--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was looking at me, jsut as I'd thought…" description: "\"He was looking at me, jsut as I'd thought he would be, but like Bert's, his light was not what I expected. No pity, no sadness: nothing had changed. I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/sarah-dessen-110_able_he-was-looking-at-me-jsut-as-i-d-thought_404407.jpg" --- # He was looking at me, jsut as I'd thought he would be, but… ![“He was looking at me, jsut as I'd thought he would be, but like Bert's, his light was not what I expected. No pity, no sadness: nothing had changed. I realized all the times I'd felt people stare at me, their faces had been pictures, abstracts. None of them were mirrors, able to reflect back the…” quote by Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/sarah-dessen-110_able_he-was-looking-at-me-jsut-as-i-d-thought_404407.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/sarah-dessen-110_able_he-was-looking-at-me-jsut-as-i-d-thought_404407.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/sarah-dessen-110_able_he-was-looking-at-me-jsut-as-i-d-thought_404407.jpg) > “He was looking at me, jsut as I'd thought he would be, but like Bert's, his light was not what I expected. No pity, no sadness: nothing had changed. I realized all the times I'd felt people stare at me, their faces had been pictures, abstracts. None of them were mirrors, able to reflect back the expression I thought one I wore, the feelings only I felt.” [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on feeling observed yet misunderstood, realizing that others' perceptions are static images, not reflective mirrors of one's inner self. **In simple terms:** People see you as a picture, not a mirror of your feelings. Key Takeaway Seek authentic connections that reflect your true self. Themes identity perception loneliness self-awareness art expression Mood reflective melancholic introspective Type personal emotional literary When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - social media - personal relationships - self-reflection Key Concepts psychology subjectivity social interaction empathy Questions to Reflect On - Do you often feel others see a version of you rather than your true self? - How can you encourage more genuine reflection from others? A Different Perspective Assuming others cannot understand may limit deeper connections. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Staring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring/) ## Related quotes > [“I realized all those times I'd felt people stare at me, their faces had been pictures, abstracts. None of them were mirrors, able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-realized-all-those-times-i-d-felt-people-stare-at-me-their-faces/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I want to express the feelings that everyone has felt at least once in music so i think people will feel/understand my song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-want-to-express-the-feelings-that-everyone-has-felt-at-least-once/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [when love looks straight into your eyes return those looks and your heart will surrender to feelings never felt before](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario/when-love-looks-straight-into-your-eyes-return-those-looks-and-your/) [Mario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario/) > [“I had no words to describe them---these feelings. How does one describe feelings one has never felt before?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-skeem/i-had-no-words-to-describe-them-these-feelings-how-does-one-describe/) [Stephanie Skeem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-skeem/) > [I think there is something about... unless you come from a really evolved family that allowed you to talk about your feelings and felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spike-jonze/i-think-there-is-something-about-unless-you-come-from-a-really/) [Spike Jonze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spike-jonze/) > [“Like all feelings felt for oneself, Mrs. Ramsay thought, it made one sad. It was so inadequate, what one could give in return; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/like-all-feelings-felt-for-oneself-mrs-ramsay-thought-it-made-one-sad/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Feelings are to be felt, not fixed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-l-richardson/feelings-are-to-be-felt-not-fixed/) [Kerri L. Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-l-richardson/) > [Blinded, erase what was Stillborn, I have become. The feelings I once felt are now dead and gone. I've waited here for you for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-label-society/blinded-erase-what-was-stillborn-i-have-become-the-feelings-i-once/) [Black Label Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-label-society/) > [“I can still get in touch with some of these feelings I felt very early on.  In remembering them, I can feel again what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-worsham/i-can-still-get-in-touch-with-some-of-these-feelings-i-felt-very/) [Ronnie Worsham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-worsham/) > [As a 28 year old who's lived long enough to know the difference, I know now that the feelings I felt an 16 were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/as-a-28-year-old-who-s-lived-long-enough-to-know-the-difference-i/) [Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/) > [The one time I shot a gun, the feelings I felt, I was guilty for feeling them. There is an exhilaration and a glamour,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-tranter/the-one-time-i-shot-a-gun-the-feelings-i-felt-i-was-guilty-for/) [Justin Tranter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-tranter/) > [I can stand here cold as stone. no feelings being shown or felt. i know I should feel something. maybe; i ran out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trence-bailey-talisay/i-can-stand-here-cold-as-stone-no-feelings-being-shown-or-felt-i-know/) [Trence Bailey-Talisay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trence-bailey-talisay/) > [He