--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most of being young, she had always…" description: "\"“Most of being young, she had always thought, was playing a game of elimination with an army of different selves until you settled on one, usually by c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/ted-thompson-67773_heart_most-of-being-young-she-had-always-thoug_2630877.jpg" --- # Most of being young, she had always thought, was playing a… ![“Most of being young, she had always thought, was playing a game of elimination with an army of different selves until you settled on one, usually by circumstance. But what made her grin, sitting across a starched white tablecloth from a man who seemed to actually listen to her, was the feeling…” quote by Ted Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/ted-thompson-67773_heart_most-of-being-young-she-had-always-thoug_2630877.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/ted-thompson-67773_heart_most-of-being-young-she-had-always-thoug_2630877.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/ted-thompson-67773_heart_most-of-being-young-she-had-always-thoug_2630877.jpg) > ““Most of being young, she had always thought, was playing a game of elimination with an army of different selves until you settled on one, usually by circumstance. But what made her grin, sitting across a starched white tablecloth from a man who seemed to actually listen to her, was the feeling that all those other selves weren’t dead. They were still alive—multitudes of them, waiting inside her.”” [Ted Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Identity is fluid; we host many possible selves, and choosing one doesn’t erase the others, they remain alive within us. **In simple terms:** We carry many inner selves that stay alive even after we settle on one. Key Takeaway Embrace the multiplicity of your inner selves. Themes identity selfhood growth choice psychology Mood reflective hopeful introspective Type literary philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - relationship choices - creative projects - personal development Key Concepts fluid self multifaceted identity inner dialogue Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor the selves you left behind? - What can you learn from the selves you still hold? A Different Perspective Choosing a path may feel final, but other possibilities persist, which can cause regret or indecision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive Multitudes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive-multitudes-2188471/) [Different Selves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-selves-803718/) [Feeling Selves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-selves-2188472/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Selves Settled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selves-settled-2188469/) [Selves Weren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selves-weren-2188470/) ## Related quotes > [You’ve been assigned an identity since birth. Then you spend the rest of your life walking around in it to see if it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/you-ve-been-assigned-an-identity-since-birth-then-you-spend-the-rest/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [By the time I hit college, my secret shame was the reason I was an actor was my own words sort of dried up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/by-the-time-i-hit-college-my-secret-shame-was-the-reason-i-was-an/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [“We tend to see life as a continuum, but really, it's a series of phases, generating a series of different selves. You leave one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-richmond/we-tend-to-see-life-as-a-continuum-but-really-it-s-a-series-of-phases/) [Michelle Richmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-richmond/) > [The transcendental light permeates your being and washes away impurity. All those different selves which are limited and binding and hurting are washed away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-transcendental-light-permeates-your-being-and-washes-away/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I feel like I have two different selves, one for being a part of SHINee and one as a solo artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-tae-min/i-feel-like-i-have-two-different-selves-one-for-being-a-part-of/) [Lee Tae-min](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-tae-min/) > [“There are parallel universes in which different events have happened to the same people. An alternate choice has been made, or an accident has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-parallel-universes-in-which-different-events-have-happened/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Perhaps the depth of love can be calibrated by the number of different selves that are actively involved in a given relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/perhaps-the-depth-of-love-can-be-calibrated-by-the-number-of/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Do any of us understand ourselves? all the different selves that each of us is?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-louisa-molesworth/do-any-of-us-understand-ourselves-all-the-different-selves-that-each/) [Mary Louisa Molesworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-louisa-molesworth/) > [“These selves of which we are built up, one on top of another, as plates are piled on a waiter's hand, have attachments elsewhere,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/these-selves-of-which-we-are-built-up-one-on-top-of-another-as-plates/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“We try on different dresses, different selves, but our souls are always the same - ongoing, full of light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/we-try-on-different-dresses-different-selves-but-our-souls-are-always/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“We all inhabit different selves in space and time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-goddard-kalanithi/we-all-inhabit-different-selves-in-space-and-time/) [Lucy Goddard Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-goddard-kalanithi/) > [My heart jumps out of its cage to see what the fuss is about. Damn thing. Always so hopeful, but my voice hides it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wylie/my-heart-jumps-out-of-its-cage-to-see-what-the-fuss-is-about-damn/) [Sarah Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wylie/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [“He held her like a new woman and what she felt felt almost as good as love had, and each of them called it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/he-held-her-like-a-new-woman-and-what-she-felt-felt-almost-as-good-as/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [Against his own will, almost, Will felt himself understanding; he would have done anything, he thought, told any lie, taken any risk, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/against-his-own-will-almost-will-felt-himself-understanding-he-would/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) ## More by Ted Thompson > [As much as I'd like to think I'm an expert in quarterbacks I'm probably not. But, I think college quarterbacks are put in positions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-thompson/as-much-as-i-d-like-to-think-i-m-an-expert-in-quarterbacks-i-m/) [Ted Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-thompson/) > [There are different 'It' factors for different players. There are all kinds of different personalities of quarterbacks around the league, but there are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-thompson/there-are-different-it-factors-for-different-players-there-are-all/) [Ted Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-thompson/) > [I've always been connected to football, but for some reason, there's never been a connection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-thompson/i-ve-always-been-connected-to-football-but-for-some-reason-there-s/) [Ted Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-thompson/) [Explore all 4 Ted Thompson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-thompson/) ## More Heart quotes > [Against his own will, almost, Will felt himself understanding; he would have done anything, he thought, told any lie, taken any risk, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/against-his-own-will-almost-will-felt-himself-understanding-he-would/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“He held her like a new woman and what she felt felt almost as good as love had, and each of them called it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/he-held-her-like-a-new-woman-and-what-she-felt-felt-almost-as-good-as/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [My heart jumps out of its cage to see what the fuss is about. Damn thing. Always so hopeful, but my voice hides it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wylie/my-heart-jumps-out-of-its-cage-to-see-what-the-fuss-is-about-damn/) [Sarah Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wylie/) > [I love because there is not enough room in my heart to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rena-kornreich-gelissen/i-love-because-there-is-not-enough-room-in-my-heart-to-hate/) [Rena Kornreich Gelissen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rena-kornreich-gelissen/) > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Love will fan the flame, and that flame will warm the heart that's waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-smith/love-will-fan-the-flame-and-that-flame-will-warm-the-heart-that-s/) [Michael W. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/) > [Always have the fear of God in your heart, and remember that God is always with you, everywhere, whether you are walking or sitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennadius-of-constantinople/always-have-the-fear-of-god-in-your-heart-and-remember-that-god-is/) [Gennadius of Constantinople](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennadius-of-constantinople/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) [Browse all 45,172 Heart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Most of being young, she had always thought, was playing a game of elimination with an army of different selves until you settled on one, usually by circumstance. But what made her grin, sitting across a starched white tablecloth from a man who seemed to actually listen to her, was the feeling that all those other selves weren’t dead. 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