--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Leaving everything that makes them who…" description: "\"“Leaving everything that makes them who and what they are, leaving because it is no longer possible to stay. They will never be the same again because ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/noviolet-bulawayo-12666_leaving-home_leaving-everything-that-makes-them-who-a_2159963.jpg" --- # Leaving everything that makes them who and what they are… ![“Leaving everything that makes them who and what they are, leaving because it is no longer possible to stay. They will never be the same again because you just cannot be the same once you leave behind who and what you are, you just cannot be the same.” quote by NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/noviolet-bulawayo-12666_leaving-home_leaving-everything-that-makes-them-who-a_2159963.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/noviolet-bulawayo-12666_leaving-home_leaving-everything-that-makes-them-who-a_2159963.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/noviolet-bulawayo-12666_leaving-home_leaving-everything-that-makes-them-who-a_2159963.jpg) > ““Leaving everything that makes them who and what they are, leaving because it is no longer possible to stay. They will never be the same again because you just cannot be the same once you leave behind who and what you are, you just cannot be the same.”” [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leaving behind one’s identity forces irreversible change, making it impossible to return to the former self. **In simple terms:** Leaving changes you forever. Key Takeaway Accept change, embrace new self. Themes identity change loss Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - immigration - career change - personal growth - grief counseling Key Concepts personal transformation psychology migration Questions to Reflect On - What parts of yourself will you lose when you leave? - Can you retain core values after change? A Different Perspective May romanticize loss without acknowledging pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Just leave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-leave/) [Leave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave/) [Leaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving/) [Leaving home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving-home/) [Leaving Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving-makes-827349/) [Makes Leaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes-leaving-4578570/) ## Related quotes > [Leaving with a 'W' always makes it better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/domantas-sabonis/leaving-with-a-w-always-makes-it-better/) [Domantas Sabonis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/domantas-sabonis/) > [“Four leaving makes me nervous. Leaving us with Eric is like hiring a babysitter who spends his time sharpening knives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/four-leaving-makes-me-nervous-leaving-us-with-eric-is-like-hiring-a/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“You will never see me surrender, never see me cry, but you will often see me walk away. Turn around and just leave, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/you-will-never-see-me-surrender-never-see-me-cry-but-you-will-often/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“There are times when the actual experience of leaving something makes you wish desperately that you could stay, and then there are times when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/there-are-times-when-the-actual-experience-of-leaving-something-makes/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [Moving on is easy what your leaving behind is what makes it hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyga/moving-on-is-easy-what-your-leaving-behind-is-what-makes-it-hard/) [Tyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyga/) > [“They will never be the same again because you just cannot be the same once you leave behind who and what you are, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/they-will-never-be-the-same-again-because-you-just-cannot-be-the-same/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [Travel challenges truths that we were raised thinking were self-evident and God-given. Leaving home, we learn other people find different truths to be self-evident.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-steves/travel-challenges-truths-that-we-were-raised-thinking-were-self/) [Rick Steves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-steves/) > [The heavy is the root of the light. The unmoved is the source of all movement. Thus the Master travels all day without leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-heavy-is-the-root-of-the-light-the-unmoved-is-the-source-of-all/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Leaving your home can be a fear at times. You gotta make yourself get out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliette-lewis/leaving-your-home-can-be-a-fear-at-times-you-gotta-make-yourself-get/) [Juliette Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliette-lewis/) > [I did not enjoy Cambridge. But I shouldn't blame Cambridge alone. I wasn't ready for university or for the wrench of leaving home. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomie-harris/i-did-not-enjoy-cambridge-but-i-shouldn-t-blame-cambridge-alone-i/) [Naomie Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomie-harris/) > [many writers believe in arrival without leaving home. They believe in talent but not skill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-delton/many-writers-believe-in-arrival-without-leaving-home-they-believe-in/) [Judy Delton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-delton/) > [I have a very powerful sense of place, but I have a very powerful sense of being a migrant, so it's both. It seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-have-a-very-powerful-sense-of-place-but-i-have-a-very-powerful/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [If my world were to cave in tomorrow, I would look back on all the pleasures, excitements and worthwhilenesses I have been lucky enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/if-my-world-were-to-cave-in-tomorrow-i-would-look-back-on-all-the/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [I want to leave my country without leaving my home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/i-want-to-leave-my-country-without-leaving-my-home/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [Please just leave, you hurt me enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/please-just-leave-you-hurt-me-enough/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by NoViolet Bulawayo > [“Further and further we go, and the sun keeps ironing us and ironing us and ironing us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/further-and-further-we-go-and-the-sun-keeps-ironing-us-and-ironing-us/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [“...and the women spread their ntsaroz and sit on one side, the men on the other, like they are two different rivers that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/and-the-women-spread-their-ntsaroz-and-sit-on-one-side-the-men-on-the/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [“Because we were not in our country, we could not use our own languages, and so when we spoke our voices came out bruised.