is spent. His mind is mercury again, its brief surge of humanity melting into an oily residue on its surface, and he no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/he-is-spent-his-mind-is-mercury-again-its-brief-surge-of-humanity/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [He took you for granted.. No matter how much you tried, it was never enough. As much as you wanted him to be there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stiles-bell/he-took-you-for-granted-no-matter-how-much-you-tried-it-was-never/) Stiles Bell > [~You made me hurt and cry but gave me feelings I never felt, you left shivers in my spine and kisses on my cheek,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-eyes/you-made-me-hurt-and-cry-but-gave-me-feelings-i-never-felt-you-left/) Angel\_eyes ## More by Sarah Dessen > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“if i were a book i would be so open”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/if-i-were-a-book-i-would-be-so-open/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Harder to get in than out, like so little else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/harder-to-get-in-than-out-like-so-little-else/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“At times, I found myself questioning his very existence, even though I knew I had, in fact, spotted him, with my own eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/at-times-i-found-myself-questioning-his-very-existence-even-though-i/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You don't have to say it out loud. I already know why you like me.' 'You do, huh?' 'Yep.' He wrapped his arms around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/you-don-t-have-to-say-it-out-loud-i-already-know-why-you-like-me-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/no-relationship-is-perfect-ever-there-are-always-some-ways-you-have/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [When you had to do something, you had to do it. And eventually, if you were lucky, you did it well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/when-you-had-to-do-something-you-had-to-do-it-and-eventually-if-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [the truth about forever is that it is happening right now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/the-truth-about-forever-is-that-it-is-happening-right-now/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I jammed my hand in my jacket pocket, bracing myself fo the next hit, and fel something. Something grainy and samll, sticking to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-jammed-my-hand-in-my-jacket-pocket-bracing-myself-fo-the-next-hit/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I had no illusions about love anymore. It came, it went, it left casualties or it didn't. People weren't meant to be together forever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-had-no-illusions-about-love-anymore-it-came-it-went-it-left/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“But maybe that isn't so bad. You can't love anyone that way more than once in a lifetime. It's too hard and it hurts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/but-maybe-that-isn-t-so-bad-you-can-t-love-anyone-that-way-more-than/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [This was just one night, one chance to vary and see where it took me. The fireflies were probably already out: maybe it wasn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/this-was-just-one-night-one-chance-to-vary-and-see-where-it-took-me/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [call it chicken salad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/call-it-chicken-salad/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“For me, however, it was a mix of the two, this constant push and pull. I loved it here. But I'd been in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/for-me-however-it-was-a-mix-of-the-two-this-constant-push-and-pull-i/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I think whenever a writer is really enjoying themselves and liking what they are doing, that shows on the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-think-whenever-a-writer-is-really-enjoying-themselves-and-liking/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) [Explore all 1,251 Sarah Dessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [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/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) Greg Perry > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He was looking at me, jsut as I'd thought he would be, but like Bert's, his light was not what I expected. No pity, no sadness: nothing had changed. I realized all the times I'd felt people stare at me, their faces had been pictures, abstracts. None of them were mirrors, able to reflect back the expression I thought one I wore, the feelings only I felt.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Dessen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/he-was-looking-at-me-jsut-as-i-d-thought-he-would-be-but-like-bert-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/he-was-looking-at-me-jsut-as-i-d-thought-he-would-be-but-like-bert-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/sarah-dessen-110_able_he-was-looking-at-me-jsut-as-i-d-thought_404407.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/sarah-dessen-110_able_he-was-looking-at-me-jsut-as-i-d-thought_404407.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/sarah-dessen-110_able_he-was-looking-at-me-jsut-as-i-d-thought_404407.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He was looking at me, jsut as I'd thought he would be, but like Bert's, his light was not what I expected…” — Sarah Dessen", "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": "Sarah Dessen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He was looking at me, jsut...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/he-was-looking-at-me-jsut-as-i-d-thought-he-would-be-but-like-bert-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/he-was-looking-at-me-jsut-as-i-d-thought-he-would-be-but-like-bert-s/#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 } } ] } ```