--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I got a huge knot in my stomach because…" description: "\"“I got a huge knot in my stomach because if Antarctica could talk, it would be saying only one thing: you don't belong here.”\" — Maria Semple" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbd/maria-semple-2954_antarctica_i-got-a-huge-knot-in-my-stomach-because_1275001.png" --- # I got a huge knot in my stomach because if Antarctica… ![“I got a huge knot in my stomach because if Antarctica could talk, it would be saying only one thing: you don't belong here.” quote by Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbd/maria-semple-2954_antarctica_i-got-a-huge-knot-in-my-stomach-because_1275001.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbd/maria-semple-2954_antarctica_i-got-a-huge-knot-in-my-stomach-because_1275001.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbd/maria-semple-2954_antarctica_i-got-a-huge-knot-in-my-stomach-because_1275001.png) > ““I got a huge knot in my stomach because if Antarctica could talk, it would be saying only one thing: you don't belong here.”” [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling out of place in a harsh environment can cause deep anxiety, especially when the place seems hostile. **In simple terms:** Feeling anxious when you feel you don’t belong. Key Takeaway Acknowledge discomfort and seek supportive environments. Themes belonging environment anxiety Mood uneasy reflective Type emotional metaphorical When to use this quote - moving to a new city - starting a remote job - traveling to remote locations - adjusting to climate change - joining a new community Key Concepts psychology identity place attachment Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of the environment truly feel hostile? - How can you create a sense of belonging? A Different Perspective The metaphor may exaggerate personal feelings, ignoring practical adaptations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antarctica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antarctica/) [Antarctica Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antarctica-talk-4100068/) [Huge Knot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/huge-knot-4100069/) [Knot Stomach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knot-stomach-1418884/) [Knots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knots/) [Stomach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stomach/) [Stomach Antarctica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stomach-antarctica-4100067/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [But courage wasn't an absence of fear; it was fighting despite the knot in your stomach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/but-courage-wasn-t-an-absence-of-fear-it-was-fighting-despite-the/) [Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/) > [Some days I have a knot in my stomach because I've got to sit down and come up with something in womenswear that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-lauren/some-days-i-have-a-knot-in-my-stomach-because-i-ve-got-to-sit-down/) [Ralph Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-lauren/) > ['Red Knot' is a film that I shot in Antarctica almost three years ago on a boat. It was a film that was improvised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-thirlby/red-knot-is-a-film-that-i-shot-in-antarctica-almost-three-years-ago/) [Olivia Thirlby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-thirlby/) > [“All you need to know about Antarctica is it’s three horizontal stripes. On the bottom, there’s the stripe for the water, which is anywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/all-you-need-to-know-about-antarctica-is-it-s-three-horizontal/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“We were quiet for a while, and then I said, "I think my favorite part of Antarctica is just looking out." You know why?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/we-were-quiet-for-a-while-and-then-i-said-i-think-my-favorite-part-of/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [How many people are moving up toward the Antarctica, or the Arctic? Most people move down to Texas and Florida, where it's a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-johnson/how-many-people-are-moving-up-toward-the-antarctica-or-the-arctic/) [Ron Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-johnson/) > [Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance and courage of my companions which would have stirred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-falcon-scott/had-we-lived-i-should-have-had-a-tale-to-tell-of-the-hardihood/) [Robert Falcon Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-falcon-scott/) > [The literature of the emperor penguin is as forbidding, as inaccessible, as the frozen heart of Antarctica itself. Its beauties may be unearthly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-literature-of-the-emperor-penguin-is-as-forbidding-as/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [The fact that the Antarctica is beginning to look more like it's part of the story, as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-schneider/the-fact-that-the-antarctica-is-beginning-to-look-more-like-it-s-part/) [Stephen Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-schneider/) > [...Was it because a lot of the heat went into melting Arctic sea ice or parts of Greenland and Antarctica, and other glaciers? Was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-e-trenberth/was-it-because-a-lot-of-the-heat-went-into-melting-arctic-sea-ice-or/) [Kevin E. Trenberth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-e-trenberth/) > [Antarctica, one of the things that was so remarkable about it was that the ice itself is a kind of pure geometry, so say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-spooky/antarctica-one-of-the-things-that-was-so-remarkable-about-it-was-that/) [DJ Spooky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-spooky/) > [“Then he opened the Bible Queen Alexandra had given them and