Try any goddam thing you like, no matter how boringly normal or outrageous. If it works, fine. If it doesn't, toss it. Toss it even if you love it.
Stephen KingRead
At the time we’re stuck in it, like hostages locked in a Turkish bath, high school seems the most serious business in the world to just about all of us. It’s not until the second or third class reunion that we start realizing how absurd the whole thing was.
Interpretation
What this quote means
High school feels overwhelmingly important while we are in it, but looks trivial in hindsight.
Stephen King's quote reflects on the intense pressures and emotions experienced during high school, where each event and concern seems monumental. However, with the passage of time and perspective gained from reunions, we often come to see that those challenges were not as consequential as they once felt, highlighting the absurdity of our previous seriousness about it.
Themes
High SchoolPerspectiveAbsurdityReunionGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared in a graduation speech to remind students about the importance of perspective.
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That's the day's business. Thinking. Thinking and isolation, because it doesn't matter if you pass the time of day with someone or not; in the end, you're alone. He seemed to have put in as many miles in his brain as he had with his feet. The thoughts kept coming and there was no way to deny them.
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Late last night and the night before, tommyknockers, tommyknockers knocking on my door. I wanna go out, don't know if I can 'cuz I'm so afraid of the tommyknocker man.
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