--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't be together, which is exactly…" description: "\"“You can't be together, which is exactly why you want to be.”\" — Sarah Dessen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/004/sarah-dessen-110_exactly_you-can-t-be-together-which-is-exactly-w_1374958.png" --- # You can't be together, which is exactly why you want to be. ![“You can't be together, which is exactly why you want to be.” quote by Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/004/sarah-dessen-110_exactly_you-can-t-be-together-which-is-exactly-w_1374958.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/004/sarah-dessen-110_exactly_you-can-t-be-together-which-is-exactly-w_1374958.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/004/sarah-dessen-110_exactly_you-can-t-be-together-which-is-exactly-w_1374958.png) > ““You can't be together, which is exactly why you want to be.”” [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. Desire for a relationship can be strongest when it feels forbidden, creating a paradoxical attraction. **In simple terms:** Forbidden love feels more intense. Key Takeaway Recognize when scarcity fuels desire. Themes desire paradox relationships Mood longing conflicted Type romantic reflective When to use this quote - high school romance - friendship turning romantic - unrequited love Key Concepts psychology attachment theory Questions to Reflect On - What makes the unattainable seem more appealing? - How can you assess genuine compatibility? A Different Perspective Desire may be based on illusion rather than compatibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exactly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exactly/) [Exactly Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exactly-want/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [May you get exactly what you want and live long enough to regret it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-you-get-exactly-what-you-want-and-live-long-enough-to-regret-it/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“You see, this is exactly why I want you here morning, noon and night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-ellen-malpas/you-see-this-is-exactly-why-i-want-you-here-morning-noon-and-night/) [Jodi Ellen Malpas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-ellen-malpas/) > [I can see exactly where I want to be. I just can't see how I will ever get there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-can-see-exactly-where-i-want-to-be-i-just-can-t-see-how-i-will-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This is where I want to be. For the first time, this is exactly where I want to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-pittard/this-is-where-i-want-to-be-for-the-first-time-this-is-exactly-where-i/) [Hannah Pittard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-pittard/) > [“I know exactly what I want. I want you, Jane. There is no one else on this earth for me but you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-oliver/i-know-exactly-what-i-want-i-want-you-jane-there-is-no-one-else-on/) [Tess Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-oliver/) > [I'm old enough to know exactly what I want and young enough to still get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaliana-dietrich/i-m-old-enough-to-know-exactly-what-i-want-and-young-enough-to-still/) [Kaliana Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaliana-dietrich/) > [It was amazing how you could get so far from where you'd planned, and yet find it was exactly were you needed to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-was-amazing-how-you-could-get-so-far-from-where-you-d-planned-and/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Im tough, ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. 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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. 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 Exactly quotes > [Once you stop looking for what you what you find exactly what you need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia/once-you-stop-looking-for-what-you-what-you-find-exactly-what-you-need/) [Cynthia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia/) > [“My life had gone right; it had gone exactly as it needed to in order to bring me here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-harbison/my-life-had-gone-right-it-had-gone-exactly-as-it-needed-to-in-order/) [Beth Harbison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-harbison/) > [Frank Lampard was exactly the sort of player I wanted to be when I was growing up, I used to watch everything he did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kai-havertz/frank-lampard-was-exactly-the-sort-of-player-i-wanted-to-be-when-i/) [Kai Havertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kai-havertz/) > [Everyone in Life does Exactly what they Know How to Do Given the Conditions of their Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/everyone-in-life-does-exactly-what-they-know-how-to-do-given-the/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [My views line up with Mick Mulvaney's views pretty much exactly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-norman/my-views-line-up-with-mick-mulvaney-s-views-pretty-much-exactly/) [Ralph Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-norman/) > [It's more common than not that bipolar illness will start in the teens. One of the reasons I spend a lot of time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/it-s-more-common-than-not-that-bipolar-illness-will-start-in-the/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [I don't exactly relate to grey characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kay-menon/i-don-t-exactly-relate-to-grey-characters/) [Kay Kay Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kay-menon/) > [“I know not who I am, simply that I am forever becoming exactly what I am meant to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-lee/i-know-not-who-i-am-simply-that-i-am-forever-becoming-exactly-what-i/) [Becca Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-lee/) > [I like shoes that are definitive, and they know exactly what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-tucker/i-like-shoes-that-are-definitive-and-they-know-exactly-what-they-are/) [P. J. Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-tucker/) > [Everything in your dream means exactly what you think it means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-ingerman/everything-in-your-dream-means-exactly-what-you-think-it-means/) [Sandra Ingerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-ingerman/) > [While sleep is clearly vital to emotional well-being, what is it, exactly, about sleep that is so necessary? As it turns out, mood disorders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/while-sleep-is-clearly-vital-to-emotional-well-being-what-is-it/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) > [Not exactly what the world was looking for, a musical on 'Don Quixote.' It was required reading in high school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/not-exactly-what-the-world-was-looking-for-a-musical-on-don-quixote/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [I am repeatedly asked in interviews exactly 'what's wrong' with me, and I always give them the same answer; I don't identify the name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/i-am-repeatedly-asked-in-interviews-exactly-what-s-wrong-with-me-and/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [I get very frustrated by this term 'genre exercise.' I mean, what exactly is that? 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