there is an exponential growth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-henson/adolescence-is-interesting-i-mean-all-of-life-is-interesting-and-all/) [Bill Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-henson/) > [“Yet GenX'er teens didn't slow down--they were just as likely to drive, drink alcohol, and date as their Boomer peers and more likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-twenge/yet-genx-er-teens-didn-t-slow-down-they-were-just-as-likely-to-drive/) [Jean M. Twenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-twenge/) [Browse all 787 Adolescence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "She knew the intensity of adolescence, and knew no cure for it except growing up. And then one has age and experience, and mourns the loss of intensity. 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