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/because-we-were-not-in-our-country-we-could-not-use-our-own-languages/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [“Heaven is boring. Didn't you see, in that picture book back when we used to go to school? It's just plain and white and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/heaven-is-boring-didn-t-you-see-in-that-picture-book-back-when-we/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [“You pray and pray and pray and nothing changes, like for example I prayed for a real house and good clothes and a bicycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/you-pray-and-pray-and-pray-and-nothing-changes-like-for-example-i/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [“It's not the lying itself that makes me feel bad but the fact that I'm here lying to my friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/it-s-not-the-lying-itself-that-makes-me-feel-bad-but-the-fact-that-i/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [“a country is a Coca-Cola bottle that can smash on the floor and disappoint you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/a-country-is-a-coca-cola-bottle-that-can-smash-on-the-floor-and/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [“Look at them leaving in droves despite knowing they will be welcomed with restraint in those strange lands because they do not belong, knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/look-at-them-leaving-in-droves-despite-knowing-they-will-be-welcomed/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [“this place doesn't look like my America”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/this-place-doesn-t-look-like-my-america/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [“He speaks with this tone like he owns things, but we know that even the baton stick in his hands is not his, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/he-speaks-with-this-tone-like-he-owns-things-but-we-know-that-even/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [“At first it comes in small drops; that's how pee does, if somebody is watching, then it just won't come. I get more tiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/at-first-it-comes-in-small-drops-that-s-how-pee-does-if-somebody-is/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [“When you look into their faces it's like something that was in there got up and gathered its things and walked away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/when-you-look-into-their-faces-it-s-like-something-that-was-in-there/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [“Others with names like myths, names like puzzles, names we had never heard before: Virgilio, Balamugunthan, Faheem, Abdulrahman, Aziz, Baako, Dae-Hyun, Ousmane, Kimatsu. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/others-with-names-like-myths-names-like-puzzles-names-we-had-never/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [“There are times, though, that no matter how much food I eat, I find the food does nothing for me, like I am hungry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/there-are-times-though-that-no-matter-how-much-food-i-eat-i-find-the/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) > [“If Messenger would be to open his mouth right now, his voice would be a terrible wound.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/if-messenger-would-be-to-open-his-mouth-right-now-his-voice-would-be/) [NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) [Explore all 53 NoViolet Bulawayo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/) ## More Just leave quotes > [When a Gemini is finally tired of trying, they will just leave, no fight, no argument and sometimes not even a goodbye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-a-gemini-is-finally-tired-of-trying-they-will-just-leave-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love the life of an actor because you spend brief amounts of time with other people and then you just leave. I need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-stowe/i-love-the-life-of-an-actor-because-you-spend-brief-amounts-of-time/) [Madeleine Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-stowe/) > [Please just leave, you hurt me enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/please-just-leave-you-hurt-me-enough/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Leave me alone! Can't you see that I am already hurt enough without you addin on to it? I am super sorry but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savannah-j/leave-me-alone-can-t-you-see-that-i-am-already-hurt-enough-without/) [Savannah J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savannah-j/) > [“What? Oh shit, my head. Can't you just leave me alone, woman? I'm dying here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-chan/what-oh-shit-my-head-can-t-you-just-leave-me-alone-woman-i-m-dying/) [Kylie Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-chan/) > [If it's a regular day, I won't wear any makeup, just leave my hair down and head out to the car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-karan/if-it-s-a-regular-day-i-won-t-wear-any-makeup-just-leave-my-hair-down/) [Donna Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-karan/) > [“If you meet god, tell him to just leave me alone!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kentaro-miura/if-you-meet-god-tell-him-to-just-leave-me-alone/) [Kentaro Miura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kentaro-miura/) > [“You will never see me surrender, never see me cry, but you will often see me walk away. Turn around and just leave, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/you-will-never-see-me-surrender-never-see-me-cry-but-you-will-often/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [If you're unhappy, don't cheat. Just leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twitter/if-you-re-unhappy-don-t-cheat-just-leave/) [Twitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twitter/) > [The idea that 'if you don't like how things are going, you can just leave' is so ingrained in Texas, the secession movement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/the-idea-that-if-you-don-t-like-how-things-are-going-you-can-just/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [Clip the wings that get you high, just leave them where they lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seether/clip-the-wings-that-get-you-high-just-leave-them-where-they-lie/) [Seether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seether/) > [Don't cheat in a Relationship. If u are not happy then just leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-rai/don-t-cheat-in-a-relationship-if-u-are-not-happy-then-just-leave/) [Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-rai/) > [Honestly blows my mind how someone you've been through so much with can just leave your life like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/honestly-blows-my-mind-how-someone-you-ve-been-through-so-much-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You promise you will never hurt me again? Yeah yeah I dont belive it. Youve said that before. Just leave me the fucck alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savannah-j/you-promise-you-will-never-hurt-me-again-yeah-yeah-i-dont-belive-it/) [Savannah J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savannah-j/) > [I entered the Communist Party because its cause was just and I will leave it when it ceases to be just.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-entered-the-communist-party-because-its-cause-was-just-and-i-will/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) [Browse all 128 Just leave quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-leave/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Leaving everything that makes them who and what they are, leaving because it is no longer possible to stay. 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