--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The things about my childhood that I…" description: "\"The things about my childhood that I really loved the most, writing about those things was hard because I knew they would never happen again.\" — Tara W..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/tara-westover-8275_childhood_the-things-about-my-childhood-that-i-rea_969276.jpg" --- # The things about my childhood that I really loved the… ![“The things about my childhood that I really loved the most, writing about those things was hard because I knew they would never happen again.” quote by Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/tara-westover-8275_childhood_the-things-about-my-childhood-that-i-rea_969276.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/tara-westover-8275_childhood_the-things-about-my-childhood-that-i-rea_969276.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/tara-westover-8275_childhood_the-things-about-my-childhood-that-i-rea_969276.jpg) > “The things about my childhood that I really loved the most, writing about those things was hard because I knew they would never happen again.” [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nostalgia for childhood joys can be painful when realizing they cannot be reclaimed, prompting reflection on growth. **In simple terms:** Missing past joys feels sad. Key Takeaway Cherish present moments. Themes nostalgia growth memory Mood melancholic hopeful Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - family memories - career changes - personal development Key Concepts psychology life transitions Questions to Reflect On - What childhood joy still inspires you? - How can you honor past experiences while moving forward? A Different Perspective Idealizing the past may hinder acceptance of present. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [You know, as an only child, you're kind of in a bubble, and there are all sorts of things about my childhood that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-as-an-only-child-you-re-kind-of-in-a-bubble-and-there-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I didn't like what that word-'childhood'-conjured up, or rather, I didn't like the way most people use it: that presumption of innocence and starry-eyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-christophe-valtat/i-didn-t-like-what-that-word-childhood-conjured-up-or-rather-i-didn-t/) [Jean-Christophe Valtat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-christophe-valtat/) > [I'm much more interested in writing about the things that engage and enrage me as an adult rather than in wallowing in childhood sorrows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-sawyer/i-m-much-more-interested-in-writing-about-the-things-that-engage-and/) [Robert J. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-sawyer/) > [There were some things in my childhood I thought we'd put to sleep. The idea of one race's supremacy over another. I thought the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/there-were-some-things-in-my-childhood-i-thought-we-d-put-to-sleep/) [Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/) > [Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age. The child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/childhood-is-not-from-birth-to-a-certain-age-and-at-a-certain-age-the-2/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [I have written my life in small sketches, a little today, a little yesterday, as I have thought of it, as I remember all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grandma-moses/i-have-written-my-life-in-small-sketches-a-little-today-a-little-2/) [Grandma Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grandma-moses/) > [The Flyers winning back to back Stanley Cups, all of those things were a part of my childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-payton/the-flyers-winning-back-to-back-stanley-cups-all-of-those-things-were/) [Sean Payton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-payton/) > [I was really inspired by keeping alive these things of my childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-noddy/i-was-really-inspired-by-keeping-alive-these-things-of-my-childhood/) [Tom Noddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-noddy/) > [“We shall give up the things of childhood -- gods and demons, planets and suns, guilts and regrets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-spinrad/we-shall-give-up-the-things-of-childhood-gods-and-demons-planets-and/) [Norman Spinrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-spinrad/) > [Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age The child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay-2/childhood-is-not-from-birth-to-a-certain-age-and-at-a-certain-age-the/) [Edna St Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay-2/) > [Growing old is unavoidable, but never growing up is possible. I believe you can retain certain things from your childhood if you protect them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/growing-old-is-unavoidable-but-never-growing-up-is-possible-i-believe/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [There were many things in my childhood I sacrificed: I started travelling quite young, compromising school in terms of learning and time with friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valtteri-bottas/there-were-many-things-in-my-childhood-i-sacrificed-i-started/) [Valtteri Bottas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valtteri-bottas/) > [“it's a wise parent who allows her children to give up the things of childhood in their own time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-a-wise-parent-who-allows-her-children-to-give-up-the-things-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When I was a child, I understood the things of my childhood. Now that I have grown into a man, I understand less of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-t-mcgrath/when-i-was-a-child-i-understood-the-things-of-my-childhood-now-that-i/) [Joel T. McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-t-mcgrath/) > [One of the most important things in my childhood were the new books that came in. I feel sorry for kids today who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-fritz/one-of-the-most-important-things-in-my-childhood-were-the-new-books/) [Jean Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-fritz/) ## More by Tara Westover > [I have a theory that all abuse, no matter what kind of abuse it is, is foremost an assault on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-have-a-theory-that-all-abuse-no-matter-what-kind-of-abuse-it-is-is/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [I get up when I feel like getting up. That's the deal I've made with myself: