--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was eight years old, I wrote a…" description: "\"When I was eight years old, I wrote a paragraph-long short story about a goat on my mother's hundred-pound, black-and-white-screen laptop. The story ca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/t-a-obreht-11276_black_when-i-was-eight-years-old-i-wrote-a-par_1130213.png" --- # When I was eight years old, I wrote a paragraph-long short… ![“When I was eight years old, I wrote a paragraph-long short story about a goat on my mother's hundred-pound, black-and-white-screen laptop. The story came about largely because I liked the way the word 'goat' looked on the page, but I decided then and there that I wanted to be a writer. That desire…” quote by Tea Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/t-a-obreht-11276_black_when-i-was-eight-years-old-i-wrote-a-par_1130213.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/t-a-obreht-11276_black_when-i-was-eight-years-old-i-wrote-a-par_1130213.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/t-a-obreht-11276_black_when-i-was-eight-years-old-i-wrote-a-par_1130213.png) > “When I was eight years old, I wrote a paragraph-long short story about a goat on my mother's hundred-pound, black-and-white-screen laptop. The story came about largely because I liked the way the word 'goat' looked on the page, but I decided then and there that I wanted to be a writer. That desire never changed.” [Tea Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A childhood fascination with language sparked a lifelong commitment to writing, showing early passions can shape careers **In simple terms:** Early love of words set a lifelong writing path Key Takeaway Nurture early creative interests Themes writing creativity identity career inspiration Mood inspirational nostalgic Type creative personal When to use this quote - school projects - personal journaling - creative workshops - career planning Key Concepts Narrative identity developmental psychology literary ambition Questions to Reflect On - How can we sustain early creative drives into adulthood? - What role does play have in professional development? A Different Perspective Early interests may evolve, making sustained focus challenging ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black and white](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-and-white/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Laptops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laptops/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Short story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-story/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“swallow a whole goat, but they cannot hear, whereas”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/swallow-a-whole-goat-but-they-cannot-hear-whereas/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The goat, for us, is an image that's stuck in our heads since we were kids, coming from Iowa people are like 'Beware the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-goat-for-us-is-an-image-that-s-stuck-in-our-heads-since-we-were/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Coogan Law had to come and it just happens that I was the goat for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-coogan/the-coogan-law-had-to-come-and-it-just-happens-that-i-was-the-goat/) [Jackie Coogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-coogan/) > [The Warrior of the Light never forgets the old saying: The good little goat doesn't bleat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-warrior-of-the-light-never-forgets-the-old-saying-the-good-little/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Home is where you tie up your goat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-where-you-tie-up-your-goat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Earl "The Goat" Manigault was probably the greatest basketball player of all time, but Michael Jordan is universally regarded as the best ever. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/earl-the-goat-manigault-was-probably-the-greatest-basketball-player/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [In sports, every day you can be the hero or the goat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-stults/in-sports-every-day-you-can-be-the-hero-or-the-goat/) [Geoff Stults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-stults/) > [I don't mind sitting behind Tom Brady. That is the GOAT himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-jackson/i-don-t-mind-sitting-behind-tom-brady-that-is-the-goat-himself/) [Lamar Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-jackson/) > [The goat's business is none of the sheep's concern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/the-goat-s-business-is-none-of-the-sheep-s-concern/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [Rappers only shine light on things that are relevant, and if it's referencing an athlete, that means they're the GOAT, like Tom Brady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sony-michel/rappers-only-shine-light-on-things-that-are-relevant-and-if-it-s/) [Sony Michel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sony-michel/) > [You can lose. Michael Jordan lost, but that doesn't mean he wasn't the GOAT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-butler/you-can-lose-michael-jordan-lost-but-that-doesn-t-mean-he-wasn-t-the/) [Jimmy Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-butler/) > [“Holy fucking goat scrotums!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-monroe/holy-fucking-goat-scrotums/) [Max Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-monroe/) > [You eat a lot of goat stomach when you're in North Africa. You eat whatever's put in front of you. I am a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronan-farrow/you-eat-a-lot-of-goat-stomach-when-you-re-in-north-africa-you-eat/) [Ronan Farrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronan-farrow/) > [I love collard greens and sweet potatoes. But like, traveling, I'm always just looking for that thing where you feel like there's love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neneh-cherry/i-love-collard-greens-and-sweet-potatoes-but-like-traveling-i-m/) [Neneh Cherry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neneh-cherry/) > [Love is not love, without a violin playing goat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-roberts/love-is-not-love-without-a-violin-playing-goat/) [Julia Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-roberts/) ## More by Tea Obreht > [“I felt my voice had fallen through and through me, and I couldn't summon it back to tell him or myself anything at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/i-felt-my-voice-had-fallen-through-and-through-me-and-i-couldn-t/) [Téa Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [I grew up in Cyprus and Egypt, these fantastic places I remember fondly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/i-grew-up-in-cyprus-and-egypt-these-fantastic-places-i-remember-fondly/) [Tea Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [Everything necessary to understand my grandfather lies between two stories: the story of the tiger’s wife, and the story of the deathless man. