Adulthood isn't an award they'll give you for being a good child. You can waste… years, trying to get someone to give that respect to you, as though it were a sort of promotion or raise in pay. If only you do enough, if only you are good enough. No. You have to just… take it. Give it to yourself, I suppose. Say, I'm sorry you feel like that and walk away. But that's hard.

About Lois McMaster Bujold

Lois McMaster Bujold ( boo-ZHOHLD; born November 2, 1949) is an American speculative fiction writer. She has won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record (not counting his Retro Hugos). Bujold is best known for her Vorkosigan Saga, a series of science fiction novels...

More quotations from Lois McMaster Bujold

Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.

—Lois McMaster Bujold

justice

You couldn't be that good and not know it, somewhere in your secret heart, however much you'd been abused into affecting public humility.

—Lois McMaster Bujold

humility goodness

Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.

—Lois McMaster Bujold

self reputation honor

Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards.

—Lois McMaster Bujold

honor

An honor is not diminished for being shared.

—Lois McMaster Bujold

honor

More quotations tagged with “maturity”

Age is no guarantee of maturity.

—Lawana Blackwell

maturity

My Father taught me how to be a man—and not by instilling in me a sense of machismo or an agenda of dominance. He taught me that a real man doesn't take, he gives; he doesn't use force, he uses logic; doesn't play the role of trouble-maker, but rather, trouble-shooter; and most importantly, a real man is defined by what's in his heart, not his pants.

—Kevin Smith

maturity

Maturity is only a short break in adolescence.

—Jules Feiffer

maturity

Every human being on this earth is born with a tragedy, and it isn't original sin. He's born with the tragedy that he has to grow up. That he has to leave the nest, the security, and go out to do battle. He has to lose everything that is lovely and fight for a new loveliness of his own making, and it's a tragedy. A lot of people don't have the courage to do it.

—Helen Hayes

maturity

To be mature means to face, and not evade, every fresh crisis that comes.

—Fritz Kunkel

maturity

History

11 Jul 2015 Added
26 Oct 2026 Wording changed

Previous wording

Adulthood isn't an award they'll give you for being a good child. You can waste... years, trying to get someone to give that respect to you, as though it were a sort of promotion or raise in pay. If only you do enough, if only you are good enough. No. You have to just... take it. Give it to yourself, I suppose. Say, I'm sorry you feel like that and walk away. But that's hard.