ripped out the flyleaf and the page containing the Twenty-third Psalm. He also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lansing/then-he-opened-the-bible-queen-alexandra-had-given-them-and-ripped/) [Alfred Lansing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lansing/) > [“A forbidding-looking place, certainly, but that only made it seem the more pitiful. It was the refuge of twenty-two men who, at that very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lansing/a-forbidding-looking-place-certainly-but-that-only-made-it-seem-the/) [Alfred Lansing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lansing/) > [At a time when it's possible for thirty people to stand on the top of Everest in one day, Antarctica still remains a remote,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/at-a-time-when-it-s-possible-for-thirty-people-to-stand-on-the-top-of/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [If Antarctica were music it would be Mozart. Art, and it would be Michelangelo. Literature, and it would be Shakespeare. And yet it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-denton/if-antarctica-were-music-it-would-be-mozart-art-and-it-would-be/) [Andrew Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-denton/) ## More by Maria Semple > [“The drivers here are horrible. And by horrible, I mean they don't realize I have someplace to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/the-drivers-here-are-horrible-and-by-horrible-i-mean-they-don-t/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“Just because it's complicated, just because you think you can't ever know everything about another person, it doesn't mean you can't try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/just-because-it-s-complicated-just-because-you-think-you-can-t-ever/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [You come out into the world after a season of TV and you're just swearing and saying mean things to people and they're looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/you-come-out-into-the-world-after-a-season-of-tv-and-you-re-just/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“Here’s something about Mom: she’s bad with annoyances, but great in a crisis. If a waiter doesn’t refill her water after she’s asked three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/here-s-something-about-mom-she-s-bad-with-annoyances-but-great-in-a/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“Parking in Seattle is an eight-step process. Step one, find a place to park (gooood luuuuck!). Step two, back into the angled parking space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/parking-in-seattle-is-an-eight-step-process-step-one-find-a-place-to/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“Eleanor's heart giggled with mad abundance: so much to share, so much goodwill, so many notes to compare, so many ways to help and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/eleanor-s-heart-giggled-with-mad-abundance-so-much-to-share-so-much/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [After decades spent in rewrite rooms surrounded by other shouting writers, I discovered that I work best alone. I like being in charge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/after-decades-spent-in-rewrite-rooms-surrounded-by-other-shouting/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“Ten years ago I saw a documentary on the siege of that Moscow theater. After just forty-eight hours of the terrorists confining the hostages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/ten-years-ago-i-saw-a-documentary-on-the-siege-of-that-moscow-theater/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [When I'm sitting at my computer writing, I really have this fiendish smile on my face. I am not thinking about the past or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/when-i-m-sitting-at-my-computer-writing-i-really-have-this-fiendish/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“Every single iceberg filled me with feelings of sadness and wonder. Not thoughts of sadness and wonder, mind you, because thoughts require a thinker,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/every-single-iceberg-filled-me-with-feelings-of-sadness-and-wonder/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [“The sight of Elgie flat on the slimy dock, groaning "My wife, my wife", with a gun pointed at him, and me jumping up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/the-sight-of-elgie-flat-on-the-slimy-dock-groaning-my-wife-my-wife/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [Maggie Shipstead's prose is so graceful and muscular, so dazzling, so sure-handed and fearless, that at times I had to remind myself to breathe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/maggie-shipstead-s-prose-is-so-graceful-and-muscular-so-dazzling-so/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [When your eyes are softly focused on the horizon for sustained periods, your brain releases endorphins. It's the same as a runner's high. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/when-your-eyes-are-softly-focused-on-the-horizon-for-sustained/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [My strength as a TV writer was my total lack of interest in television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/my-strength-as-a-tv-writer-was-my-total-lack-of-interest-in-television/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [Breezy, sophisticated, hilarious, rude and aching with sweetness: LOVE, NINA might be the most charming book I've ever read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/breezy-sophisticated-hilarious-rude-and-aching-with-sweetness-love/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) [Explore all 144 Maria Semple quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) ## More Antarctica quotes > [If Antarctica were music it would be Mozart. Art, and it would be Michelangelo. Literature, and it would be Shakespeare. And yet