--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I felt now that all the uncomfortable…" description: "\"“I felt now that all the uncomfortable suspicions I had about myself were coming true, and I couldn't hide the truth much longer. After nineteen years ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/sylvia-plath-149_truth_i-felt-now-that-all-the-uncomfortable-su_1630014.jpg" --- # I felt now that all the uncomfortable suspicions I had… ![“I felt now that all the uncomfortable suspicions I had about myself were coming true, and I couldn't hide the truth much longer. After nineteen years of running after good marks and prizes and grants of one sort and another, I was letting up, slowing down, dropping clean out of the race.” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/sylvia-plath-149_truth_i-felt-now-that-all-the-uncomfortable-su_1630014.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/sylvia-plath-149_truth_i-felt-now-that-all-the-uncomfortable-su_1630014.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/sylvia-plath-149_truth_i-felt-now-that-all-the-uncomfortable-su_1630014.jpg) > ““I felt now that all the uncomfortable suspicions I had about myself were coming true, and I couldn't hide the truth much longer. After nineteen years of running after good marks and prizes and grants of one sort and another, I was letting up, slowing down, dropping clean out of the race.”” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. After years of relentless pursuit of external validation, the speaker feels compelled to slow down and withdraw from the competitive race. **In simple terms:** Exhaustion from chasing success leads to stepping back. Key Takeaway Recognize when to pause and reassess goals. Themes burnout self‑discovery career fatigue Mood introspective somber Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - academic career - artistic pursuits - personal growth - health management Key Concepts identity intrinsic motivation mental health Questions to Reflect On - What does success truly mean to you? - How can you balance achievement with well‑being? A Different Perspective Stopping may be seen as failure by others, risking loss of momentum. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“After nineteen years of running after good marks and prizes and grants of one sort or another, I was letting up, slowing down, dropping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/after-nineteen-years-of-running-after-good-marks-and-prizes-and/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I felt very low. I had been unmasked only that morning by Jay Cee herself, and I felt now that all the uncomfortable suspicions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-felt-very-low-i-had-been-unmasked-only-that-morning-by-jay-cee/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [So I started chanting when I was nineteen, which was about twelve years ago, and it really had a huge impact on my outlook,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-sheik/so-i-started-chanting-when-i-was-nineteen-which-was-about-twelve/) [Duncan Sheik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-sheik/) > [“I was nineteen years five months old when I fell in love for the first time. This seemed to me a profound, advanced age;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-was-nineteen-years-five-months-old-when-i-fell-in-love-for-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“So I am nineteen years old and don’t usually know what I’m doing, snap my thoughts out of the printed page, get my looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/so-i-am-nineteen-years-old-and-don-t-usually-know-what-i-m-doing-snap/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“In the nineteen years since then, I had learned eleven languages and 713 songs. I had found ways to conceal what I was—even, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/in-the-nineteen-years-since-then-i-had-learned-eleven-languages-and/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“This is my life. I'm nineteen years old, and the only thing I have any control over in my entire world is the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-filer/this-is-my-life-i-m-nineteen-years-old-and-the-only-thing-i-have-any/) [Nathan Filer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-filer/) > [When I was nineteen years old, I was the number-one star for two years. When I was forty, nobody wanted me. I couldn't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-rooney/when-i-was-nineteen-years-old-i-was-the-number-one-star-for-two-years/) [Mickey Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-rooney/) > [“She was so young that love was still a game to her. . . . She was being neither fair nor clever, but Babette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-andersen/she-was-so-young-that-love-was-still-a-game-to-her-she-was-being/) [Hans Christian Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-andersen/) > [“I was, I remember, nineteen years old, wrote poems, still wore no proper collar, ran out in the rain and snow, always woke up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/i-was-i-remember-nineteen-years-old-wrote-poems-still-wore-no-proper/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“I got nineteen years with your mom. But do you think I would've turned down the idea if I'd known I'd only get one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/i-got-nineteen-years-with-your-mom-but-do-you-think-i-would-ve-turned/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [Anthony grinned at her, knowing that would probably infuriate her all the more. "My eyes have been a-wandering, as you put it, for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/anthony-grinned-at-her-knowing-that-would-probably-infuriate-her-all/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) > [Eighteen