--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When boys grow into men, their boyishness…" description: "\"“When boys grow into men, their boyishness is still apparent each time they abandon themselves a little. I stretch against them sometimes--lovesickness..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/julianna-baggott-2618_homesickness_when-boys-grow-into-men-their-boyishness_1101542.jpg" --- # When boys grow into men, their boyishness is still… ![“When boys grow into men, their boyishness is still apparent each time they abandon themselves a little. I stretch against them sometimes--lovesickness, it is the same ache as homesickness for me--and I marvel. The length of their bodies, it's where I find my house, my old street, Ashbury Park and…” quote by Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/julianna-baggott-2618_homesickness_when-boys-grow-into-men-their-boyishness_1101542.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/julianna-baggott-2618_homesickness_when-boys-grow-into-men-their-boyishness_1101542.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/julianna-baggott-2618_homesickness_when-boys-grow-into-men-their-boyishness_1101542.jpg) > ““When boys grow into men, their boyishness is still apparent each time they abandon themselves a little. I stretch against them sometimes--lovesickness, it is the same ache as homesickness for me--and I marvel. The length of their bodies, it's where I find my house, my old street, Ashbury Park and all of its yowling--men, they walk around carrying my country, my motherland, and they don't even know. They don't have the tiniest idea.”” [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reflects on how youthful traits persist into adulthood, linking personal identity to place and heritage. **In simple terms:** Youthful traits linger, shaping identity. Key Takeaway Recognize lasting influences. Themes identity memory place heritage growth Mood reflective poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - travel home - creative writing - therapy sessions Key Concepts Nostalgia self‑reflection cultural roots Questions to Reflect On - How do past places shape who you are? - What youthful traits still guide you? A Different Perspective May romanticize past, ignoring present change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boyishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boyishness-1121144/) [Boyishness Apparent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boyishness-apparent-2890115/) [Boys Grow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys-grow-616501/) [Homesickness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homesickness/) [Men Boyishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-boyishness-2890114/) ## Related quotes > [“Boyishness—by which I mean animal life in its fullest measure, good nature and honest impulses, hatred of injustice and meanness, and thoughtlessness enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hughes/boyishness-by-which-i-mean-animal-life-in-its-fullest-measure-good/) [Thomas Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hughes/) > [If art were to redeem man, it could do so only by saving him from the seriousness of life and restoring him to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/if-art-were-to-redeem-man-it-could-do-so-only-by-saving-him-from-the/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [The friendship of fine-hearted, generous boys, nurtured amid the romance-engendering comforts and elegancies of life, sometimes transcends the bounds of mere boyishness, and revels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-friendship-of-fine-hearted-generous-boys-nurtured-amid-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Boys want to grow up to be like their male role models. And boys who grow up in homes with absent fathers search the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-canada/boys-want-to-grow-up-to-be-like-their-male-role-models-and-boys-who/) [Geoffrey Canada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-canada/) > [Jack has two boys, and when they grow up they're gonna wanna be like the D. I've already got the name: Mini D.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-gass/jack-has-two-boys-and-when-they-grow-up-they-re-gonna-wanna-be-like/) [Kyle Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-gass/) > [Boys do not grow up gradually. They move forward in spurts like the hands of clocks in railway stations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/boys-do-not-grow-up-gradually-they-move-forward-in-spurts-like-the/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [“Little girls grow up to be women, little boys grow up to be little boys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/little-girls-grow-up-to-be-women-little-boys-grow-up-to-be-little-boys/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [“ Boys grow up to be men . And it’s men who cause all the trouble. They’re the ones who shed the blood and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/boys-grow-up-to-be-men-and-it-s-men-who-cause-all-the-trouble-they-re/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [When you're in a broken family and your role model is a violent male, boys grow up believing that's the way they're supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-costa/when-you-re-in-a-broken-family-and-your-role-model-is-a-violent-male/) [Jim Costa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-costa/) > [Why did the little girls grow crippled While the little boys grow strong The boys allowed to come of age The girls just came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/why-did-the-little-girls-grow-crippled-while-the-little-boys-grow/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [How do u know when kids start to grow up? Gals grow up when they start to put lipstick n boys grow up when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadie/how-do-u-know-when-kids-start-to-grow-up-gals-grow-up-when-they-start/) [Sadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadie/) > [Art schools are partly the villain here. (Never mind that I teach in them.) This generation of artists is the first to have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/art-schools-are-partly-the-villain-here-never-mind-that-i-teach-in/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [“She used to suffer these intense bouts of homesickness in her own bedroom. When she was very small, she would wake up tearing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/she-used-to-suffer-these-intense-bouts-of-homesickness-in-her-own/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) > [Concepts, like individuals, have their histories and are just as incapable of withstanding the ravages of time as are individuals. But in and through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/concepts-like-individuals-have-their-histories-and-are-just-as/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [At first he thought he felt bad because he was afraid of leading an army, but it wasn't true. He knew he'd make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/at-first-he-thought-he-felt-bad-because-he-was-afraid-of-leading-an/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More by Julianna Baggott > [“To know someone, to be known. That matters more than he'd ever thought it would.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/to-know-someone-to-be-known-that-matters-more-than-he-d-ever-thought/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [“Wir sollten feiern, was wir feiern können.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/wir-sollten-feiern-was-wir-feiern-k-nnen/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [She glances back before stepping into the alley, and she catches her grandfather looking at her the way he does sometimes--as if she's already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/she-glances-back-before-stepping-into-the-alley-and-she-catches-her/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [So far, I should be calm and more specifically not like that...Anything else? Would you like to do surgery on my personality? How about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/so-far-i-should-be-calm-and-more-specifically-not-like-that-anything/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [I am deeply Catholic and always will be, but I'm no longer a member of the church. I left in 2003 because of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/i-am-deeply-catholic-and-always-will-be-but-i-m-no-longer-a-member-of/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [“You're a hero here.' 