Elif Batuman Quotes

Many things have been said about what happened, but I don't know either. Maybe someday. One thing I'm sure of is that all the things that have happened to me, good and bad, happy and sad, have made me what I am today.

I think I can see more clearly now - about how the pattern of past experiences has shaped who I am and the characters I have played - and I'm grateful for that.

I've seen a lot of things and I've experienced a lot of things.

I thought of the things that had happened to me over the years, and of how little I had made happen.

I used to think, 'How can I write my life story? I'm still living it.'

Sometimes it takes years to really grasp what has happened to your life.

Certain stories we carry with us, events in our life, they define who we are. It's not a matter of getting over anything; we have to make the best of it.

I suspect I was not the first 21-year-old who thought he knew more than he did. And one of the virtues of age, one of the virtues of getting married and becoming a father, is it often leads one to take a more measured approach to life.

I've had two children. I've had three boyfriends. I've had a lot of things happen that can change your opinions and values and philosophies.

I'm in a position to look back at my life, and I realized there were a number of experiences that needed to be documented.

Those who write about life, reflect about life. you see in others who you are.

The older you get the more you understand what you're doing.

I am so enriched because so much has happened in my life. The way I can express myself is because of the life I have led. It's only when you experience life can you emote it.

I'm beginning to understand myself. But it would have been great to be able to understand myself when I was 20 rather than when I was 82.

What I've observed and what I've imagined - and definitely what I'm hoping - happens as you get older is that there's a mellowing, an acceptance that comes with time. I guess that I'll find out.

The background - your own history - is way more important than what you can achieve as a professional.

I think for all of us, as we age, there are always a few moments when you are shocked.

I write for myself things that I've gone through.

Right now, writing for me is most rewarding because I'm old enough now to have something to say, which probably wasn't always the case.

The older I get, the surer I am that I'm not running the show.

I'm always writing and reflecting on life. I want to suck it all in.

As I get older, I have a clearer sense of what's important to me.

I think that if you live long enough, you realize that so much of what happens in life is out of your control, but how you respond to it is in your control. That's what I try to remember.

Reflecting on where I came from helps me to appreciate and balance what I have now.

When I look back at my life now, I'm not amazed by what I did at 16 to 21.