"I think it was when I ran into Kerouac and Burroughs - when I was 17 - that I realized I was talking through an empty skull... I wasn't thinking my own thoughts or saying my own thoughts"

Allen Ginsberg's quote reflects his realization that he was not believing or saying his own thoughts. He was 17 when he ran into Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs, 2 of the most prominent figures of the Beat Generation. Ginsberg was inspired by their work and their ideas, and he began to question his own ideas and beliefs. He realized that he was merely repeating what he had spoken with others, and that he was not thinking or saying his own thoughts. This quote is a tip that it is essential to believe for ourselves and to form our own viewpoints. We should not merely accept what we hear from others, but rather take the time to think seriously and form our own ideas. Ginsberg's quote is a suggestion to be mindful of our own ideas and to believe for ourselves.