I can stay in bed as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-get-up-when-i-feel-like-getting-up-that-s-the-deal-i-ve-made-with/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [Anger can be a good thing. It's a mechanism that your brain uses to get you out of situations that are bad for you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/anger-can-be-a-good-thing-it-s-a-mechanism-that-your-brain-uses-to/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [I felt like I needed to come to terms with the decision I'd made to let go of my family. What do you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-felt-like-i-needed-to-come-to-terms-with-the-decision-i-d-made-to/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [Learning in our family was entirely self-directed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/learning-in-our-family-was-entirely-self-directed/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [I think you can change your belief, but sometimes your behavior takes a lot longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-think-you-can-change-your-belief-but-sometimes-your-behavior-takes/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [I'm no longer religious, but the Bible fascinates me. Hardly anyone reads it anymore, but it's got everything: it's a book of poetry, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-m-no-longer-religious-but-the-bible-fascinates-me-hardly-anyone/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [I didn't even have a birth certificate until I was 9 years old, which meant that, according to the state of Idaho and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-didn-t-even-have-a-birth-certificate-until-i-was-9-years-old-which/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [There's a sense of sovereignty that comes from life on a mountain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/there-s-a-sense-of-sovereignty-that-comes-from-life-on-a-mountain/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [“You can’t be a person without a birthday, they seemed to say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/you-can-t-be-a-person-without-a-birthday-they-seemed-to-say/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [I had to be - I was in school for probably three or four years before I began taking courses in history and political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-had-to-be-i-was-in-school-for-probably-three-or-four-years-before-i/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [BYU was a really positive place for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/byu-was-a-really-positive-place-for-me/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [For a long time, I didn't think I had the right to walk away from my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/for-a-long-time-i-didn-t-think-i-had-the-right-to-walk-away-from-my/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [“This moment would define my memory of that night, and of the many nights like it, for a decade. In it I saw myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/this-moment-would-define-my-memory-of-that-night-and-of-the-many/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [We think about education as a stepping stone into a higher socio-economic class, into a better job. And it does do those things. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/we-think-about-education-as-a-stepping-stone-into-a-higher-socio/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) [Explore all 82 Tara Westover quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) ## More Childhood quotes > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [“From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/from-childhood-s-hour-i-have-not-been-as-others-were-i-have-not-seen/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [I had a rough upbringing. Group homes. Foster homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shamrock/i-had-a-rough-upbringing-group-homes-foster-homes/) [Frank Shamrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shamrock/) > [When I talk about my childhood I used to say it as if it was scripted and I'd make jokes because it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/when-i-talk-about-my-childhood-i-used-to-say-it-as-if-it-was-scripted/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [Downstairs in my house, I have a museum room. I keep all of my awards down there, and childhood photos, and even all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/downstairs-in-my-house-i-have-a-museum-room-i-keep-all-of-my-awards/) [R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [On paper, it looks rough, but I had a great childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-morton/on-paper-it-looks-rough-but-i-had-a-great-childhood/) [Samantha Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-morton/) > [Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/let-positive-strong-helpful-thoughts-enter-into-your-brains-from-very/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-started-to-draw-let-alone-write-if-my/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) [Browse all 5,837 Childhood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The things about my childhood that I really loved the most, writing about those things was hard because I knew they would never happen again.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tara Westover" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/the-things-about-my-childhood-that-i-really-loved-the-most-writing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Childhood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/the-things-about-my-childhood-that-i-really-loved-the-most-writing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/tara-westover-8275_childhood_the-things-about-my-childhood-that-i-rea_969276.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/tara-westover-8275_childhood_the-things-about-my-childhood-that-i-rea_969276.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/tara-westover-8275_childhood_the-things-about-my-childhood-that-i-rea_969276.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The things about my childhood that I really loved the most, writing about those things was hard because I…” — Tara Westover", "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": "Tara Westover", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The things about my childhood that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/the-things-about-my-childhood-that-i-really-loved-the-most-writing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/the-things-about-my-childhood-that-i-really-loved-the-most-writing/#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 } } ] } ```