---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I go train hopping and I look up…"
description: "\"When I go train hopping and I look up into the sky, there are always so many more stars than I remember there were.\" — William T. Vollmann"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c10/william-t-vollmann-2100_always_when-i-go-train-hopping-and-i-look-up-in_833433.jpg"
---

#  When I go train hopping and I look up into the sky, there…

![“When I go train hopping and I look up into the sky, there are always so many more stars than I remember there were.” quote by William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c10/william-t-vollmann-2100_always_when-i-go-train-hopping-and-i-look-up-in_833433.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c10/william-t-vollmann-2100_always_when-i-go-train-hopping-and-i-look-up-in_833433.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c10/william-t-vollmann-2100_always_when-i-go-train-hopping-and-i-look-up-in_833433.jpg)

> “When I go train hopping and I look up into the sky, there are always so many more stars than I remember there were.”

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Observes that the night sky contains far more stars than our memory recalls, suggesting wonder and humility.

**In simple terms:** Stars outnumber remembered constellations.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate awe for the vast unknown.

Themes

nature wonder humility

Mood

contemplative inspiring

Type

philosophical poetic

When to use this quote

- stargazing
- education
- creative writing
- philosophical contemplation

Key Concepts

Cosmic perspective memory limits

Questions to Reflect On

- What does the endless sky teach you?
- How can you stay humble amid vastness?

A Different Perspective

May cause existential discomfort.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/train/)

## Related quotes

> [Take a deep breath, stand near the window, look at the sky. There will be two stars twinkling brightly, you know what they are????…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-a-deep-breath-stand-near-the-window-look-at-the-sky-there-will/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Someone had once told her that if you look up at the sky from the bottom of a mine shaft, even in the brightest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/someone-had-once-told-her-that-if-you-look-up-at-the-sky-from-the/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [“Just remember this, my girl, when you look up in the sky you can see the stars and still not see the light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-tempchin/just-remember-this-my-girl-when-you-look-up-in-the-sky-you-can-see/)

Jack Tempchin

> [“But then I look to the sky and see so many stars. A hope, to be loved by someone I love, is emerging. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-rio-jovian-haminoto/but-then-i-look-to-the-sky-and-see-so-many-stars-a-hope-to-be-loved/)

Joseph Rio Jovian Haminoto

> [Man man, look up at the sky. All the stars man, the stars is beautiful tonight. Look at em!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/old-dirty-bastard/man-man-look-up-at-the-sky-all-the-stars-man-the-stars-is-beautiful/)

[Old Dirty Bastard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/old-dirty-bastard/)

> [“I had this sudden awareness, she continues, of how the moments of our lives go out of existence before we're conscious of having lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/i-had-this-sudden-awareness-she-continues-of-how-the-moments-of-our-2/)

[Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/)

> [Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/be-practical-as-well-as-generous-in-your-ideals-keep-your-eyes-on-the/)

[Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/)

> [“No, when the stresses are too great for the tired metal, when the ground mechanic who checks the de-icing equipment is crossed in love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/no-when-the-stresses-are-too-great-for-the-tired-metal-when-the/)

[Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/)

> [Christening stars I remember the way. We were needle and spoon mislaid in the burning hay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cradle-of-filth/christening-stars-i-remember-the-way-we-were-needle-and-spoon-mislaid/)

[Cradle Of Filth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cradle-of-filth/)

> [FALLING STARS: Do you remember still the falling stars that like swift horses through the heavens raced and suddenly leaped across the hurdles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/falling-stars-do-you-remember-still-the-falling-stars-that-like-swift/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [STAND BACK! Be silent! Be still!... That's it... and look upon this moment. Savor it! Rejoice with great gladness! Great gladness! Remember it always,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-excalibur/stand-back-be-silent-be-still-that-s-it-and-look-upon-this-moment/)

Merlin Excalibur

> [“A life without friends is like a sky without stars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/a-life-without-friends-is-like-a-sky-without-stars/)

[Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/)

> [You might try then, as I did, to find a sky so full of stars it will blind you again. Only no sky can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-danielewski/you-might-try-then-as-i-did-to-find-a-sky-so-full-of-stars-it-will/)