'I don't want to be a hero.' 'What do you want?' 'I want to be a leader.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/you-re-a-hero-here-i-don-t-want-to-be-a-hero-what-do-you-want-i-want/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [“When I met you, I thought we were meant for each other, even though, in some ways, seemed very different and we kept fighting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/when-i-met-you-i-thought-we-were-meant-for-each-other-even-though-in/) [julianna baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [Love is a luxury. It's something that people are allowed to indulge in when they're not simply trying to survive and keep other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/love-is-a-luxury-it-s-something-that-people-are-allowed-to-indulge-in/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [“My memories will be erased and then I'll be force-fed the story from the society pages?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/my-memories-will-be-erased-and-then-i-ll-be-force-fed-the-story-from/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [“How do you know me?" she says. He looks at her through his narrow eyes. "I was," he says. "You were what?" she asks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/how-do-you-know-me-she-says-he-looks-at-her-through-his-narrow-eyes-i/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [I've never thought there was anything I could hope to get by praying for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/i-ve-never-thought-there-was-anything-i-could-hope-to-get-by-praying/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [Try to think of writing as a gift - more complexly put: it is the curse and the cure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/try-to-think-of-writing-as-a-gift-more-complexly-put-it-is-the-curse/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [Basically if you burst into my office the walls themselves will flutter as if alive - maybe that's the reason for all the wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/basically-if-you-burst-into-my-office-the-walls-themselves-will/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [But there it is: Everyone is alone, for life, and maybe that's not such a bad thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/but-there-it-is-everyone-is-alone-for-life-and-maybe-that-s-not-such/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [Sometimes when reading aloud to my husband, I'll start crying. It completely stuns me. As if the words in my body and on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/sometimes-when-reading-aloud-to-my-husband-i-ll-start-crying-it/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) [Explore all 147 Julianna Baggott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) ## More Homesickness quotes > [At first he thought he felt bad because he was afraid of leading an army, but it wasn't true. He knew he'd make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/at-first-he-thought-he-felt-bad-because-he-was-afraid-of-leading-an/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Concepts, like individuals, have their histories and are just as incapable of withstanding the ravages of time as are individuals. But in and through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/concepts-like-individuals-have-their-histories-and-are-just-as/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“She used to suffer these intense bouts of homesickness in her own bedroom. When she was very small, she would wake up tearing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/she-used-to-suffer-these-intense-bouts-of-homesickness-in-her-own/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) > [Art schools are partly the villain here. (Never mind that I teach in them.) This generation of artists is the first to have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/art-schools-are-partly-the-villain-here-never-mind-that-i-teach-in/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [If they don't board and live by themselves, even in their second year they've got no lounge or kitchen table and it's a pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-nisbett/if-they-don-t-board-and-live-by-themselves-even-in-their-second-year/) [Trevor Nisbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-nisbett/) > [“Give me homesickness. Flash. Give me nostalgic childhood yearnings. Flash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/give-me-homesickness-flash-give-me-nostalgic-childhood-yearnings-flash/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“He wonders what it would be like to belong somewhere and never doubt it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-bishop/he-wonders-what-it-would-be-like-to-belong-somewhere-and-never-doubt/) [Stephanie Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-bishop/) > [It is a curious emotion, this certain homesickness I have in mind. With Americans, it is a national trait, as native to us as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/it-is-a-curious-emotion-this-certain-homesickness-i-have-in-mind-with/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“…he will always live in a place he is not from. For a long time he thought that habit would counter this fact and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-bishop/he-will-always-live-in-a-place-he-is-not-from-for-a-long-time-he/) [Stephanie Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-bishop/) > [“The ex-pat's life with all its homesickness and loneliness and privileges and perks, with its dizzy ups and miserable downs, was certainly not ordinary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-keenan/the-ex-pat-s-life-with-all-its-homesickness-and-loneliness-and/) [Brigid Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-keenan/) > [The impulse for much writing is homesickness. You are trying to get back home, and in your writing you are invoking that home, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/the-impulse-for-much-writing-is-homesickness-you-are-trying-to-get/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Homesickness Standing under a million stars screaming up at them, PLEASE JUST TAKE ME HOME, with a voice rusty like the underside of boats,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-hewer/homesickness-standing-under-a-million-stars-screaming-up-at-them/) [Elisabeth Hewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-hewer/) > [Some people speak and sing and walk and sit and sleep and silence their homesickness, for a long time, and to no avail. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/some-people-speak-and-sing-and-walk-and-sit-and-sleep-and-silence/) [Herta Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [Nothing is more often misdiagnosed than our homesickness for Heaven. We think that what we want is sex, drugs, alcohol, a new job, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-alcorn/nothing-is-more-often-misdiagnosed-than-our-homesickness-for-heaven/) [Randy Alcorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-alcorn/) > [The soul hardly ever realizes it, but whether he is a believer or not, his loneliness is really a homesickness for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-van-zeller/the-soul-hardly-ever-realizes-it-but-whether-he-is-a-believer-or-not/) [Hubert Van Zeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-van-zeller/) [Browse all 139 Homesickness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homesickness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When boys grow into men, their boyishness is still apparent each time they abandon themselves a little. I stretch against them sometimes--lovesickness, it is the same ache as homesickness for me--and I marvel. 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