--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I have since realized is that if…" description: "\"What I have since realized is that if people expect you to be brave, sometimes you pretend that you are, even when you are frightened down to your very..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/sharon-creech-8614_be-brave_what-i-have-since-realized-is-that-if-pe_688090.jpg" --- # What I have since realized is that if people expect you to… ![“What I have since realized is that if people expect you to be brave, sometimes you pretend that you are, even when you are frightened down to your very bones.” quote by Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/sharon-creech-8614_be-brave_what-i-have-since-realized-is-that-if-pe_688090.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/sharon-creech-8614_be-brave_what-i-have-since-realized-is-that-if-pe_688090.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/sharon-creech-8614_be-brave_what-i-have-since-realized-is-that-if-pe_688090.jpg) > “What I have since realized is that if people expect you to be brave, sometimes you pretend that you are, even when you are frightened down to your very bones.” [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often act brave when expected, masking deep fear. **In simple terms:** Pretending bravery hides true fear. Key Takeaway Recognize and own your fear. Themes courage expectation self‑deception Mood anxious reflective Type motivational psychological When to use this quote - workplace pressure - social events - personal crises - leadership roles Key Concepts social pressure identity authenticity Questions to Reflect On - When have you pretended bravery? - How does expectation shape your behavior? A Different Perspective Bravery can become a mask, preventing genuine help. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“Sometimes you had to pretend, everyone knew that. Pretend to be happy. Pretend to be brave. Pretend to be strong. If you pretended long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-e-schwab/sometimes-you-had-to-pretend-everyone-knew-that-pretend-to-be-happy/) [V.E. Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-e-schwab/) > [Be brave even if your not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/be-brave-even-if-your-not-pretend-to-be-no-one-can-tell-the-difference/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Be Brave Even if you are not pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-jackson-brown-jr/be-brave-even-if-you-are-not-pretend-to-be-no-one-can-tell-the/) [H. Jackson Brown, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-jackson-brown-jr/) > [The real problem with big issues like Medicare is that both parties have to be brave at the same time. Every pollster will tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/the-real-problem-with-big-issues-like-medicare-is-that-both-parties/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [ Before \[Hindus and Moslems\] dare think of freedom, they must be brave enough to love one another, to tolerate one another's religion, even prejudices… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/before-hindus-and-moslems-dare-think-of-freedom-they-must-be-brave/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [We are in a tight corner, now, I agree. But we have been in tight corners before and come out of them. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-hoffman/we-are-in-a-tight-corner-now-i-agree-but-we-have-been-in-tight/) [Mary Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-hoffman/) > [You can plan to be brave - it's even better if you just try to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/you-can-plan-to-be-brave-it-s-even-better-if-you-just-try-to-be-brave/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [So that my life be brave, what though not long?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-drummond/so-that-my-life-be-brave-what-though-not-long/) [William Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-drummond/) > [Let us be brave in the face of adversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-elder/let-us-be-brave-in-the-face-of-adversity/) [Seneca the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-elder/) > [Sometimes I think I'm a nihilist because it doesn't matter, none of this matters. We're all following the will of some unknowable higher power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/sometimes-i-think-i-m-a-nihilist-because-it-doesn-t-matter-none-of/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) > [Be brave! Be strong! Be fearless! Once you have taken up the spiritual life, fight as long as there is any life in you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/be-brave-be-strong-be-fearless-once-you-have-taken-up-the-spiritual/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [To be able to live and train in Iraq under these circumstances you need to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-able-to-live-and-train-in-iraq-under-these-circumstances-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/be-convinced-that-to-be-happy-means-to-be-free-and-that-to-be-free/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [If You Love Someone, Be Brave Enough To Tell Them., Otherwise Be Brave Enough To Watch Them To Be Loved By Someone Else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilal-zahoor/if-you-love-someone-be-brave-enough-to-tell-them-otherwise-be-brave/) [Bilal Zahoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bilal-zahoor/) ## More by Sharon Creech > [Man needs bread and hyacinths: one to feed the body, and one to feed the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/man-needs-bread-and-hyacinths-one-to-feed-the-body-and-one-to-feed/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [“By the time I got to the bottom, I understood what Guthrie ment when he shouted LIBERO! It was a celebration of being alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/by-the-time-i-got-to-the-bottom-i-understood-what-guthrie-ment-when/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [Something I am wondering: if you cannot hear do you have no sounds in your head? Do you see a silent movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/something-i-am-wondering-if-you-cannot-hear-do-you-have-no-sounds-in/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [“But I thought about all the things that had to have spun into place in order for us to be alive and for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/but-i-thought-about-all-the-things-that-had-to-have-spun-into-place/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [And what did I think when I was small and why did I forget? And what else will I forget when I grow older?