it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-denton/if-antarctica-were-music-it-would-be-mozart-art-and-it-would-be/) [Andrew Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-denton/) > [At a time when it's possible for thirty people to stand on the top of Everest in one day, Antarctica still remains a remote,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/at-a-time-when-it-s-possible-for-thirty-people-to-stand-on-the-top-of/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [“A forbidding-looking place, certainly, but that only made it seem the more pitiful. It was the refuge of twenty-two men who, at that very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lansing/a-forbidding-looking-place-certainly-but-that-only-made-it-seem-the/) [Alfred Lansing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lansing/) > [“Then he opened the Bible Queen Alexandra had given them and ripped out the flyleaf and the page containing the Twenty-third Psalm. He also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lansing/then-he-opened-the-bible-queen-alexandra-had-given-them-and-ripped/) [Alfred Lansing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lansing/) > [Antarctica, one of the things that was so remarkable about it was that the ice itself is a kind of pure geometry, so say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-spooky/antarctica-one-of-the-things-that-was-so-remarkable-about-it-was-that/) [DJ Spooky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-spooky/) > [...Was it because a lot of the heat went into melting Arctic sea ice or parts of Greenland and Antarctica, and other glaciers? Was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-e-trenberth/was-it-because-a-lot-of-the-heat-went-into-melting-arctic-sea-ice-or/) [Kevin E. Trenberth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-e-trenberth/) > [The fact that the Antarctica is beginning to look more like it's part of the story, as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-schneider/the-fact-that-the-antarctica-is-beginning-to-look-more-like-it-s-part/) [Stephen Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-schneider/) > [The literature of the emperor penguin is as forbidding, as inaccessible, as the frozen heart of Antarctica itself. Its beauties may be unearthly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-literature-of-the-emperor-penguin-is-as-forbidding-as/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance and courage of my companions which would have stirred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-falcon-scott/had-we-lived-i-should-have-had-a-tale-to-tell-of-the-hardihood/) [Robert Falcon Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-falcon-scott/) > [How many people are moving up toward the Antarctica, or the Arctic? Most people move down to Texas and Florida, where it's a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-johnson/how-many-people-are-moving-up-toward-the-antarctica-or-the-arctic/) [Ron Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-johnson/) > [If he’d been any other man and i'd been any other girl, I’d have called the narrowing of his heavy-lidded dark eyes lust. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/if-he-d-been-any-other-man-and-i-d-been-any-other-girl-i-d-have/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“We were quiet for a while, and then I said, "I think my favorite part of Antarctica is just looking out." You know why?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/we-were-quiet-for-a-while-and-then-i-said-i-think-my-favorite-part-of/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [Scientists say that Texas and Antarctica were connected at one time. In fact, early Mexicans used to go through Texas to try to sneak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/scientists-say-that-texas-and-antarctica-were-connected-at-one-time/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [More people should visit Antarctica, metaphorically speaking, on their own. That is one of the conclusions I have reached, one of my recommendations: explore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-rose/more-people-should-visit-antarctica-metaphorically-speaking-on-their/) [Phyllis Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-rose/) > [I'd love to go to Easter Island, Hawaii, Iceland and Antarctica.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/i-d-love-to-go-to-easter-island-hawaii-iceland-and-antarctica/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) [Browse all 94 Antarctica quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antarctica/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I got a huge knot in my stomach because if Antarctica could talk, it would be saying only one thing: you don't belong here.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maria Semple" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/i-got-a-huge-knot-in-my-stomach-because-if-antarctica-could-talk-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Antarctica" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/i-got-a-huge-knot-in-my-stomach-because-if-antarctica-could-talk-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbd/maria-semple-2954_antarctica_i-got-a-huge-knot-in-my-stomach-because_1275001.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbd/maria-semple-2954_antarctica_i-got-a-huge-knot-in-my-stomach-because_1275001.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbd/maria-semple-2954_antarctica_i-got-a-huge-knot-in-my-stomach-because_1275001.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I got a huge knot in my stomach because if Antarctica could talk, it would be saying only one thing: you…” — Maria Semple", "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": "Maria Semple", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I got a huge knot in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/i-got-a-huge-knot-in-my-stomach-because-if-antarctica-could-talk-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/i-got-a-huge-knot-in-my-stomach-because-if-antarctica-could-talk-it/#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 } } ] } ```