--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You felt it as a depth of ease in certain…" description: "\"You felt it as a depth of ease in certain boys, their innate, affable assurance that they would not have to struggle for a place in the world; that is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/117/tobias-wolff-7890_assurance_you-felt-it-as-a-depth-of-ease-in-certai_2529748.png" --- # You felt it as a depth of ease in certain boys, their… ![“You felt it as a depth of ease in certain boys, their innate, affable assurance that they would not have to struggle for a place in the world; that is already reserved for them.” quote by Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/117/tobias-wolff-7890_assurance_you-felt-it-as-a-depth-of-ease-in-certai_2529748.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/117/tobias-wolff-7890_assurance_you-felt-it-as-a-depth-of-ease-in-certai_2529748.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/117/tobias-wolff-7890_assurance_you-felt-it-as-a-depth-of-ease-in-certai_2529748.png) > “You felt it as a depth of ease in certain boys, their innate, affable assurance that they would not have to struggle for a place in the world; that is already reserved for them.” [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Some individuals seem naturally confident and destined for success, suggesting innate advantage. **In simple terms:** Innate confidence eases life paths. Key Takeaway Recognize and support innate strengths. Themes confidence destiny social mobility Mood analytical thoughtful Type sociological psychological When to use this quote - education - career planning - mentoring - self‑esteem development Key Concepts psychology sociology Questions to Reflect On - Do you think confidence is innate or learned? - How can we help those lacking confidence? A Different Perspective Overlooks effort and systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assurance/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Boys Innate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys-innate-1332306/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Certain Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-boys-1332308/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Ease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ease/) [Ease Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ease-certain-1332307/) [Felt Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-depth-1332305/) [Places in the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/places-in-the-world/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“felt the depth of my deception. What had happened to my self-respect? My integrity?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-chamberlain/felt-the-depth-of-my-deception-what-had-happened-to-my-self-respect/) [Diane Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-chamberlain/) > [“He felt that in the depth of his soul something had been put in its place, settled down, and laid to rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-felt-that-in-the-depth-of-his-soul-something-had-been-put-in-its/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“She felt the depth of her losses before they were realized, and she wondered, Is there still hope? Did she even dare hold on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sage-steadman/she-felt-the-depth-of-her-losses-before-they-were-realized-and-she/) [Sage Steadman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sage-steadman/) > [When we are green, still half-created, we believe that our dreams are rights, that the world is disposed to act in our best interests,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/when-we-are-green-still-half-created-we-believe-that-our-dreams-are/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Nothing takes place in the world whose meaning is not that of some maximum or minimum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonhard-euler/nothing-takes-place-in-the-world-whose-meaning-is-not-that-of-some/) [Leonhard Euler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonhard-euler/) > [You can have the platinum album, but when you still feel like you haven't quite found your place in the world - it kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/you-can-have-the-platinum-album-but-when-you-still-feel-like-you/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [The most difficult place in the world to get a clear and open perspective of the country as a whole is Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/the-most-difficult-place-in-the-world-to-get-a-clear-and-open/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Education should train the child to use his brains, to make for himself a place in the world and maintain his rights even when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/education-should-train-the-child-to-use-his-brains-to-make-for/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [It may be that at some time in the dim future of the race the need for war will vanish: but that time is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/it-may-be-that-at-some-time-in-the-dim-future-of-the-race-the-need/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [East Hampton happens to have been the first place in the world where I was a star, a real star with a star pasted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-gabor/east-hampton-happens-to-have-been-the-first-place-in-the-world-where/) [Eva Gabor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-gabor/) > [There are only shades of gray. Black and white are nothing more than lofty ideals in our minds, the standards by which we try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/there-are-only-shades-of-gray-black-and-white-are-nothing-more-than/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Beautiful women must think about their beauty as capitalists think about their investments or politicians about their majorities; it is all they have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/beautiful-women-must-think-about-their-beauty-as-capitalists-think/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [You do find a lot of your time in the West kind of searching for your place in the world - your voice, your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aasif-mandvi/you-do-find-a-lot-of-your-time-in-the-west-kind-of-searching-for-your/) [Aasif Mandvi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aasif-mandvi/) > [People are less certain of their national identities or their place in the world. It starts looking different and disorienting. And there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/people-are-less-certain-of-their-national-identities-or-their-place/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [What an immense impression Paris made upon me. It is the most extraordinary place in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/what-an-immense-impression-paris-made-upon-me-it-is-the-most/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More by Tobias Wolff > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [You boys know what tropism is, it's what makes a plant grow toward the light. Everything aspires to the light. You don't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/you-boys-know-what-tropism-is-it-s-what-makes-a-plant-grow-toward-the/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [We even talked like Hemingway characters, though in travesty, as if to deny our discipleship: That is your bed, and it is a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/we-even-talked-like-hemingway-characters-though-in-travesty-as-if-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [“But for now Anders can still make time. Time for the shadows to lengthen on the grass, time for the tethered dog to bark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/but-for-now-anders-can-still-make-time-time-for-the-shadows-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [One of the last courses I taught was on the Russian short story, which