--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world is an orphanage for grownups" description: "\"The world is an orphanage for grownups\" — Elizabeth Swados" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/elizabeth-swados-61526_grownups_the-world-is-an-orphanage-for-grownups-3_3174848.jpg" --- # The world is an orphanage for grownups ![“The world is an orphanage for grownups” quote by Elizabeth Swados](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/elizabeth-swados-61526_grownups_the-world-is-an-orphanage-for-grownups-3_3174848.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/elizabeth-swados-61526_grownups_the-world-is-an-orphanage-for-grownups-3_3174848.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/elizabeth-swados-61526_grownups_the-world-is-an-orphanage-for-grownups-3_3174848.jpg) > “The world is an orphanage for grownups” [Elizabeth Swados](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-swados/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adults often feel neglected and seek belonging, similar to children in an orphanage. **In simple terms:** Adults crave belonging like children. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy and community support. Themes loneliness belonging adulthood Mood somber hopeful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - workplace - family gatherings - community centers Key Concepts social isolation psychological development Questions to Reflect On - What does belonging mean to you now? - How can society better support isolated adults? A Different Perspective Adults may resist seeking help due to stigma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Orphanage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orphanage/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [I'd like to open an animal orphanage in Kenya. I do a lot of work for Born Free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hunter/i-d-like-to-open-an-animal-orphanage-in-kenya-i-do-a-lot-of-work-for/) [Rachel Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hunter/) > [I was a sickly baby, and after two sets of adoptive parents took me home, they returned me to the orphanage because of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-atkins/i-was-a-sickly-baby-and-after-two-sets-of-adoptive-parents-took-me/) [Rodney Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-atkins/) > [My objection to the church isn't that the preachers are cruel, hypocritical, actually wicked, though some of them are that, too - think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/my-objection-to-the-church-isn-t-that-the-preachers-are-cruel/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“I reached down and picked up a baseball bat at my feet and I flung it as hard as it could. It circled and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-anderson-kurk/i-reached-down-and-picked-up-a-baseball-bat-at-my-feet-and-i-flung-it/) [Laura Anderson Kurk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-anderson-kurk/) > [My father took me back home, back to Greenwich Village, and he thought by taking me out of the orphanage he'd be out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-corso/my-father-took-me-back-home-back-to-greenwich-village-and-he-thought/) [Gregory Corso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-corso/) > [I feel like everybody needs to take a sabbatical and go to Russia and Africa and work in orphanages and really witness true suffering.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-feel-like-everybody-needs-to-take-a-sabbatical-and-go-to-russia-and/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [We talk about orphanages, we talk about their countries and differences, and it’s a source of excitement and pride. I’ve heard Maddox explain to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/we-talk-about-orphanages-we-talk-about-their-countries-and/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [“Edward had used work and accomplishments throughout his life to keep the misery at bay. He’d endured so much heartache in the first eighteen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-decker/edward-had-used-work-and-accomplishments-throughout-his-life-to-keep/) [Steven Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-decker/) > [The earth is a great big orphanage for most animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-roberts/the-earth-is-a-great-big-orphanage-for-most-animals/) [Eric Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-roberts/) > [My favorite of my books is DAVE AT NIGHT, because it's loosely based on my father's childhood in an orphanage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carson-levine/my-favorite-of-my-books-is-dave-at-night-because-it-s-loosely-based/) [Gail Carson Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carson-levine/) > [I didn't pay much attention to the whistles and whoops, in fact, I didn't quite hear them. I was full of a strange feeling,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/i-didn-t-pay-much-attention-to-the-whistles-and-whoops-in-fact-i-didn/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [With all the chaos, pain and suffering in the world, the fact that my adoption of a child from who was living in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/with-all-the-chaos-pain-and-suffering-in-the-world-the-fact-that-my/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [Even when I was in the orphanage, when I was roaming the street trying to find enough to eat, even then I thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/even-when-i-was-in-the-orphanage-when-i-was-roaming-the-street-trying/) [Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/) > [My son, who is five, was adopted from Ethiopia. My daughter was adopted from Guatemala. Her parents died of typhoid and malaria. We got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kristine/my-son-who-is-five-was-adopted-from-ethiopia-my-daughter-was-adopted/) [Lisa Kristine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kristine/) ## More by Elizabeth Swados > [I can choose to be unstable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-swados/i-can-choose-to-be-unstable/) [Elizabeth Swados](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-swados/) > [I look at people like musical instruments. I set people to