I'm thirty-six years old. I'm just getting started!
Marilyn MonroeRead
I used to get the feeling, and sometimes I still get it, that I was fooling somebody - I don't know who or what - maybe myself. I have feelings some days where there are scenes with a lot of responsibility, and I'll wish, 'Gee, if only I had been a cleaning woman.'
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the struggle of self-identity and the burden of expectations.
In this introspective quote, Marilyn Monroe expresses her existential fears about authenticity and the pressures of her responsibilities. She reveals a vulnerability in feeling like an imposter in her success, pondering a simpler life as a means to escape the weight of expectations placed upon her. This sentiment resonates with anyone grappling with their identity amidst societal pressures, emphasizing the complexity of personal fulfillment and self-acceptance.
Themes
IdentityResponsibilityAuthenticityFearImposterExpectationsSuccess
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about overcoming self-doubt, this quote can serve as a reminder that even icons feel insecure.
More from Marilyn Monroe
All quotes →I'm pretty, but not beautiful. _x000D_ I sin, but I'm not the devil. _x000D_ I'm good, but I'm not an angel.
Marilyn MonroeRead
My public is growing up just as I am. After all, I'm not 19 anymore and if I stick with the sex bit, who will be paying to see me when I'm 50?
Marilyn MonroeRead
A wise girl kisses but doesn't love, listens but doesn't believe, and leaves before she is left.
Marilyn MonroeRead
Beneath the makeup and behind the smile I am just a girl who wishes for the world.
Marilyn MonroeRead
You believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself.
Marilyn MonroeRead
Similar quotes
We all want things we can't have. Being a decent human being is accepting that.
John FowlesRead
This truth may be unfashionable, unpalatable, no doubt unpopular, but, if it is the truth, the story of mankind shows that war was universal and unceasing for millions of years before armaments were invented or armies organized. Indeed, the lucid intervals of peace and order only occurred in human history after armaments in the hands of strong governments have come into being, and civilization in every age has been nursed only in cradles guarded by superior weapons and superior discipline.
Winston ChurchillRead
Don't take shadows too seriously. Reality is your only safety. Continue to reject illusion.
Wole SoyinkaRead
[T]he essence of belief is doubt, the essence of reality is questioning. The essence of Time is Flow, not Fix. The essence of faith is the knowledge that all flows and that everything must change. The growing man is Man Alive, and his "philosophy" must grow, must flow, with him. . . . the man too fixed today, unfixed tomorrow - and his body of beliefs is nothing but a series of fixations.
Thomas WolfeRead
The sacredness, if there is any, is all in yourself and not in the place.
Henry David ThoreauRead
When we have emotions of fear and pity toward the hero of a tragedy, we explore aspects of our own vulnerability in a safe and pleasing setting.
Martha NussbaumRead