--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...our whole country, which you never…" description: "\"“...our whole country, which you never think of until it’s gone, which you never love until you’re no longer there.”\" — Junot Díaz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/junot-diaz-531_love-u_our-whole-country-which-you-never-think_967601.jpg" --- # ...our whole country, which you never think of until it’s… ![“...our whole country, which you never think of until it’s gone, which you never love until you’re no longer there.” quote by Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/junot-diaz-531_love-u_our-whole-country-which-you-never-think_967601.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/junot-diaz-531_love-u_our-whole-country-which-you-never-think_967601.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/junot-diaz-531_love-u_our-whole-country-which-you-never-think_967601.jpg) > ““...our whole country, which you never think of until it’s gone, which you never love until you’re no longer there.”” [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We often neglect what we have until it’s gone, realizing its value too late. **In simple terms:** Appreciate what you have now. Key Takeaway Value present relationships. Themes appreciation loss gratitude Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family life - friendships - career - health Key Concepts impermanence value of presence Questions to Reflect On - What do you take for granted? - How can you express gratitude daily? A Different Perspective Nostalgia can cloud present awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gone love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) ## Related quotes > [You don't think. It's all instinct. If you stop to think, you're gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugar-ray-robinson/you-don-t-think-it-s-all-instinct-if-you-stop-to-think-you-re-gone/) [Sugar Ray Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugar-ray-robinson/) > [“Because once you love, it is gone. You love and you cannot call it back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/because-once-you-love-it-is-gone-you-love-and-you-cannot-call-it-back/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [Lover gone but not love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lover-gone-but-not-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hard to walk away itz so hard to walk away I did never wanted to give up never after the love we have is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fad-ibra/hard-to-walk-away-itz-so-hard-to-walk-away-i-did-never-wanted-to-give/) [Fad Ibra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fad-ibra/) > [Image of rugged cliffs And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone, Love itself shall slumber on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/image-of-rugged-cliffs-and-so-thy-thoughts-when-thou-art-gone-love/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [When I am gone, my love, do not look for me in the places we used to go to together. Look for me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/when-i-am-gone-my-love-do-not-look-for-me-in-the-places-we-used-to-go/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [“Well, ain't that just the way of the world. Everything come to an end, whether you wants it to or not. All that nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/well-ain-t-that-just-the-way-of-the-world-everything-come-to-an-end/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [For there is one thing I can safely say: that those bound by love must obey each other if they are to keep company…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/for-there-is-one-thing-i-can-safely-say-that-those-bound-by-love-must/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [And here you are hurried, And here you are gone; And here is the love, That it's all built upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/and-here-you-are-hurried-and-here-you-are-gone-and-here-is-the-love/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [If you feel the Adrenaline long after he's gone...you're in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christel-tait/if-you-feel-the-adrenaline-long-after-he-s-gone-you-re-in-love/) [Christel Tait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christel-tait/) > [Change is a constant. 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After ten years together I think knowing this is more than my due. Write me one line to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/where-have-you-gone-my-love-after-ten-years-together-i-think-knowing/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [Time goes by, life goes on yet all I can think of is why you are gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cutymims/time-goes-by-life-goes-on-yet-all-i-can-think-of-is-why-you-are-gone/) Cutymims ## More by Junot Díaz > [It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-might-interest-you-that-just-as-the-u-s-was-ramping-up-its/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Tell her that you love her hair, that you love her skin, her lips, because, in truth, you love them more than you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/tell-her-that-you-love-her-hair-that-you-love-her-skin-her-lips/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [It took me sixteen years to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-took-me-sixteen-years-to-write/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You ask everybody you know: How long does it usually take to get over it? 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The way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-ve-always-thought-that-you-don-t-love-a-country-by-turning-a-blind/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Called her a whore and attacked her walls, tearing down her posters and throwing her books everywhere. I found out because some whitegirl ran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/called-her-a-whore-and-attacked-her-walls-tearing-down-her-posters/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You're Dominican only if you do this, this, and that. And if you do this and that, you'll be accepted to a certain degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-re-dominican-only-if-you-do-this-this-and-that-and-if-you-do-this/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Ramfis fled the country after Trujillo's death, lived dissolutely off his father's swag, and ended up dying in a car crash of his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/ramfis-fled-the-country-after-trujillo-s-death-lived-dissolutely-off/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [If you didn't grow up like I did then you don't know, and if you don't know it's probably better you don't judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-didn-t-grow-up-like-i-did-then-you-don-t-know-and-if-you-don-t/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“If you ask me I don't think there are any such things as curses. I think there is only life. That's enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-ask-me-i-don-t-think-there-are-any-such-things-as-curses-i/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The only difference between a published and unpublished writer is a tolerance for imperfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-only-difference-between-a-published-and-unpublished-writer-is-a/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) [Explore all 486 Junot Díaz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## More Gone quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [“I notice when you’re gone. Or do I? How can I observe something that isn’t there?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-notice-when-you-re-gone-or-do-i-how-can-i-observe-something-that/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [You're getting into some kind of shape, cop." Aw, come on, now." Butch grinned. "Don't let that shower we took go to your head."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/you-re-getting-into-some-kind-of-shape-cop-aw-come-on-now-butch/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [Would she understand that time had stopped while she was gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/would-she-understand-that-time-had-stopped-while-she-was-gone/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [They paved paradise and put up a parkin lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot Don't it always seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/they-paved-paradise-and-put-up-a-parkin-lot-with-a-pink-hotel-a/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The amazing thing is that we live our lives with the hope that things will go right, that things will happen. And all along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-nakadate/the-amazing-thing-is-that-we-live-our-lives-with-the-hope-that-things/) [Laurel Nakadate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-nakadate/) > [I think I need the demons in order to write, but the demons have gone. It bothers me a lot. I've tried and tried,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-think-i-need-the-demons-in-order-to-write-but-the-demons-have-gone/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [“I am disappearing, maybe I'm already gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/i-am-disappearing-maybe-i-m-already-gone/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [You don't think. It's all instinct. If you stop to think, you're gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugar-ray-robinson/you-don-t-think-it-s-all-instinct-if-you-stop-to-think-you-re-gone/) [Sugar Ray Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugar-ray-robinson/) > [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [The weird thing was that Soft Cell was supposed to have come and gone before I started the album.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-almond/the-weird-thing-was-that-soft-cell-was-supposed-to-have-come-and-gone/) [Marc Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-almond/) Browse all 7,934 Gone quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...our whole country, which you never think of until it’s gone, which you never love until you’re no longer there.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Junot Díaz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/our-whole-country-which-you-never-think-of-until-it-s-gone-which-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gone" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/our-whole-country-which-you-never-think-of-until-it-s-gone-which-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/junot-diaz-531_love-u_our-whole-country-which-you-never-think_967601.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/junot-diaz-531_love-u_our-whole-country-which-you-never-think_967601.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54e/junot-diaz-531_love-u_our-whole-country-which-you-never-think_967601.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...our whole country, which you never think of until it’s gone, which you never love until you’re no longer…” — Junot Díaz", "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": "Junot Díaz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...our whole country, which you never...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/our-whole-country-which-you-never-think-of-until-it-s-gone-which-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/our-whole-country-which-you-never-think-of-until-it-s-gone-which-you/#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 } } ] } ```