--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like the condition of being an…" description: "\"I like the condition of being an outsider, just passing through.\" — Barry Unsworth" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d37/barry-unsworth-13297_being_i-like-the-condition-of-being-an-outside_2437094.jpg" --- # I like the condition of being an outsider, just passing… ![“I like the condition of being an outsider, just passing through.” quote by Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d37/barry-unsworth-13297_being_i-like-the-condition-of-being-an-outside_2437094.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d37/barry-unsworth-13297_being_i-like-the-condition-of-being-an-outside_2437094.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d37/barry-unsworth-13297_being_i-like-the-condition-of-being-an-outside_2437094.jpg) > “I like the condition of being an outsider, just passing through.” [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being an outsider offers a unique, transient perspective on life. **In simple terms:** Outsiders see differently. Key Takeaway Embrace the outsider view for fresh insight. Themes outsider transience observation Mood contemplative poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - travel - anthropology - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism social identity Questions to Reflect On - How does outsider status affect belonging? - Can you turn transience into advantage? A Different Perspective Isolation may limit influence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Condition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condition/) [Condition Outsider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condition-outsider-354304/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Just Passing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-passing-354306/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Outsider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outsider/) [Outsider Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outsider-just-354305/) [Passing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passing/) [Through](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/through/) ## Related quotes > [No, as much of an insider as I become, I will still always be an outsider. It's just the essence of me being who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/no-as-much-of-an-insider-as-i-become-i-will-still-always-be-an/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [I didn't necessarily grow up in a trailer park, but there is a brief part of that in my life. So I can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kacey-musgraves/i-didn-t-necessarily-grow-up-in-a-trailer-park-but-there-is-a-brief/) [Kacey Musgraves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kacey-musgraves/) > [If I'm kind of an outsider, it just happened that way, and people responded to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessia-cara/if-i-m-kind-of-an-outsider-it-just-happened-that-way-and-people/) [Alessia Cara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessia-cara/) > [This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-e-brumley/this-world-is-not-my-home-i-m-just-a-passing-through/) [Albert E. Brumley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-e-brumley/) > [When times are difficult, I tell myself, 'I'm just passing through.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-cantona/when-times-are-difficult-i-tell-myself-i-m-just-passing-through/) [Eric Cantona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-cantona/) > [...maybe some people just aren't meant to be in our lives forever. Maybe some people are just passing through...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/maybe-some-people-just-aren-t-meant-to-be-in-our-lives-forever-maybe-3/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [To an outsider, I just seem like a list of accomplishments. To me, all there is is how often I fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/to-an-outsider-i-just-seem-like-a-list-of-accomplishments-to-me-all/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I'm just passing time before the ball, Playing my guitar, I don't have to be where I don't want to be at all, Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-james-dio/i-m-just-passing-time-before-the-ball-playing-my-guitar-i-don-t-have/) [Ronnie James Dio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-james-dio/) > [I don't love you, I'm just passing the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-love-you-i-m-just-passing-the-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I used to pretend that I was just passing through this family on my way to my real one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-used-to-pretend-that-i-was-just-passing-through-this-family-on-my/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The internet is just a passing fad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-internet-is-just-a-passing-fad/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I am the life just passing through. I'm what remains and so are you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-kahn/i-am-the-life-just-passing-through-i-m-what-remains-and-so-are-you/) [Matthew Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-kahn/) > [The environment is not just around you, it's passing through you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/the-environment-is-not-just-around-you-it-s-passing-through-you/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Perhaps he was just passing through town on his way to an emo seminar and decided to stop in and light a candle for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-lennox/perhaps-he-was-just-passing-through-town-on-his-way-to-an-emo-seminar/) [Lucy Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-lennox/) > [the earth is not my home, I'm just passing by](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-earth-is-not-my-home-i-m-just-passing-by/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## More by Barry Unsworth > [“A little bit of kindness goes a long way with women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/a-little-bit-of-kindness-goes-a-long-way-with-women/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“Men are moral beings in their untrammelled nature. If constraint and coercion can once be removed they will be happy and if they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/men-are-moral-beings-in-their-untrammelled-nature-if-constraint-and/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“I glimpsed the man's face with the shine of death on it. They laid him down there in the open. They had brought him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/i-glimpsed-the-man-s-face-with-the-shine-of-death-on-it-they-laid-him/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“Numbers of men are getting richer and greater numbers are getting poorer. Alas, both classes have higher expectations these days. 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But my early attempts to graft stories from the Deep South onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/eudora-welty-s-a-curtain-of-green-had-an-enormous-effect-on-me-but-my/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“Those confiding their pain cannot know at the outset how much they will be required to relive it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/those-confiding-their-pain-cannot-know-at-the-outset-how-much-they/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“The successful cannot be unhappy -- it was a contradiction in terms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/the-successful-cannot-be-unhappy-it-was-a-contradiction-in-terms/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“When you in de right you heart strong you no 'fraid nottin'.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/when-you-in-de-right-you-heart-strong-you-no-fraid-nottin/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [I spent most of the '60s, when I was starting to try to write novels, living and working in Greece and Turkey. These are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/i-spent-most-of-the-60s-when-i-was-starting-to-try-to-write-novels/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“Kneading memory makes the dough of fiction; which we know, sometimes never stops rising.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/kneading-memory-makes-the-dough-of-fiction-which-we-know-sometimes/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“Justice is a mighty fine thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/justice-is-a-mighty-fine-thing/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) [Explore all 51 Barry Unsworth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) ## More Being quotes > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. 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I love the peacefulness of being around the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evonne-goolagong-cawley/i-love-to-fish-i-love-the-peacefulness-of-being-around-the-water/) [Evonne Goolagong Cawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evonne-goolagong-cawley/) > [When you're in your twenties and starting out, the problem is that you care about being cool. Being older, I can care less about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-righton/when-you-re-in-your-twenties-and-starting-out-the-problem-is-that-you/) [James Righton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-righton/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [Being a new mother is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-parks/being-a-new-mother-is-a-blessing/) [Phaedra Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-parks/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. 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