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When they asked me what I wanted to be I said I didn’t know. "Oh, sure you know," the photographer said. "She wants," said Jay Cee wittily, "to be everything.
Sylvia Plath
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects the uncertainty and desire for multiple possibilities in life, showcasing the struggle of finding one's identity.

In this quote, Sylvia Plath expresses the complexity of personal aspirations and the pressure to conform to a singular path in life. The playful exchange highlights the often humorous yet daunting nature of discovering one's true desires amidst societal expectations, suggesting that the quest for identity can encompass a multitude of dreams and ambitions rather than a straightforward answer.

Themes

IdentityAspirationUncertaintyPossibilityDreams

In practice

Example use cases

During a graduation speech to highlight the journey of self-discovery.

More from Sylvia Plath

...we shall board our imagined ship and wildly sail among sacred islands of the mad till death shatters the fabulous stars and makes us real.
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The hardest thing, I think, is to live richly in the present, without letting it be tainted & spoiled out of fear for the future or regret for a badly-managed past.
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It is as if my life were magically run by two electric currents: joyous positive and despairing negative--which ever is running at the moment dominates my life, floods it.
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You walked in, laughing, tears welling confused, mingling in your throat. How can you be so many women to so many people, oh you strange girl?
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I keep wanting to crawl back into the womb.
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It's the living, the eating, the sleeping that everyone needs. Ideas don't matter so much after all. My three best friends are Catholic. I can't see their beliefs, but I can see the things they love to do on earth. When you come right down to it, I do believe in the freedom of the individual.
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