QuoteProject
We all leave one another. We die, we change - it's mostly change - we outgrow our best friends; but even if I do leave you, I will have passed on to you something of myself; you will be a different person because of knowing me; it's inescapable.
Edna O'Brien
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Change is a natural part of life, and our connections impact those we encounter.

This quote reflects on the inevitability of change and the transient nature of relationships. It emphasizes that even though we may part ways or experience personal growth that distances us from others, the influence we have on each other persists, shaping us into different individuals because of those connections.

Themes

ChangeRelationshipsGrowthInfluenceConnection

In practice

Example use cases

This quote is perfect for a graduation speech to remind students about the relationships they formed in school.

More from Edna O'Brien

Love . . . is like nature, but in reverse; first it fruits, then it flowers, then it seems to wither, then it goes deep, deep down into its burrow, where no one sees it, where it is lost from sight, and ultimately people die with that secret buried inside their souls.
Edna O'BrienRead
That is the mystery about writing: it comes out of afflictions, out of the gouged times, when the heart is cut open.
Edna O'BrienRead
Cities, in many ways, are the best repositories for a love affair. You are in a forest or a cornfield, you are walking by the seashore, footprint after footprint of trodden sand, and somehow the kiss or the spoken covenant gets lost in the vastness and indifference of nature. In a city there are places to remind us of what has been.
Edna O'BrienRead
Darkness is drawn to light, but light does not know it; light must absorb the darkness and therefore meet its own extinguishment.
Edna O'BrienRead
Oh, love, what an unreasoning creature it grew to be.
Edna O'BrienRead
Recollection is not something that I can summon up, it simply comes and I am the servant of it.
Edna O'BrienRead

Similar quotes

Our survival depends on our ability to form trusting relationships.
Simon SinekRead
Mr. Thornton felt that in this influx no one was speaking to Margaret, and was restless under this apparent neglect. But he never went near her himself; he did not look at her. Only, he knew what she was doing — or not doing — better than anyone else in the room. Margaret was so unconscious of herself, and so much amused by watching other people, that she never thought whether she was left unnoticed or not.
Elizabeth GaskellRead
If any difference should be made by law between husband and wife, reason, justice and humanity, if their voices were heard, would dictate that it should be in her favor.
Ernestine RoseRead
What does the truth matter? Haven't we mothers all given our sons a taste for lies, lies which from the cradle upwards lull them, reassure them, send them to sleep: lies as soft and warm as a breast!
Georges BernanosRead
Because trans people are marked as artificial, unnatural, and illegitimate, our bodies and identities are often open to public dissection. Plainly, cisgender folks often take it as their duty to investigate our lives to see if we're real.
Janet MockRead
Not gay, just never met the right woman.
Neil GaimanRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.