What do we mean by saying that existence precedes essence? We mean that man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world-and defin… - Jean-Paul Sartre

...man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world – and defines himself afterwards.

A man is what he wills himself to be.

But an adventure never returns nor is prolonged.

Arriving in Paris, many English and Americans are surprised to find us less thin than they imagined. They have seen the elegant dresses that appear to be new, the suits which, from afar, still seem fashionable; rarely have they encountered that paleness of face, that bodily decline that normally signifies starvation. Their solicitude, since it has been deceived, turns to rancor: I believe that they are dismayed not to find us conforming to the pathetic image they had formed of us in advance.