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/and-what-did-i-think-when-i-was-small-and-why-did-i-forget-and-what/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I once fell 20 feet from a tree, was knocked unconscious, and when I picked myself up and straggled home, my parents thought I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-once-fell-20-feet-from-a-tree-was-knocked-unconscious-and-when-i/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I wondered about Mrs. Winterbottom and what she meant about living a tiny life. If she didn't like all that baking and cleaning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-wondered-about-mrs-winterbottom-and-what-she-meant-about-living-a/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [Sometimes when you are trying not to think about something it keeps popping back in your head you can't help it you think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/sometimes-when-you-are-trying-not-to-think-about-something-it-keeps/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [“What's important is the ambition that results from our weakness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/what-s-important-is-the-ambition-that-results-from-our-weakness/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I started thinking about life insurance and how nice it would be if you could get insurance that your life would be happy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-started-thinking-about-life-insurance-and-how-nice-it-would-be-if/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [“I could tell you an extensively strange story, I warned. Oh, good! Gram said. Delicious!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-could-tell-you-an-extensively-strange-story-i-warned-oh-good-gram/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I wish that every baby everywhere could land in a family that wanted that baby as much as we want ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-wish-that-every-baby-everywhere-could-land-in-a-family-that-wanted/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [A person isn't a bird. You can't cage a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/a-person-isn-t-a-bird-you-can-t-cage-a-person/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [I am drawn to the ways in which we are shaped by people and by place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-am-drawn-to-the-ways-in-which-we-are-shaped-by-people-and-by-place/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [As readers can probably tell from my books, I love the outdoors. I love to hike, kayak, and swim. I also love to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/as-readers-can-probably-tell-from-my-books-i-love-the-outdoors-i-love/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) [Explore all 79 Sharon Creech quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) ## More Be brave quotes > [If You Love Someone, Be Brave Enough To Tell Them., Otherwise Be Brave Enough To Watch Them To Be Loved By Someone Else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilal-zahoor/if-you-love-someone-be-brave-enough-to-tell-them-otherwise-be-brave/) [Bilal Zahoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bilal-zahoor/) > [Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/be-convinced-that-to-be-happy-means-to-be-free-and-that-to-be-free/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [To be able to live and train in Iraq under these circumstances you need to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-able-to-live-and-train-in-iraq-under-these-circumstances-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be brave! Be strong! Be fearless! Once you have taken up the spiritual life, fight as long as there is any life in you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/be-brave-be-strong-be-fearless-once-you-have-taken-up-the-spiritual/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Sometimes I think I'm a nihilist because it doesn't matter, none of this matters. We're all following the will of some unknowable higher power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/sometimes-i-think-i-m-a-nihilist-because-it-doesn-t-matter-none-of/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) > [Let us be brave in the face of adversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-elder/let-us-be-brave-in-the-face-of-adversity/) [Seneca the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-elder/) > [So that my life be brave, what though not long?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-drummond/so-that-my-life-be-brave-what-though-not-long/) [William Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-drummond/) > [You can plan to be brave - it's even better if you just try to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/you-can-plan-to-be-brave-it-s-even-better-if-you-just-try-to-be-brave/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [We are in a tight corner, now, I agree. But we have been in tight corners before and come out of them. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-hoffman/we-are-in-a-tight-corner-now-i-agree-but-we-have-been-in-tight/) [Mary Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-hoffman/) > [ Before \[Hindus and Moslems\] dare think of freedom, they must be brave enough to love one another, to tolerate one another's religion, even prejudices… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/before-hindus-and-moslems-dare-think-of-freedom-they-must-be-brave/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The real problem with big issues like Medicare is that both parties have to be brave at the same time. Every pollster will tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/the-real-problem-with-big-issues-like-medicare-is-that-both-parties/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [Fear is the raw material from which courage is manufactured. Without it, we wouldn't even know what it means to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/fear-is-the-raw-material-from-which-courage-is-manufactured-without/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you. Pain is inevitable. Misery is optional. Physical pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara/pain-nourishes-courage-you-can-t-be-brave-if-you-ve-only-had/) [Barbara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara/) > [You make choices and sometimes they're good and sometimes they backfire. The most important thing is to be brave, forgive yourself when you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersey-clemons/you-make-choices-and-sometimes-they-re-good-and-sometimes-they/) [Kiersey Clemons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersey-clemons/) Browse all 333 Be brave quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What I have since realized is that if people expect you to be brave, sometimes you pretend that you are, even when you are frightened down to your very bones.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sharon Creech" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/what-i-have-since-realized-is-that-if-people-expect-you-to-be-brave/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be brave" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/what-i-have-since-realized-is-that-if-people-expect-you-to-be-brave/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/sharon-creech-8614_be-brave_what-i-have-since-realized-is-that-if-pe_688090.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/sharon-creech-8614_be-brave_what-i-have-since-realized-is-that-if-pe_688090.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/sharon-creech-8614_be-brave_what-i-have-since-realized-is-that-if-pe_688090.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What I have since realized is that if people expect you to be brave, sometimes you pretend that you are…” — Sharon Creech", "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": "Sharon Creech", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What I have since realized is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/what-i-have-since-realized-is-that-if-people-expect-you-to-be-brave/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/what-i-have-since-realized-is-that-if-people-expect-you-to-be-brave/#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 } } ] } ```