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/everything-necessary-to-understand-my-grandfather-lies-between-two/) [Tea Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [“People become very upset,' Gavo tells me, 'when they find out they are going to die' . . . 'They behave very strangely,' he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/people-become-very-upset-gavo-tells-me-when-they-find-out-they-are/) [Téa Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [“By the time I got to high school, I had learned to be more cautious about revealing my dreams. I was reading—and therefore writing—adventure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/by-the-time-i-got-to-high-school-i-had-learned-to-be-more-cautious/) [Téa Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [No matter how grave the secret, how imperative absolute silence, someone would always feel the urge to confess, and an unleashed secret is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/no-matter-how-grave-the-secret-how-imperative-absolute-silence/) [Tea Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [“To me, the persistence of my grandfather's rituals meant that he was unchanged, running on discipline and continuance and stoicism. I didn't notice, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/to-me-the-persistence-of-my-grandfather-s-rituals-meant-that-he-was/) [Téa Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [At the end of the day, it's about the reader's attachment to and belief in the magical elements that make or break magical realism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/at-the-end-of-the-day-it-s-about-the-reader-s-attachment-to-and/) [Tea Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [ “I started to feel that nagging sense of shame again, an acute awareness of my own inability to share in his \[my grandfather's\] optimism.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/i-started-to-feel-that-nagging-sense-of-shame-again-an-acute/) [Téa Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [I think the mythology of death really ran away with me when I was very young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/i-think-the-mythology-of-death-really-ran-away-with-me-when-i-was/) [Tea Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [A lot of writers that I know have told me that the first book you write, you write about your childhood, whether you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/a-lot-of-writers-that-i-know-have-told-me-that-the-first-book-you/) [Tea Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [When you're in a place, the details you focus on are different than details you focus on when you're writing about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/when-you-re-in-a-place-the-details-you-focus-on-are-different-than/) [Tea Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [“Knowing, above all, that I would come looking, and find what he had left for me, all that remained of The Jungle Book in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/knowing-above-all-that-i-would-come-looking-and-find-what-he-had-left/) [Téa Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [My mother always says that fear and pain are immediate, and that, when they're gone we're left with the concept, but not the true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/my-mother-always-says-that-fear-and-pain-are-immediate-and-that-when/) [Tea Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [“But children die how they have been living-with hope. They don't what is happening, so they expect nothing, they don't ask you to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/but-children-die-how-they-have-been-living-with-hope-they-don-t-what/) [Téa Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) [Explore all 60 Tea Obreht quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) Frank B. Wilderson III > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was eight years old, I wrote a paragraph-long short story about a goat on my mother's hundred-pound, black-and-white-screen laptop. The story came about largely because I liked the way the word 'goat' looked on the page, but I decided then and there that I wanted to be a writer. That desire never changed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tea Obreht" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/when-i-was-eight-years-old-i-wrote-a-paragraph-long-short-story-about/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/when-i-was-eight-years-old-i-wrote-a-paragraph-long-short-story-about/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/t-a-obreht-11276_black_when-i-was-eight-years-old-i-wrote-a-par_1130213.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/t-a-obreht-11276_black_when-i-was-eight-years-old-i-wrote-a-par_1130213.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/t-a-obreht-11276_black_when-i-was-eight-years-old-i-wrote-a-par_1130213.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I was eight years old, I wrote a paragraph-long short story about a goat on my mother's hundred-pound…” — Tea Obreht", "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": "Tea Obreht", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I was eight years old,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/when-i-was-eight-years-old-i-wrote-a-paragraph-long-short-story-about/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/when-i-was-eight-years-old-i-wrote-a-paragraph-long-short-story-about/#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 } } ] } ```