--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Adolescence is that time when I think, it…" description: "\"Adolescence is that time when I think, it can be- it's the cruelest place on Earth. It can really be heartless.\" — Tori Amos" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/tori-amos-679_adolescence_adolescence-is-that-time-when-i-think-it_1029746.png" --- # Adolescence is that time when I think, it can be- it's the… ![“Adolescence is that time when I think, it can be- it's the cruelest place on Earth. It can really be heartless.” quote by Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/tori-amos-679_adolescence_adolescence-is-that-time-when-i-think-it_1029746.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/tori-amos-679_adolescence_adolescence-is-that-time-when-i-think-it_1029746.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/tori-amos-679_adolescence_adolescence-is-that-time-when-i-think-it_1029746.png) > “Adolescence is that time when I think, it can be- it's the cruelest place on Earth. It can really be heartless.” [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Teen years feel cruel and heartless, reflecting intense emotional turmoil. **In simple terms:** Adolescence can feel harsh and unforgiving. Key Takeaway Acknowledge pain and seek supportive connections. Themes youth emotion growth Mood melancholic empathetic Type ly personal When to use this quote - school life - family dynamics - mental health support Key Concepts identity formation emotional intensity Questions to Reflect On - What makes adolescence feel cruel? - How can support be improved? A Different Perspective Not all teen experiences are negative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adolescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescence/) [Heartless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartless/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“Adolescence--the time when teens begin to do things adults do--now happens later. Thirteen-year-olds--and even 18-year-olds-- are less likely to act like adults and spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-twenge/adolescence-the-time-when-teens-begin-to-do-things-adults-do-now/) [Jean M. Twenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-twenge/) > [In no order of things is adolescence the time of the simple life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-erskine-stuart/in-no-order-of-things-is-adolescence-the-time-of-the-simple-life/) [Janet Erskine Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-erskine-stuart/) > [Adolescence can be a time of turmoil and turbulence, of stress and storm. Rebellion against authority and against convention is to be expected and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haim-ginott/adolescence-can-be-a-time-of-turmoil-and-turbulence-of-stress-and/) [Haim Ginott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haim-ginott/) > [Adolescence as the time when an individual ‘recapitulates’ the savage stage of the race’s past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/adolescence-as-the-time-when-an-individual-recapitulates-the-savage/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [L'adolescence est le seul temps o u' l'on ait appris quelque chose. Adolescence is the only time when we can learn something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/l-adolescence-est-le-seul-temps-o-u-l-on-ait-appris-quelque-chose/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“But adolescence is a time of hurts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-elwell-hunt/but-adolescence-is-a-time-of-hurts/) [Angela Elwell Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-elwell-hunt/) > [Adolescence, the time to live, experience, love before the monotonia of adulthood, so let's live the day without hate or sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/adolescence-the-time-to-live-experience-love-before-the-monotonia-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Perhaps it is better in this present world of ours that a revolutionary idea or invention instead of being helped and patted, be hampered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/perhaps-it-is-better-in-this-present-world-of-ours-that-a/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Adolescence-is it the first time in life we discover that we have something terrible to hide from those who love us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/adolescence-is-it-the-first-time-in-life-we-discover-that-we-have/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Perhaps a modern society can remain stable only by eliminating adolescence, by giving its young, from the age of ten, the skills, responsibilities, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/perhaps-a-modern-society-can-remain-stable-only-by-eliminating/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [We have to acknowledge that adolescence is that time of transition where we begin to introduce to children that life isn't pretty, that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/we-have-to-acknowledge-that-adolescence-is-that-time-of-transition/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [Adolescence is that time in your life when you discover your ability to be depressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gerrold/adolescence-is-that-time-in-your-life-when-you-discover-your-ability/) [David Gerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gerrold/) > [“In no order of things is adolescence the time of simple life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-erskine-stuart/in-no-order-of-things-is-adolescence-the-time-of-simple-life/) [Janet Erskine Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-erskine-stuart/) > [Adolescence is a time of active deconstruction, construction, reconstruction--a period in which past, present, and future are rewoven and strung together on the threads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/adolescence-is-a-time-of-active-deconstruction-construction/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [Adolescence is the time to enlarge the natural sentiments of pity, friendship, and generosity, the time to develop an understanding of human nature and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/adolescence-is-the-time-to-enlarge-the-natural-sentiments-of-pity/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) ## More by Tori Amos > [My childhood was extreme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/my-childhood-was-extreme/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [The truth lies in between the 1st and the 40th drink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/the-truth-lies-in-between-the-1st-and-the-40th-drink/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [“Sometimes I fantasize backstage about how people do their laundry. Woolite? Mixed-color loads? Do they fold? Do they press? Do they Shout it out?