--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reality is what I make it. That is what I…" description: "\"“Reality is what I make it. That is what I have said I believed. Then I look at the hell I am wallowing in, nerves paralyzed, action nullified - fear, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/sylvia-plath-149_past-and-future_reality-is-what-i-make-it-that-is-what-i_2470163.jpg" --- # Reality is what I make it. That is what I have said I… ![“Reality is what I make it. That is what I have said I believed. Then I look at the hell I am wallowing in, nerves paralyzed, action nullified - fear, envy, hate: all the corrosive emotions of insecurity biting away at my sensitive guts. Time, experience: the colossal wave, sweeping tidal over me…” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/sylvia-plath-149_past-and-future_reality-is-what-i-make-it-that-is-what-i_2470163.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/sylvia-plath-149_past-and-future_reality-is-what-i-make-it-that-is-what-i_2470163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/sylvia-plath-149_past-and-future_reality-is-what-i-make-it-that-is-what-i_2470163.jpg) > ““Reality is what I make it. That is what I have said I believed. Then I look at the hell I am wallowing in, nerves paralyzed, action nullified - fear, envy, hate: all the corrosive emotions of insecurity biting away at my sensitive guts. Time, experience: the colossal wave, sweeping tidal over me, drowning, drowning. How can I ever find that permanence, that continuity with past and future, that communication with other human beings that I crave? Can I ever honestly accept an artificial imposed solution? How can I justify, how can I rationalize the rest of my life away?”” [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. She grapples with existential insecurity, fearing emotional corrosion, and seeks lasting connection and meaning amidst turmoil. **In simple terms:** Struggles with insecurity and seeks lasting meaning. Key Takeaway Seek connection, confront insecurity. Themes existential emotional search for meaning Mood melancholic hopeful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - mindfulness - community building Key Concepts insecurity artificial solutions continuity Questions to Reflect On - What authentic connections can you foster? - How do you confront corrosive emotions? A Different Perspective Artificial solutions may not address deep emotional needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corrosive Emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corrosive-emotions-753435/) [Drowning Permanence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowning-permanence-753433/) [Justify Rationalize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justify-rationalize-753436/) [Past and future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-and-future/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-make-753434/) ## Related quotes > [“When we fight against and/or hide from unpleasant or painful sensations and feelings, we generally make things worse. The more we avoid them, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/when-we-fight-against-and-or-hide-from-unpleasant-or-painful/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [Don't apologize, justify or rationalize bad art or bad writing. If you do, you are part of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/don-t-apologize-justify-or-rationalize-bad-art-or-bad-writing-if-you/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [“…reality is the make-believe of the majority that can only thrive in conformity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/reality-is-the-make-believe-of-the-majority-that-can-only-thrive-in/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [“There is only one way to make your dream a reality: make the decision and then not change it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu-ph-d/there-is-only-one-way-to-make-your-dream-a-reality-make-the-decision/) [Dragos Bratasanu, Ph.D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu-ph-d/) > [There may always be another reality to make fiction of the truth we think we've arrived at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/there-may-always-be-another-reality-to-make-fiction-of-the-truth-we/) [Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/) > [“Reality never has to make sense. Fiction does.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulina-mielech/reality-never-has-to-make-sense-fiction-does/) [Paulina Mielech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulina-mielech/) > [“I'm not pushing you away I'm just living in reality." "The only reality is the one we make.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-michaels/i-m-not-pushing-you-away-i-m-just-living-in-reality-the-only-reality/) [Corinne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-michaels/) > [I don't need to do a reality show to make my mark in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niecy-nash/i-don-t-need-to-do-a-reality-show-to-make-my-mark-in-this-world/) [Niecy Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niecy-nash/) > [You don't take a reality show and make it a movie. At least I wouldn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaunie-o-neal/you-don-t-take-a-reality-show-and-make-it-a-movie-at-least-i-wouldn-t/) [Shaunie O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaunie-o-neal/) > [If you DJ reality, that is, if you make a mash-up of actual reality, you're going to end up with something that inevitably people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/if-you-dj-reality-that-is-if-you-make-a-mash-up-of-actual-reality-you/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [To be truly popular, it has to look like something you are, when in reality, it's what you make yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/to-be-truly-popular-it-has-to-look-like-something-you-are-when-in/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [There is no such thing as reality. Reality is what you make