--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everyone who's in America spends the…" description: "\"Everyone who's in America spends the first few years not experiencing it. The person is frightened by the newness of the place and doesn't see things. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/colm-toibin-3377_america_everyone-who-s-in-america-spends-the-fir_548638.png" --- # Everyone who's in America spends the first few years not… ![“Everyone who's in America spends the first few years not experiencing it. The person is frightened by the newness of the place and doesn't see things. Her emotional universe becomes the entire universe. And then when she thinks of home, her distance in space can seem like a distance in time.” quote by Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/colm-toibin-3377_america_everyone-who-s-in-america-spends-the-fir_548638.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/colm-toibin-3377_america_everyone-who-s-in-america-spends-the-fir_548638.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/colm-toibin-3377_america_everyone-who-s-in-america-spends-the-fir_548638.png) > “Everyone who's in America spends the first few years not experiencing it. The person is frightened by the newness of the place and doesn't see things. Her emotional universe becomes the entire universe. And then when she thinks of home, her distance in space can seem like a distance in time.” [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A newcomer to America feels overwhelmed by novelty, causing emotional distance from both the new place and memories of home, blurring spatial and temporal perception. **In simple terms:** Newcomers feel isolated and confused by unfamiliar surroundings. Key Takeaway Recognize and process new experiences to bridge emotional gaps. Themes identity displacement memory perception Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type narrative philosophical emotional When to use this quote - adjusting to a new city - reconnecting with family - navigating cultural shock - building community - reflecting on personal growth Key Concepts immigration psychology spatial-temporal cognition Questions to Reflect On - How does unfamiliarity shape your sense of self? - What practices help integrate new environments with past memories? A Different Perspective The intensity of initial disorientation may fade, but lingering nostalgia can persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [Many a man who thinks to found a home discovers that he has merely opened a tavern for his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/many-a-man-who-thinks-to-found-a-home-discovers-that-he-has-merely/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [As the years go by, I find myself experiencing God's extraordinary concern, consideration, healing, and what I call in my books, the divine therapy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/as-the-years-go-by-i-find-myself-experiencing-god-s-extraordinary/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [For the Tintin books were my emotional universe. To read them felt quite simply like being loved: in advance and by an entire world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-davies/for-the-tintin-books-were-my-emotional-universe-to-read-them-felt/) [Luke Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-davies/) > [Each Of Us Makes Our Own Weather, Determines The Color Of The Skies In The Emotional Universe Which We Inhabit...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/each-of-us-makes-our-own-weather-determines-the-color-of-the-skies-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Each of us makes his own weather, determines the color of the skies in the emotional universe which he inhabits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/each-of-us-makes-his-own-weather-determines-the-color-of-the-skies-in/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Much spends the traveller, more then the abider.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/much-spends-the-traveller-more-then-the-abider/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [You can tell more about a person by how he spends his money and time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/you-can-tell-more-about-a-person-by-how-he-spends-his-money-and-time/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [“What is the nature of egoism? It spends away everything in its power!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/what-is-the-nature-of-egoism-it-spends-away-everything-in-its-power/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [I define power as 'control over one's life.' A balanced life is far superior to the male definition of power: earning money someone else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/i-define-power-as-control-over-one-s-life-a-balanced-life-is-far/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [Tim on the show does a lot of that posturing, of course, and feels sort of threatened by women. But even at that, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-richardson/tim-on-the-show-does-a-lot-of-that-posturing-of-course-and-feels-sort/) [Patricia Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-richardson/) > [Living is more a question of what one spends than what one makes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/living-is-more-a-question-of-what-one-spends-than-what-one-makes/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [He that spends a Groat a day idly, spends idly above 6 l. a year, which is the Price of using 100 l.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/he-that-spends-a-groat-a-day-idly-spends-idly-above-6-l-a-year-which/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“When one spends what he has on himself, when one has a thoroughly good time with his own money, people are apt to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/when-one-spends-what-he-has-on-himself-when-one-has-a-thoroughly-good/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [No one spends someone elses money as carefully as he spends his own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-skousen/no-one-spends-someone-elses-money-as-carefully-as-he-spends-his-own/) [Mark Skousen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-skousen/) > [I believe that government is too large, costs too much, spends too much, and has too much regulatory power in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-walberg/i-believe-that-government-is-too-large-costs-too-much-spends-too-much/) [Tim Walberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-walberg/) ## More by Colm Toibin > [I first went to Barcelona in 1975 after university, and I stayed for three years. I learnt Catalan because that's what everyone speaks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-first-went-to-barcelona-in-1975-after-university-and-i-stayed-for/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“What is hard to understand is that our dreams matter”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/what-is-hard-to-understand-is-that-our-dreams-matter/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Suffering is too strong a word, but writing is serious work. I pull the stuff up from me - it's not as if it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/suffering-is-too-strong-a-word-but-writing-is-serious-work-i-pull-the/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Three of my novels and a good number of my short stories are told from the point of view of men. I was brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/three-of-my-novels-and-a-good-number-of-my-short-stories-are-told/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [It may be enough to study history in all its nuance and ambiguity for its own sake. But there is no country free of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/it-may-be-enough-to-study-history-in-all-its-nuance-and-ambiguity-for/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [The only routine I have is that I finish everything I start. I wake up early every day - about 6.30 A.M. - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/the-only-routine-i-have-is-that-i-finish-everything-i-start-i-wake-up/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [While historians may go on attempting grand, sweeping and defining narratives, they work in a time when readers know that another narrative always lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/while-historians-may-go-on-attempting-grand-sweeping-and-defining/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [John McGovern taught me that it's OK to write repeatedly about the same things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/john-mcgovern-taught-me-that-it-s-ok-to-write-repeatedly-about-the/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Some of our loves and attachments are elemental and beyond our choosing, and for that very reason they come spiced with pain and regret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/some-of-our-loves-and-attachments-are-elemental-and-beyond-our/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Solitude is good in the evening. Dublin is a quiet city when you get to a certain age, when your friends settle down and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/solitude-is-good-in-the-evening-dublin-is-a-quiet-city-when-you-get/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“The details of what I told him were with me all the years in the same way as my hands or my arms were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/the-details-of-what-i-told-him-were-with-me-all-the-years-in-the-same/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [I did think of becoming a priest quite late on, when other boys were thinking of knocking over fences and going out with girls.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-did-think-of-becoming-a-priest-quite-late-on-when-other-boys-were/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“Here in this cemetery, which they began to stroll around once more, the state of not-knowing and not-feeling which belonged to the dead seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/here-in-this-cemetery-which-they-began-to-stroll-around-once-more-the/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“I don’t go in for change. It is not one of my subjects. I have always taken the view that noticing change is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-don-t-go-in-for-change-it-is-not-one-of-my-subjects-i-have-always/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“There will always be reservations, things one must leave out, events one can’t explain without handing over a full map of one’s life, unfolding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/there-will-always-be-reservations-things-one-must-leave-out-events/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) [Explore all 132 Colm Toibin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. 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