--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing that is most interesting about…" description: "\"The thing that is most interesting about people is the way they are when no one is looking at them or the way they are when they are in private.\" — Suz..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/suzanne-vega-12807_interesting_the-thing-that-is-most-interesting-about_1913606.jpg" --- # The thing that is most interesting about people is the way… ![“The thing that is most interesting about people is the way they are when no one is looking at them or the way they are when they are in private.” quote by Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/suzanne-vega-12807_interesting_the-thing-that-is-most-interesting-about_1913606.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/suzanne-vega-12807_interesting_the-thing-that-is-most-interesting-about_1913606.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/suzanne-vega-12807_interesting_the-thing-that-is-most-interesting-about_1913606.jpg) > “The thing that is most interesting about people is the way they are when no one is looking at them or the way they are when they are in private.” [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People reveal true character in private, when no one watches. **In simple terms:** True selves appear when unobserved. Key Takeaway Observe private behavior for insight. Themes authenticity privacy human nature Mood contemplative observational Type musical philosophical When to use this quote - leadership - relationships - self‑awareness Key Concepts social psychology behavioral observation Questions to Reflect On - How do you act when unobserved? - What does private behavior reveal about you? A Different Perspective People may conceal true selves even in private. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Interesting people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Privacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privacy/) ## Related quotes > [The thing that doesn't fit is the thing that is most interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/the-thing-that-doesn-t-fit-is-the-thing-that-is-most-interesting/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [“...For it began to occur to him that one way to become private was to respect another's privacy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-yolen/for-it-began-to-occur-to-him-that-one-way-to-become-private-was-to/) [Jane Yolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-yolen/) > [“The way of truth is one and artless: the way of private gain and success in such affairs as we are entrusted with is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-way-of-truth-is-one-and-artless-the-way-of-private-gain-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [You should not live one way in private, another in public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/you-should-not-live-one-way-in-private-another-in-public/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [Maybe that's the way I'm private - I respect the privacy of "my" characters? Anyway, we're getting close to the whole "relatability" and "likability"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/maybe-that-s-the-way-i-m-private-i-respect-the-privacy-of-my/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Other people have suggested that I write about teens because I'm perpetually stuck in that stage of my own development. That could very well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-myracle/other-people-have-suggested-that-i-write-about-teens-because-i-m/) [Lauren Myracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-myracle/) > [The most interesting people are never perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/the-most-interesting-people-are-never-perfect/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [Everybody thought New York was this hard, cruel place, and I found it to be an extraordinarily wonderful place filled with the most interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/everybody-thought-new-york-was-this-hard-cruel-place-and-i-found-it/) [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) > [I actually think some of my best moments in life have been while I was with people from Instagram - whether it's super late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-systrom/i-actually-think-some-of-my-best-moments-in-life-have-been-while-i/) [Kevin Systrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-systrom/) > [The most interesting people I know drink in life and savor every drop-the sweet and the sour. The good and the bad. The planned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luci-swindoll/the-most-interesting-people-i-know-drink-in-life-and-savor-every-drop/) [Luci Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luci-swindoll/) > [The interesting artists I know are the ones doing political work. The most interesting people I know are the people who care about politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/the-interesting-artists-i-know-are-the-ones-doing-political-work-the/) [Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/) > [The truth is the best brands, like the most interesting people, have a keen sense of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-d-alessandro/the-truth-is-the-best-brands-like-the-most-interesting-people-have-a/) [David F. D'Alessandro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-d-alessandro/) > [and that, in the end, the most interesting people always leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/and-that-in-the-end-the-most-interesting-people-always-leave/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [A woman called me interesting once, and it kind of blew my mind. She said, 'You're one of the most interesting people I've ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-efron/a-woman-called-me-interesting-once-and-it-kind-of-blew-my-mind-she/) [Zac Efron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-efron/) > [Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/don-t-feel-guilty-if-you-don-t-know-what-you-want-to-do-with-your/) [Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/) ## More by Suzanne Vega > [When I was pregnant, I felt filled with life, and I felt really happy. I ate well, and I slept well. I felt much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/when-i-was-pregnant-i-felt-filled-with-life-and-i-felt-really-happy-i/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [Some girls are taught to be sexy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/some-girls-are-taught-to-be-sexy/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [I was the oldest child, and both my parents worked, so I had a great deal of responsibility from a very young age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/i-was-the-oldest-child-and-both-my-parents-worked-so-i-had-a-great/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [Girls are crazy and mean. They don't fight fair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/girls-are-crazy-and-mean-they-don-t-fight-fair/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [But I never want to get to the point where I write a safe song or one that represents my sense of a subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/but-i-never-want-to-get-to-the-point-where-i-write-a-safe-song-or-one/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [Writing in other voices is almost Japanese in the sense that there's a certain formality there which allows me to sidestep the embarrassment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/writing-in-other-voices-is-almost-japanese-in-the-sense-that-there-s/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [I