--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was not rebelling by smoking dope or…" description: "\"“I was not rebelling by smoking dope or drinking, I was testing ideas. I was experimenting with voice, what I could say and still be heard in an atmosp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b7/terry-tempest-williams-835_experimenting_i-was-not-rebelling-by-smoking-dope-or-d_2210141.jpg" --- # I was not rebelling by smoking dope or drinking, I was… ![“I was not rebelling by smoking dope or drinking, I was testing ideas. I was experimenting with voice, what I could say and still be heard in an atmosphere of prescribed truths.” quote by Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b7/terry-tempest-williams-835_experimenting_i-was-not-rebelling-by-smoking-dope-or-d_2210141.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b7/terry-tempest-williams-835_experimenting_i-was-not-rebelling-by-smoking-dope-or-d_2210141.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b7/terry-tempest-williams-835_experimenting_i-was-not-rebelling-by-smoking-dope-or-d_2210141.jpg) > ““I was not rebelling by smoking dope or drinking, I was testing ideas. I was experimenting with voice, what I could say and still be heard in an atmosphere of prescribed truths.”” [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She distinguishes rebellion from mere indulgence, framing her actions as experimental inquiry within restrictive norms. **In simple terms:** She tests ideas, not just rebels. Key Takeaway Seek truth through experimentation. Themes rebellion experimentation truth Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - activism - creative expression - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy social norms Questions to Reflect On - How do you test ideas safely? - When does rebellion become self‑destruction? A Different Perspective Experimentation can be risky in hostile environments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experimenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experimenting/) [Experimenting Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experimenting-voice-3113092/) [Ideas Experimenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-experimenting-4737043/) [Prescribed Truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prescribed-truths-4890726/) [Rebelling Smoking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebelling-smoking-4890727/) [Smoking dope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoking-dope/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [I'm always up for playing around with fashion and I'm quite open to new ideas and experimenting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vick-hope/i-m-always-up-for-playing-around-with-fashion-and-i-m-quite-open-to/) [Vick Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vick-hope/) > [I'm experimenting with my voice. Every day I do different things with it, and if I feel it's appropriate I do it on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-carey/i-m-experimenting-with-my-voice-every-day-i-do-different-things-with/) [Mariah Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-carey/) > [I had just finished a run of shows in the States and went to NY to work with BenZel for a couple weeks, mainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-ware/i-had-just-finished-a-run-of-shows-in-the-states-and-went-to-ny-to/) [Jessie Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-ware/) > [Smoking dope and hanging up Che's picture is no more a commitment than drinking milk and collecting postage stamps. A revolution in consciousness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbie-hoffman/smoking-dope-and-hanging-up-che-s-picture-is-no-more-a-commitment-3/) [Abbie Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbie-hoffman/) > [I went on a diet, stopped smoking dope, cut out the drinking and heavy eating, and in fourteen days I lost two weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humaira/i-went-on-a-diet-stopped-smoking-dope-cut-out-the-drinking-and-heavy/) [Humaira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humaira/) > [I discovered rock'n'roll. You could go round Europe in a van with your best mates, drinking beer, smoking dope and screwing chicks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-discovered-rock-n-roll-you-could-go-round-europe-in-a-van-with-your/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [When I left Nashville I went to Texas because that's where I came from, and because I was playing in Texas a lot in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/when-i-left-nashville-i-went-to-texas-because-that-s-where-i-came/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [Smoking dope and hanging up Che's picture is no more a commitment than drinking milk and collecting postage stamps. A revolution in consciousness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/smoking-dope-and-hanging-up-che-s-picture-is-no-more-a-commitment-2/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Smoking dope and smoking coke, you are rendered defenseless. The only way out of that hopeless state is intervention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-downey-jr/smoking-dope-and-smoking-coke-you-are-rendered-defenseless-the-only/) [Robert Downey, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-downey-jr/) > [In my day, the principal concerns of university students were sex, smoking dope, rioting and learning. Learning was something you did only when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/in-my-day-the-principal-concerns-of-university-students-were-sex/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Sitting on the train I watch the scenery speeding by, notice a cobweb in the top corner of the window, undulating with a gentle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-lewry/sitting-on-the-train-i-watch-the-scenery-speeding-by-notice-a-cobweb/) [Christine Lewry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-lewry/) > [Smoking dope and hanging up Che's picture is no more a commitment than drinking milk and collecting postage stamps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbie-hoffman/smoking-dope-and-hanging-up-che-s-picture-is-no-more-a-commitment/) [Abbie Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbie-hoffman/) > [If you see me playing a $1/$2 no-limit on PokerStars, I'm probably experimenting with something, trying something new seeing how it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-moneymaker/if-you-see-me-playing-a-1-2-no-limit-on-pokerstars-i-m-probably/) [Chris Moneymaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-moneymaker/) > [In today's day and age, one looks forward to experimenting and it pays off at times and at times it doesn't. This does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankit-tiwari/in-today-s-day-and-age-one-looks-forward-to-experimenting-and-it-pays/) [Ankit Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankit-tiwari/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) ## More by Terry Tempest Williams > [I admire how she protects her energy and understands her limitations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-admire-how-she-protects-her-energy-and-understands-her-limitations/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [Buddha says there are two kinds of suffering: the kind that leads to more suffering and the kind that brings an end to suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/buddha-says-there-are-two-kinds-of-suffering-the-kind-that-leads-to/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [I wonder how, among the Fremont, mothers and daughters shared their world. Did they walk side by side along the lake edge? What stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-wonder-how-among-the-fremont-mothers-and-daughters-shared-their/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [I believe the personal is the collective. One of the ironies of writing memoir is in using the "I" it becomes an alchemical "we."