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/sometimes-i-fantasize-backstage-about-how-people-do-their-laundry/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [I don't feel I'm as good a mum as my mum was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/i-don-t-feel-i-m-as-good-a-mum-as-my-mum-was/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [I'm obsessed with crocodiles and getting eaten by one. When I hear that someone's been eaten by a crocodile or shark, I just get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/i-m-obsessed-with-crocodiles-and-getting-eaten-by-one-when-i-hear/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Being stylish is about enjoying your life and expressing yourself and your inner light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/being-stylish-is-about-enjoying-your-life-and-expressing-yourself-and/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [There certainly are situations where I feel not empowered or uninspired. Particularly when the person's agenda is to intimidate through abusing their position or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/there-certainly-are-situations-where-i-feel-not-empowered-or/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [When I play live, it's a conversation that we're all having with the song, and the audience... their response and relationship with the songs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/when-i-play-live-it-s-a-conversation-that-we-re-all-having-with-the/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Parenting is not for everybody. It changes your life. Especially when they're little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/parenting-is-not-for-everybody-it-changes-your-life-especially-when/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Pretty is never beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/pretty-is-never-beautiful/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Though I can't change what happened, I can choose how to react. And I don't want to spend the rest of my life being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/though-i-can-t-change-what-happened-i-can-choose-how-to-react-and-i/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [When you don't have people in your life pushing you, can you push yourself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/when-you-don-t-have-people-in-your-life-pushing-you-can-you-push/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Boys are cute, but food is cuter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/boys-are-cute-but-food-is-cuter/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [My mother says I was two-and-a-half when I started playing. My father was a minister, and when he went to church in the morning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/my-mother-says-i-was-two-and-a-half-when-i-started-playing-my-father/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [A lot of the carols were not as you hear them now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/a-lot-of-the-carols-were-not-as-you-hear-them-now/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) [Explore all 413 Tori Amos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) ## More Adolescence quotes > [They must move from a psychological state of victimization to a psychological state of accepting responsibility. The Palestinians must leave behind their revolutionary adolescence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-shavit/they-must-move-from-a-psychological-state-of-victimization-to-a/) [Ari Shavit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-shavit/) > [Having children truly ends adolescence. We are all either parents or children: responsibility-takers or those who demand from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/having-children-truly-ends-adolescence-we-are-all-either-parents-or/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [Teenage girls are extremists who see the world in black-and- white terms, missing shades of gray. Life is either marvelous or notworth living. School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pipher/teenage-girls-are-extremists-who-see-the-world-in-black-and-white/) [Mary Pipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pipher/) > [Teenagers complain there's nothing to do, then stay out all night doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-phillips/teenagers-complain-there-s-nothing-to-do-then-stay-out-all-night/) [Bob Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-phillips/) > [The idols of one's adolescence tend to endure - you never forget how you worshipped them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-idols-of-one-s-adolescence-tend-to-endure-you-never-forget-how/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [The donning of the ear buds marks the beginning of teen life, when children set off on their own for the passage through adolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/the-donning-of-the-ear-buds-marks-the-beginning-of-teen-life-when/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [Adolescence is when the very worst and best impulses in the human soul struggle against each other for possession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/adolescence-is-when-the-very-worst-and-best-impulses-in-the-human/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Most adults would not dream of belittling, humiliating, or bullying (verbally or physically) another adult. But many of the same adults think nothing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/most-adults-would-not-dream-of-belittling-humiliating-or-bullying/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“He'd possessed all the key elements of a school shooter: hormones, misery, ammunition. People wondered how something like Columbine could happen. Jude wondered why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/he-d-possessed-all-the-key-elements-of-a-school-shooter-hormones/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [ I remember realizing, when I did Little Women \[1994\], that that was the only time girls that age were being written about. It was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/i-remember-realizing-when-i-did-little-women-1994-that-that-was-the/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [Content without style is propaganda or adolescence. Style without content is decadence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/content-without-style-is-propaganda-or-adolescence-style-without/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Adolescence is interesting. I mean, all of life is interesting and all of life is transitionary. But I think there is an exponential growth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-henson/adolescence-is-interesting-i-mean-all-of-life-is-interesting-and-all/) [Bill Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-henson/) > [“Yet GenX'er teens didn't slow down--they were just as likely to drive, drink alcohol, and date as their Boomer peers and more likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-twenge/yet-genx-er-teens-didn-t-slow-down-they-were-just-as-likely-to-drive/) [Jean M. Twenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-twenge/) [Browse all 787 Adolescence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Adolescence is that time when I think, it can be- it's the cruelest place on Earth. 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