think that if you have a strong narrative, if the idea of the song can be boiled down to the basics, it won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/i-think-that-if-you-have-a-strong-narrative-if-the-idea-of-the-song/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [The first song I wrote was the first song I remember thinking, "Well, maybe I can do something here." The very first one. By…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/the-first-song-i-wrote-was-the-first-song-i-remember-thinking-well/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [To me, a feminist belong in the same category as a humanist or an advocate for human rights. I don't see why someone who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/to-me-a-feminist-belong-in-the-same-category-as-a-humanist-or-an/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [Of course, sometimes when you write personally, you are also writing about society, obliquely reflecting topical issues, but not in a way that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/of-course-sometimes-when-you-write-personally-you-are-also-writing/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [Kindness to me is only powerful if it has the cruel streak behind it. If someone is kind all the time under all circumstances,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/kindness-to-me-is-only-powerful-if-it-has-the-cruel-streak-behind-it/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [I still consider myself a feminist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/i-still-consider-myself-a-feminist/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [And I really wanted a driver's license. I was 43, had my learner's permit and had failed the test once already - but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/and-i-really-wanted-a-driver-s-license-i-was-43-had-my-learner-s/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [Last year's troubles, They shine up so prettily, They gleam with a lustre they don't have today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/last-year-s-troubles-they-shine-up-so-prettily-they-gleam-with-a/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [My mother wanted me to understand that as a woman I could do pretty much whatever I wanted to, that I didn't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/my-mother-wanted-me-to-understand-that-as-a-woman-i-could-do-pretty/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) [Explore all 53 Suzanne Vega quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) ## More Interesting quotes > [Sometimes a sign or a quote is simply interesting by itself and does not require anything beyond being framed on a page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/sometimes-a-sign-or-a-quote-is-simply-interesting-by-itself-and-does/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [The faster you go, the shorter you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-faster-you-go-the-shorter-you-are/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A lot of people have been saying 'The 100' reminds them of 'Lord Of The Flies,' 'Lost' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' and all of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-avgeropoulos/a-lot-of-people-have-been-saying-the-100-reminds-them-of-lord-of-the/) [Marie Avgeropoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-avgeropoulos/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [It is sort of interesting that in our society this days we are very quick to apply the term 'war' to places where thare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-schneier/it-is-sort-of-interesting-that-in-our-society-this-days-we-are-very/) [Bruce Schneier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-schneier/) > [If you do a black character or a female character or an Asian character, then they aren't just that character. They represent that race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-mcduffie/if-you-do-a-black-character-or-a-female-character-or-an-asian/) [Dwayne McDuffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-mcduffie/) > [We're wired to expect the world to be brighter and more meaningful and more obviously interesting than it actually is. And when we realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-re-wired-to-expect-the-world-to-be-brighter-and-more-meaningful/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [Failure or success seems to have been allotted to men by their stars. But they retain the power of wriggling, of fighting with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/failure-or-success-seems-to-have-been-allotted-to-men-by-their-stars/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life can be difficult sometimes, it gets bumpy. What with family and kids and things not going exactly like you planned. But that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-van-patten/life-can-be-difficult-sometimes-it-gets-bumpy-what-with-family-and/) Joyce Van Patten > [Here are the good things about independent films: They do the more interesting, chancy scripts. They're run by love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-macy/here-are-the-good-things-about-independent-films-they-do-the-more/) [William H. Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-macy/) > [If you make something interesting, inevitably not everybody is going to like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rian-johnson/if-you-make-something-interesting-inevitably-not-everybody-is-going/) [Rian Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rian-johnson/) > [Groupon has some interesting assets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cohler/groupon-has-some-interesting-assets/) [Matt Cohler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cohler/) > [It's an interesting fact that fewer than 17 % of Real cats end their lives with the same name they started with. Much family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-an-interesting-fact-that-fewer-than-17-of-real-cats-end-their/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) Browse all 9,270 Interesting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The thing that is most interesting about people is the way they are when no one is looking at them or the way they are when they are in private.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Suzanne Vega" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/the-thing-that-is-most-interesting-about-people-is-the-way-they-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Interesting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/the-thing-that-is-most-interesting-about-people-is-the-way-they-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/suzanne-vega-12807_interesting_the-thing-that-is-most-interesting-about_1913606.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/suzanne-vega-12807_interesting_the-thing-that-is-most-interesting-about_1913606.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b15/suzanne-vega-12807_interesting_the-thing-that-is-most-interesting-about_1913606.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The thing that is most interesting about people is the way they are when no one is looking at them or the…” — Suzanne Vega", "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": "Suzanne Vega", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The thing that is most interesting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/the-thing-that-is-most-interesting-about-people-is-the-way-they-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/the-thing-that-is-most-interesting-about-people-is-the-way-they-are/#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 } } ] } ```