"What's funny is that the idea of popularity - even the use of the word 'popular' - is something that had been mostly absent from my life since junior high. In fact, the hallmark of life after junior high seemed to be the shedding of popularity as a central concern."

Truth

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Insight & Reflection

This reflection on truth by Susan Orlean resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in truth is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Susan Orlean

Susan Orlean is an American journalist, television writer, and bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and The Library Book. She has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1992, and has contributed articles to many magazines including Vogue, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Outside. In 2021, Orlean joined the writing team of HBO comedy series How To with John Wilson.

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Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the Quotes Archive Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Susan Orlean

"Sometimes I'm dazzled by how modern and fabulous we are, and how easy everything can be for us that's the gilded glow of technology, and I marvel at it all the time."

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"I have long been one of those tedious people who rails against the coronation of 'student-athletes.' I have heard the argument that big-time athletics bring in loads of money to universities. I don't believe the money goes anywhere other than back into the sports teams, but that's another story."

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"When my son was born, and after a day of lying-in I was told that I could leave the hospital and take him home, I burst into tears. It wasn't the emotion of the moment: it was shock and horror."

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"Living in a rural setting exposes you to so many marvelous things - the natural world and the particular texture of small-town life, and the exhilarating experience of open space."

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More about Truth

"It is a subtle truth that do not wait for favorable winds; take the oars and row toward your horizon — an essential principle for the reflective life."

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"It is a quiet truth that fortitude is the quiet voice at eventide saying: i will try once more tomorrow — an essential principle for the reflective life."

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