--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I understood now. This voice, the one…" description: "\"I understood now. This voice, the one that had been trying to get my attention all this time, calling out to me, begging me to hear it - it wasn't Will..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/sarah-dessen-110_attention_i-understood-now-this-voice-the-one-that_1262156.png" --- # I understood now. This voice, the one that had been trying… ![“I understood now. This voice, the one that had been trying to get my attention all this time, calling out to me, begging me to hear it - it wasn't Will's. It was mine.” quote by Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/sarah-dessen-110_attention_i-understood-now-this-voice-the-one-that_1262156.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/sarah-dessen-110_attention_i-understood-now-this-voice-the-one-that_1262156.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/sarah-dessen-110_attention_i-understood-now-this-voice-the-one-that_1262156.png) > “I understood now. This voice, the one that had been trying to get my attention all this time, calling out to me, begging me to hear it - it wasn't Will's. It was mine.” [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 narrator realizes the inner voice urging her is her own, not an external influence, highlighting personal agency. **In simple terms:** She discovers her own inner voice is guiding her. Key Takeaway Listen to your inner guidance. Themes self‑discovery identity agency Mood reflective empowering Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - making life choices - overcoming self‑doubt - personal growth - creative inspiration Key Concepts introspection self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What inner voice have you ignored? - How can you trust your own intuition? A Different Perspective It may be hard to distinguish inner voice from external expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Begging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begging/) [Begging Hear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begging-hear-4017143/) [Calling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calling/) [Calling Begging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calling-begging-4017145/) [Hear Wasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hear-wasn-1263522/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Understood Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-voice-4017144/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) ## Related quotes > [“and sometimes all you need to hear is that it wasn't your fault it isn't your fault and it will never be your fault.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-b-cenci/and-sometimes-all-you-need-to-hear-is-that-it-wasn-t-your-fault-it/) [Jasmine B. Cenci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-b-cenci/) > [I wanted to make something that I wanted to hear that I wasn't hearing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-hanna/i-wanted-to-make-something-that-i-wanted-to-hear-that-i-wasn-t-hearing/) [Kathleen Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-hanna/) > [“This is scary,” she whispers. “I’ve never had a boyfriend before. I don’t know how this works. Do people become exclusive this fast? Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/this-is-scary-she-whispers-i-ve-never-had-a-boyfriend-before-i-don-t/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [“The whole four to five weeks that we've been here in this courtroom has been for one reason. And that is because Theodore Robert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-rule/the-whole-four-to-five-weeks-that-we-ve-been-here-in-this-courtroom/) [Ann Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-rule/) > [As for poker, I've stayed away from that, even though when I was in Vegas for Ocean's Eleven, I would get accosted by these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-damon/as-for-poker-i-ve-stayed-away-from-that-even-though-when-i-was-in/) [Matt Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-damon/) > [A man in love ... is the master, so it seems, but only if his lady friend permits it! The need to interchange the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-desclos/a-man-in-love-is-the-master-so-it-seems-but-only-if-his-lady-friend/) [Anne Desclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-desclos/) > [I would willingly stand at street corners, hat in hand, begging passerby to drop their unused minutes into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-berenson/i-would-willingly-stand-at-street-corners-hat-in-hand-begging/) [Bernard Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-berenson/) > [While you're ignoring me, someone else is begging for my attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/while-you-re-ignoring-me-someone-else-is-begging-for-my-attention/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The desperation was coming off you in waves. You were all but begging to dance with me. I am doing you a favor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/the-desperation-was-coming-off-you-in-waves-you-were-all-but-begging/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [We long for our father. We wear his clothes, and actually try to fill his shoes. . . . We hang on to him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/we-long-for-our-father-we-wear-his-clothes-and-actually-try-to-fill/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [“He kept begging God, “Please, please, please open my heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/he-kept-begging-god-please-please-please-open-my-heart/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Any fool that had once helped you will someday make known to everyone that you were once a needy. No matter how broke you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/any-fool-that-had-once-helped-you-will-someday-make-known-to-everyone/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [How much more of the mosque, of prayer and fasting? Better go drunk and begging round the taverns. Khayyam, drink wine, for soon this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-khayy-m/how-much-more-of-the-mosque-of-prayer-and-fasting-better-go-drunk-and/) [Omar Khayyam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-khayy-m/) > [Daddy always said the only thing worth begging for was your life, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe sometimes your love is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/daddy-always-said-the-only-thing-worth-begging-for-was-your-life-but/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“You are the queen, he ought to be begging leave of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/you-are-the-queen-he-ought-to-be-begging-leave-of-you/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) ## 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 Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I understood now. This voice, the one that had been trying to get my attention all this time, calling out to me, begging me to hear it - it wasn't Will's. It was mine.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Dessen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-understood-now-this-voice-the-one-that-had-been-trying-to-get-my/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-understood-now-this-voice-the-one-that-had-been-trying-to-get-my/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/sarah-dessen-110_attention_i-understood-now-this-voice-the-one-that_1262156.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/sarah-dessen-110_attention_i-understood-now-this-voice-the-one-that_1262156.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/sarah-dessen-110_attention_i-understood-now-this-voice-the-one-that_1262156.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I understood now. This voice, the one that had been trying to get my attention all this time, calling out to…” — 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": "I understood now. This voice, the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-understood-now-this-voice-the-one-that-had-been-trying-to-get-my/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-understood-now-this-voice-the-one-that-had-been-trying-to-get-my/#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 } } ] } ```