--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Who says you have to be either smart or…" description: "\"“Who says you have to be either smart or pretty, or into girly stuff or sports? Life shouldn’t be about the either/or. We’re capable of more than that,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/sarah-dessen-110_life_who-says-you-have-to-be-either-smart-or_459733.jpg" --- # Who says you have to be either smart or pretty, or into… ![“Who says you have to be either smart or pretty, or into girly stuff or sports? Life shouldn’t be about the either/or. We’re capable of more than that, you know?” quote by Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/sarah-dessen-110_life_who-says-you-have-to-be-either-smart-or_459733.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/sarah-dessen-110_life_who-says-you-have-to-be-either-smart-or_459733.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/sarah-dessen-110_life_who-says-you-have-to-be-either-smart-or_459733.jpg) > ““Who says you have to be either smart or pretty, or into girly stuff or sports? Life shouldn’t be about the either/or. We’re capable of more than that, you know?”” [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 quote challenges binary thinking, urging acceptance of diverse interests beyond gendered stereotypes. **In simple terms:** You can be both smart and pretty, and like any activity. Key Takeaway Embrace multifaceted identity. Themes identity stereotypes empowerment Mood encouraging hopeful Type inspirational social. When to use this quote - education choices - career paths - personal hobbies - team sports Key Concepts gender studies self‑concept social norms Questions to Reflect On - How do you resist labeling yourself? - What barriers keep you from exploring new interests? A Different Perspective Some may argue that societal pressures still limit choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Maybe if I'd agreed to do the debutante thing like she wanted. Or taken up pageants instead of riding jump bikes with a bunch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/maybe-if-i-d-agreed-to-do-the-debutante-thing-like-she-wanted-or/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Why still be pretty and all that when there's so many girly female rappers already? You can be a rock star instead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rico-nasty/why-still-be-pretty-and-all-that-when-there-s-so-many-girly-female/) [Rico Nasty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rico-nasty/) > [I love doing girly stuff with my mum or with Sophia. I took Sophia and a couple of her friends to the Hello Kitty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbey-clancy/i-love-doing-girly-stuff-with-my-mum-or-with-sophia-i-took-sophia-and/) [Abbey Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbey-clancy/) > [“Shouldn’t you be putting on makeup and curling you hair, doing girly stuff?” “I consider doing you girly stuff.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-w-hill-2/shouldn-t-you-be-putting-on-makeup-and-curling-you-hair-doing-girly/) Joey W Hill > [Being good at fashion and beauty and girly stuff has been such a point of insecurity for me; I'm not good at coming up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-bloom/being-good-at-fashion-and-beauty-and-girly-stuff-has-been-such-a/) [Rachel Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-bloom/) > ["Girly" can be limiting if you're told it's the only option. I don't think the solution is to get rid of the girly stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/girly-can-be-limiting-if-you-re-told-it-s-the-only-option-i-don-t/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [“My mother says that smart women are always crazy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annalee-newitz/my-mother-says-that-smart-women-are-always-crazy/) [Annalee Newitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annalee-newitz/) > [“I wouldn’t know what to do with daughters,' he says. 'Exchange them for sons?' 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I'm too pretty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/i-m-too-fast-i-m-too-smart-i-m-too-pretty/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) ## 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. 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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. 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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 Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. 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I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Who says you have to be either smart or pretty, or into girly stuff or sports? 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