it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-is-no-such-thing-as-reality-reality-is-what-you-make-it/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The ability to suspend reality and go into a make-believe world can be really, really difficult if there's something really big going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-penry-jones/the-ability-to-suspend-reality-and-go-into-a-make-believe-world-can/) [Rupert Penry-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-penry-jones/) > [People who confuse what they wish were true with what is really true create distorted pictures of reality that make it impossible for them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/people-who-confuse-what-they-wish-were-true-with-what-is-really-true/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Every reality that we can make begins with a dream,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-m-stirling-2/every-reality-that-we-can-make-begins-with-a-dream/) [S. M. Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-m-stirling-2/) ## 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 Past and future quotes > [“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/it-is-not-so-much-about-fighting-against-the-ego-it-is-more-about/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [Just take one thing out and the whole palace, the whole edifice of the human mind collapses. Take effort out of it and desiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/just-take-one-thing-out-and-the-whole-palace-the-whole-edifice-of-the/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Not to borrow the strength of another, nor to rely on one's own strength; to cut off past and future thoughts, and not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-to-borrow-the-strength-of-another-nor-to-rely-on-one-s-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sometimes people rise above their past, sometimes not. And sometimes the people you least expect it from—like Raylan and my father— have a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayla-cunningham/sometimes-people-rise-above-their-past-sometimes-not-and-sometimes/) [Kayla Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayla-cunningham/) > [If my happiness at this moment consists largely in reviewing happy memories and expectations, I am but dimly aware of this present. I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/if-my-happiness-at-this-moment-consists-largely-in-reviewing-happy/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [When we think we have been hurt by someone in the past, we build up defenses to protect ourselves from being hurt in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-think-we-have-been-hurt-by-someone-in-the-past-we-build-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I am afraid I am going to drift into fiction, truthful but incomplete, for lack of some details which I cannot conjure up today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/i-am-afraid-i-am-going-to-drift-into-fiction-truthful-but-incomplete/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) > [Knowledge owns the past and future, as long as we've the information we've power over the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/knowledge-owns-the-past-and-future-as-long-as-we-ve-the-information/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [“The past is the past, you cant change it. All you can do is look forward to the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vandyken/the-past-is-the-past-you-cant-change-it-all-you-can-do-is-look/) [Ashlee VanDyken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vandyken/) > [ “What actually happened was something absurdly simple and unspectacular: I stopped thinking. \[...\] Reason and imagination and all mental chatter died down. For once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-harding/what-actually-happened-was-something-absurdly-simple-and/) [Douglas Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-harding/) > [“Light upon light upon light--- back and back we trace it to its Source, radiating light and sound---a voice, an echo guiding those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-douglas-klotz-klotz/light-upon-light-upon-light-back-and-back-we-trace-it-to-its-source/) [Neil Douglas-Klotz-Klotz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-douglas-klotz-klotz/) > [“If you take society’s definition of knowing oneself, you will become lost in the many translations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/if-you-take-society-s-definition-of-knowing-oneself-you-will-become/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [“Like the line of love, I thought. Once crossed you can't go back. Like the line between past and future. Or maybe really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin-belmondo-style/like-the-line-of-love-i-thought-once-crossed-you-can-t-go-back-like/) [Adam Berlin Belmondo Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin-belmondo-style/) > [“I have been thinking that the crux of happiness matter for me is whether or not I am in the moment, in the flow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/i-have-been-thinking-that-the-crux-of-happiness-matter-for-me-is/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/and-when-two-such-people-encounter-each-other-and-their-eyes-meet-the/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) [Browse all 300 Past and future quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-and-future/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Reality is what I make it. That is what I have said I believed. Then I look at the hell I am wallowing in, nerves paralyzed, action nullified - fear, envy, hate: all the corrosive emotions of insecurity biting away at my sensitive guts. Time, experience: the colossal wave, sweeping tidal over me, drowning, drowning. How can I ever find that permanence, that continuity with past and future, that communication with other human beings that I crave? Can I ever honestly accept an artificial imposed solution? 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