I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/one-of-the-last-courses-i-taught-was-on-the-russian-short-story-which/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [“He did not remember when everything began to remind him of something else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/he-did-not-remember-when-everything-began-to-remind-him-of-something/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Because I don't have to be careful of people's feelings when I teach literature, and I do when I'm teaching writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/because-i-don-t-have-to-be-careful-of-people-s-feelings-when-i-teach/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Work for most people is really very social, and the actual thinking is often done in community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/work-for-most-people-is-really-very-social-and-the-actual-thinking-is/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Writers cannot let themselves be servants of the official mythology. They have to, whatever the cost, say what truth they have to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/writers-cannot-let-themselves-be-servants-of-the-official-mythology/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [One can imagine a world without essays. It would be a little poorer, of course, like a world without chess, but one could live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/one-can-imagine-a-world-without-essays-it-would-be-a-little-poorer-of/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [I was giving up--being realistic, as people liked to say, meaning the same thing. Being realistic made me feel bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/i-was-giving-up-being-realistic-as-people-liked-to-say-meaning-the/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [“Lose Faith. Pray anyway. Persist. We are made to persist, to complete the whole tour. That's how we find out who we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/lose-faith-pray-anyway-persist-we-are-made-to-persist-to-complete-the/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [I believe that the short story is as different a form from the novel as poetry is, and the best stories seem to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/i-believe-that-the-short-story-is-as-different-a-form-from-the-novel/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [It's probably why I'm a short story writer. I tend to remember things in the past in narrative form, in story form, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/it-s-probably-why-i-m-a-short-story-writer-i-tend-to-remember-things/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [When we are green, still half-created, we believe that our dreams are rights, that the world is disposed to act in our best interests,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/when-we-are-green-still-half-created-we-believe-that-our-dreams-are/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) [Explore all 86 Tobias Wolff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) ## More Assurance quotes > [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [A wholesome regard for the memory of the great men of long ago is the best assurance to a people of a continuation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/a-wholesome-regard-for-the-memory-of-the-great-men-of-long-ago-is-the/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [When God overcomes our difficulties for us, we have the assurance that we are engaged in His work and not our own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-muller/when-god-overcomes-our-difficulties-for-us-we-have-the-assurance-that/) [George Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-muller/) > [What really distinguishes this generation in all countries from earlier generations ... is its determination to act, its joy in action, the assurance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-really-distinguishes-this-generation-in-all-countries-from/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [There are believers who by God's grace, have climbed the mountains of full assurance and near communion, their place is with the eagle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/there-are-believers-who-by-god-s-grace-have-climbed-the-mountains-of/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Everybody in the real world will agree - the moment a project is behind deadline, quality assurance tends to go out the window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cox/everybody-in-the-real-world-will-agree-the-moment-a-project-is-behind/) [Alan Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cox/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [We have a commitment to serve our Lord. We have an assurance that the cause is just and worthy. But, above all, we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/we-have-a-commitment-to-serve-our-lord-we-have-an-assurance-that-the/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [“Out of all its squalor and human decay, its eruptions of butchery, India produced so many people of grace and beauty, ruled by elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-all-its-squalor-and-human-decay-its-eruptions-of-butchery/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do not rest, believer, until you have full assurance of your interest in Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/do-not-rest-believer-until-you-have-full-assurance-of-your-interest/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Confidentially, the type of male I find most enjoyable for a friend is one who has enough fire and assurance to speak up for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/confidentially-the-type-of-male-i-find-most-enjoyable-for-a-friend-is/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [Great literature has always been written in a like spirit, and is, indeed, the Forgiveness of Sin, and when we find it becoming the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/great-literature-has-always-been-written-in-a-like-spirit-and-is/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Our assurance is anchored in the love and grace of God expressed in the glorious exchange: our sin for His righteousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/our-assurance-is-anchored-in-the-love-and-grace-of-god-expressed-in/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) [Browse all 557 Assurance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assurance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You felt it as a depth of ease in certain boys, their innate, affable assurance that they would not have to struggle for a place in the world; that is already reserved for them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tobias Wolff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/you-felt-it-as-a-depth-of-ease-in-certain-boys-their-innate-affable/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assurance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/you-felt-it-as-a-depth-of-ease-in-certain-boys-their-innate-affable/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/117/tobias-wolff-7890_assurance_you-felt-it-as-a-depth-of-ease-in-certai_2529748.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/117/tobias-wolff-7890_assurance_you-felt-it-as-a-depth-of-ease-in-certai_2529748.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/117/tobias-wolff-7890_assurance_you-felt-it-as-a-depth-of-ease-in-certai_2529748.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You felt it as a depth of ease in certain boys, their innate, affable assurance that they would not have to…” — Tobias Wolff", "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": "Tobias Wolff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You felt it as a depth...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/you-felt-it-as-a-depth-of-ease-in-certain-boys-their-innate-affable/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/you-felt-it-as-a-depth-of-ease-in-certain-boys-their-innate-affable/#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 } } ] } ```