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-believe-the-personal-is-the-collective-one-of-the-ironies-of/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“I write to discover. I write to uncover. I write to meet my ghosts... I write because it is dangerous, a bloody risk, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-write-to-discover-i-write-to-uncover-i-write-to-meet-my-ghosts-i/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“I write to make peace with the things I cannot control. I write to create red in a world that often appears black and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-write-to-make-peace-with-the-things-i-cannot-control-i-write-to/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [Hope is not attached to outcomes but is a state of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/hope-is-not-attached-to-outcomes-but-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [I have spoken about what we can do as citizens, what we can do as a responsive citizenry, and this is where we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-have-spoken-about-what-we-can-do-as-citizens-what-we-can-do-as-a/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [The moment Eve bit into the apple, her eyes opened and she became free. She exposed the truth of what every woman knows: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/the-moment-eve-bit-into-the-apple-her-eyes-opened-and-she-became-free/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [I accept the Organic Trinity of Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal with as much authority as I accept the Holy Trinity. Both are sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-accept-the-organic-trinity-of-mineral-vegetable-and-animal-with-as/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [Good writing must stay open to the questions and not fall prey to the pull of a polemic, otherwise, words simply become predictable, sentimental,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/good-writing-must-stay-open-to-the-questions-and-not-fall-prey-to-the/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“I believe we must do things in our lives for the right reasons, because we enjoy doing them, with no expectation of getting something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-believe-we-must-do-things-in-our-lives-for-the-right-reasons/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [A mother and daughter are an edge. Edges are ecotones, transitional zones, places of danger or opportunity. House-dwelling tension. When I stand on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/a-mother-and-daughter-are-an-edge-edges-are-ecotones-transitional/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“To be read. To be heard. To be seen. I want to be read, I want to be heard. I don't need to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/to-be-read-to-be-heard-to-be-seen-i-want-to-be-read-i-want-to-be/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [The Eyes of the Future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/the-eyes-of-the-future-are-looking-back-at-us-and-they-are-praying/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) [Explore all 357 Terry Tempest Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) ## More Experimenting quotes > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) > [In today's day and age, one looks forward to experimenting and it pays off at times and at times it doesn't. This does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankit-tiwari/in-today-s-day-and-age-one-looks-forward-to-experimenting-and-it-pays/) [Ankit Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankit-tiwari/) > [If you see me playing a $1/$2 no-limit on PokerStars, I'm probably experimenting with something, trying something new seeing how it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-moneymaker/if-you-see-me-playing-a-1-2-no-limit-on-pokerstars-i-m-probably/) [Chris Moneymaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-moneymaker/) > [I think of myself as experimenting with different ways of structuring pieces. A lot of it has to do with the computer, of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lansky/i-think-of-myself-as-experimenting-with-different-ways-of-structuring/) [Paul Lansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lansky/) > [The lead singer for Deerhunter, Bradford Cox... I don't like saying people are geniuses or whatever, but I just think that dude is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-anderson/the-lead-singer-for-deerhunter-bradford-cox-i-don-t-like-saying/) [Blake Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-anderson/) > [It's very much to do with how I'm feeling ... I love to be experimental and use eclectic mismatched things and put them together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bat-for-lashes/it-s-very-much-to-do-with-how-i-m-feeling-i-love-to-be-experimental/) [Bat for Lashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bat-for-lashes/) > [I enjoy experimenting with food and dish out innovative food items as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sobhita-dhulipala/i-enjoy-experimenting-with-food-and-dish-out-innovative-food-items-as/) [Sobhita Dhulipala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sobhita-dhulipala/) > [I am in a space now where I can try anything; and with Pink Floyd we've always been in a space where we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gilmour/i-am-in-a-space-now-where-i-can-try-anything-and-with-pink-floyd-we/) [David Gilmour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gilmour/) > [I love experimenting, playing characters that are not even remotely connected to my personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anoop-menon/i-love-experimenting-playing-characters-that-are-not-even-remotely/) [Anoop Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anoop-menon/) > [Most music that you hear is in synch with itself. We were experimenting with the music falling out of synch with itself and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-coyne/most-music-that-you-hear-is-in-synch-with-itself-we-were/) [Wayne Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-coyne/) > [I just like so many different kinds of music that I like experimenting. I don't want to keep making the same record over and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cooper/i-just-like-so-many-different-kinds-of-music-that-i-like/) [Alan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cooper/) > [I want to be a romantic hero but I am also open to experimenting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pulkit-samrat/i-want-to-be-a-romantic-hero-but-i-am-also-open-to-experimenting/) [Pulkit Samrat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pulkit-samrat/) > [The younger you are, the more experimenting you should do. But once you've found what you were created to do, stick with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/the-younger-you-are-the-more-experimenting-you-should-do-but-once-you/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [Our contemporary society is experimenting with the diminishment of caregivers for children. Some children are raised through crucial stages of life by only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gurian/our-contemporary-society-is-experimenting-with-the-diminishment-of/) [Michael Gurian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gurian/) > [I am just happy experimenting with looks and with 'Policegiri,' I guess I am getting a chance to do that again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prachi-desai/i-am-just-happy-experimenting-with-looks-and-with-policegiri-i-guess/) [Prachi Desai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prachi-desai/) [Browse all 157 Experimenting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experimenting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I was not rebelling by smoking dope or drinking, I was testing ideas. 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