Mark Danielewski

> [“Stars on the sky, stars on the ground. It's hard to tell where the sky ends and the earth begins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/stars-on-the-sky-stars-on-the-ground-it-s-hard-to-tell-where-the-sky/)

[Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/)

> [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

## More by William T. Vollmann

> [Some friends and I, we went right up there behind the studio and we got on a train, we could tell it was going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/some-friends-and-i-we-went-right-up-there-behind-the-studio-and-we/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [I read and write for most of the day, but I do let myself be interrupted by real life. I enjoy going out with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/i-read-and-write-for-most-of-the-day-but-i-do-let-myself-be/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [“A treble clef, for example, resembles a Muscovite or Leningrader in a bulky hooded parka. A bass clef bends as simply and painfully as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/a-treble-clef-for-example-resembles-a-muscovite-or-leningrader-in-a/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [Oh, ants, my sisters, good old honeydew-seekers! From close up you are sticky and shiny and gristly; and your nymphs have parasitic red mites…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/oh-ants-my-sisters-good-old-honeydew-seekers-from-close-up-you-are/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [It will be fun to give some to prostitutes,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/it-will-be-fun-to-give-some-to-prostitutes/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [If I didn't feel that I was doing something or trying to do something for others, then I would have very little excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/if-i-didn-t-feel-that-i-was-doing-something-or-trying-to-do-something/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [Just for the hell of it, try to love someone as unlike you as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/just-for-the-hell-of-it-try-to-love-someone-as-unlike-you-as-possible/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [“The shortest man, codenamed RIMSKY, said to me that freedom means understanding our place within the laws of history; we are more free when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/the-shortest-man-codenamed-rimsky-said-to-me-that-freedom-means/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [“Do you want to know what happiness is? Happiness is the absence of unpleasant information.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/do-you-want-to-know-what-happiness-is-happiness-is-the-absence-of/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [My father hates organized religion, probably because he hates the God who killed his little girl back in 1968. I find religions variously bemusing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/my-father-hates-organized-religion-probably-because-he-hates-the-god/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [There's an Inuit myth about the origin of the human race. There were two brothers, and the younger brother eventually gets changed into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/there-s-an-inuit-myth-about-the-origin-of-the-human-race-there-were/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [Don't write for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/don-t-write-for-money/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [I first got really interested in Noh in about 1977. There was an independent bookstore in Bloomington, Indiana where I was going to high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/i-first-got-really-interested-in-noh-in-about-1977-there-was-an/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [“More aid, better directed! Couldn't we all use that? And what if the universe enacts less aid, more poorly directed?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/more-aid-better-directed-couldn-t-we-all-use-that-and-what-if-the/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [“whatever fate sends us quickly becomes us, and we grow blind to what we might otherwise have been. And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/whatever-fate-sends-us-quickly-becomes-us-and-we-grow-blind-to-what/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

[Explore all 186 William T. Vollmann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

## More Always quotes

> [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/)

[Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/)

> [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/)

[Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/)

> [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/)

[Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/)

> [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/)

[William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/)

> [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/)

[Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/)

> [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/)

[Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/)

> [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/)

[Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/)

> [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/)

[Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/)

> [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/)

[Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/)

> [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/)

[Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/)

> [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/)

[Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/)

> [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/)

[Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/)

> [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/)

[Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/)

> [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/)

[Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/)

> [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/)

[Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/)

Browse all 36,048 Always quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "When I go train hopping and I look up into the sky, there are always so many more stars than I remember there were.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William T. Vollmann"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/when-i-go-train-hopping-and-i-look-up-into-the-sky-there-are-always/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Always"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/when-i-go-train-hopping-and-i-look-up-into-the-sky-there-are-always/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c10/william-t-vollmann-2100_always_when-i-go-train-hopping-and-i-look-up-in_833433.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c10/william-t-vollmann-2100_always_when-i-go-train-hopping-and-i-look-up-in_833433.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c10/william-t-vollmann-2100_always_when-i-go-train-hopping-and-i-look-up-in_833433.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When I go train hopping and I look up into the sky, there are always so many more stars than I remember…” — William T. Vollmann",
                "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": "William T. Vollmann",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "When I go train hopping and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/when-i-go-train-hopping-and-i-look-up-into-the-sky-there-are-always/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/when-i-go-train-hopping-and-i-look-up-into-the-sky-there-are-always/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
