Norman Maclean Quotes

I think I'm a little more mature than the average guy.

When I was growing up and trying to get my foot on the ladder, I had the self-belief that my mother taught me, and it never occurred to me that anything could go wrong. I've learned life can't be like that.

Even though I'm over 35, I feel like so much more of a leading lady than I did when I was 30.

At eighteen our convictions are hills from which we look; at forty-five they are caves in which we hide.

I don't have any issues with my age.

Along with age comes more confidence, so it kind of works out.

I feel more mature than most people my age.

Many years ago, I used to say, 'I haven't lived long enough to be great.' Now I don't say that.

I've come to realize I'm a professional, no matter if I'm 38, no matter if I'm 19 or 20. I'm a professional.

I feel sexier in my 40s than I did in my 20s and 30s.

Back when I was an idealistic 18-year-old on my way to Chicago, I might have believed that being on the side of virtue would guarantee a good outcome. These many years later, I know better.

I think confidence comes with age and experience, honestly.

I know I'm only 24, but I know in my head already I am mature, because I've got the right mental side of it.

There are no grown-ups. We suspect this when we are younger, but can confirm it only once we are the ones writing books and attending parent-teacher conferences. Everyone is winging it, some just do it more confidently.

The longer your gevity is, the more confidence you build.

Know your place in the world and evaluate yourself fairly, not in terms of the naïve ideals of your own youth, nor in terms of what you erroneously imagine your teacher's ideals are.

What I'm now discovering - and I'm now in another decade - is that the older I get the more I have my self knowledge which makes me feel more sexy.

I always say my age is connected with three Cs. In here, cuore, which means the heart. Up here, cervello, which is the brain. And, of course, down here: the coglioni. I no feel my age, I tell you.

The best thing about being 45 is not taking myself so seriously. Do I miss the package I came in at 25? I do. Gravity is no one's friend. Yet the perspective I've gained is so worth the wear and tear. What would have mortified me at 25 is now simply fodder for a funny, relatable story. Also? I was a waitress at 25, and now I'm an author. Forty-five is definitely better.

The great challenge of adulthood is holding on to your idealism after you lose your innocence.

When a man is perfect, he sees perfection in others. When he sees imperfection, it is his own mind projecting itself.

[Meryl Streep] just sent me an email, and I was like, "That's perfect." She was like, "Yes, Viola, now that you've just had your vow renewal...this is the best part of your life now. There's not anything that you don't know anymore in terms of what's good and bad out there, so now you can just fly." She's always imparting wisdom like that.

That's the one thing I have over any twenty-one-year-old: a proud history of accumulated neuroses. That's the game in which I'm da man.

It takes a great deal of living to get a little deal of learning.

Looking foolish does the spirit good. The need not to look foolish is one of youth's many burdens; as we get older we are exempted from more and more.