music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-swados/i-look-at-people-like-musical-instruments-i-set-people-to-music/) [Elizabeth Swados](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-swados/) > [“The world is full of people running”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-swados/the-world-is-full-of-people-running/) [Elizabeth Swados](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-swados/) > [It's all the same when you're lonely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-swados/it-s-all-the-same-when-you-re-lonely/) [Elizabeth Swados](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-swados/) [Explore all 5 Elizabeth Swados quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-swados/) ## More Grownups quotes > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [A lot of times it's the child that sees something and not the grownup. I love that because, when readers get older, they start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brett/a-lot-of-times-it-s-the-child-that-sees-something-and-not-the-grownup/) [Jan Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brett/) > [What is difficult about learning - any kind of learning - is that you have to give up what you know already to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-furlong/what-is-difficult-about-learning-any-kind-of-learning-is-that-you/) [Monica Furlong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-furlong/) > [As a young girl, I used to dream of giving an interview. You dream of stardom as a kid. People think they don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sania-mirza/as-a-young-girl-i-used-to-dream-of-giving-an-interview-you-dream-of/) [Sania Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sania-mirza/) > [Growing up I never had a perfume. I was like oh, one day when I'm grownup and have money I'm going to wear perfume.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-robbie/growing-up-i-never-had-a-perfume-i-was-like-oh-one-day-when-i-m/) [Margot Robbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-robbie/) > [Kaoru: Grownups are so tiresome. They fake their smiles all day long and they try to force us to do the same. It's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bisco-hatori/kaoru-grownups-are-so-tiresome-they-fake-their-smiles-all-day-long/) [Bisco Hatori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bisco-hatori/) > [That's what my books are, now that I'm a grownup - mosaics of jokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/that-s-what-my-books-are-now-that-i-m-a-grownup-mosaics-of-jokes/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Using intuition is a hard thing for grownups to do, and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/using-intuition-is-a-hard-thing-for-grownups-to-do-and/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [This is not a game, ... Debt has become a part of who we are. It's become that spoiled child in the grocery store…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/this-is-not-a-game-debt-has-become-a-part-of-who-we-are-it-s-become/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [It's easier to be a grownup than to be a kid. When you're a kid, you lie constantly and people are always calling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-rich/it-s-easier-to-be-a-grownup-than-to-be-a-kid-when-you-re-a-kid-you/) [Simon Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-rich/) > [Children from the age of five to ten should watch more television. Television depicts adults as rotten SOB's given to fistfights, gunplay, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/children-from-the-age-of-five-to-ten-should-watch-more-television/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I believe that children long for form just as grownups do, and that it releases rather than cramps creative energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-believe-that-children-long-for-form-just-as-grownups-do-and-that-it/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I think Laurie's Keller story 'We are growing', resonates because when you have that amount of independence, you're starting to ask yourself questions that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/i-think-laurie-s-keller-story-we-are-growing-resonates-because-when/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [In their sympathies, children feel nearer animals than adults. They frolic with animals, caress them, share with them feelings neither has words for. Have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessamyn-west/in-their-sympathies-children-feel-nearer-animals-than-adults-they/) [Jessamyn West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessamyn-west/) > [if a book is not good enough for a grownup, it is not good enough for a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/if-a-book-is-not-good-enough-for-a-grownup-it-is-not-good-enough-for/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) Browse all 146 Grownups quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The world is an orphanage for grownups", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Swados" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-swados/the-world-is-an-orphanage-for-grownups/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grownups" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-swados/the-world-is-an-orphanage-for-grownups/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/elizabeth-swados-61526_grownups_the-world-is-an-orphanage-for-grownups-3_3174848.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/elizabeth-swados-61526_grownups_the-world-is-an-orphanage-for-grownups-3_3174848.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/elizabeth-swados-61526_grownups_the-world-is-an-orphanage-for-grownups-3_3174848.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The world is an orphanage for grownups” — Elizabeth Swados", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elizabeth Swados", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-swados/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The world is an orphanage for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-swados/the-world-is-an-orphanage-for-grownups/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-swados/the-world-is-an-orphanage-for-grownups/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```