holes of match play will teach you more about your foe than nineteen years of dealing with him across the desk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantland-rice/eighteen-holes-of-match-play-will-teach-you-more-about-your-foe-than/) [Grantland Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantland-rice/) > [He was a player that hasn't had to use his legs even when he was nineteen years of age because his first two yards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-hoddle/he-was-a-player-that-hasn-t-had-to-use-his-legs-even-when-he-was/) [Glenn Hoddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-hoddle/) > [The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-scar-had-not-pained-harry-for-nineteen-years-all-was-well/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Sylvia Plath > [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-couldn-t-stand-the-idea-of-a-woman-having-to-have-a-single-pure/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-to-live-my-life-and-it-is-the-only-one-i-ll-ever-have/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman. Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-city-had-faded-my-tan-though-i-looked-yellow-as-a-chinaman/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Joy:show joy & enjoy: then others will be joyful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/joy-show-joy-enjoy-then-others-will-be-joyful/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) [Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## More Nineteen quotes > [At home we didnt talk about religion. So gradually the question faded away by itself and disappeared from the agenda. When I was nineteen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-prokofiev/at-home-we-didnt-talk-about-religion-so-gradually-the-question-faded/) [Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-prokofiev/) > [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Rincewind could scream for mercy in nineteen languages, and just scream in another forty-four.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/rincewind-could-scream-for-mercy-in-nineteen-languages-and-just/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I was nineteen and I put a bowl on and I said, Cut around! Because it was not the fashion at the time when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-was-nineteen-and-i-put-a-bowl-on-and-i-said-cut-around-because-it/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [ Nineteen thousand children \[are\] dying every day. Does it really matter that we're not walking past them in the street? Does it really matter… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/nineteen-thousand-children-are-dying-every-day-does-it-really-matter/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [So You Want to Know All about her. Who she really is. (Was?) Why she swerved off the high road. Hard left to nowhere,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/so-you-want-to-know-all-about-her-who-she-really-is-was-why-she/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [When I was nineteen, I moved to L.A.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riley-stearns/when-i-was-nineteen-i-moved-to-l-a/) [Riley Stearns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riley-stearns/) > [He wanted to go running home to Mommy, what can I say? Of course, it's hard for me to believe that anyone would choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/he-wanted-to-go-running-home-to-mommy-what-can-i-say-of-course-it-s/) [Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/) > [The final goal of world revolution is not socialism, or even communism, it is not a change in the present economic system, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-v-deponcins/the-final-goal-of-world-revolution-is-not-socialism-or-even-communism/) [Leon V. DePoncins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-v-deponcins/) > [You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster. Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride! I always wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lowell-ganz/you-know-when-i-was-nineteen-grandpa-took-me-on-a-roller-coaster-up/) Lowell Ganz > [I remember the first time I went to Italy when I was eighteen, I was in Florence and there were all these eighteen, nineteen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/i-remember-the-first-time-i-went-to-italy-when-i-was-eighteen-i-was/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [I grew my mustache when I was nineteen in order to look older. I never shaved it off even though it overran its usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/i-grew-my-mustache-when-i-was-nineteen-in-order-to-look-older-i-never/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [All the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/all-the-people-of-all-the-nations-which-had-fought-in-the-first-world/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed forever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/thoughtcrime-was-not-a-thing-that-could-be-concealed-forever-you/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [For some years now, I've been doing a program called "Sinatra Sings Sinatra." It's been going on virtually since the end of '98. Nineteen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sinatra-jr-2/for-some-years-now-i-ve-been-doing-a-program-called-sinatra-sings/) [Frank Sinatra, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sinatra-jr-2/) Browse all 219 Nineteen quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I felt now that all the uncomfortable suspicions I had about myself were coming true, and I couldn't hide the truth much longer. 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