---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've never thought of leaving the South…"
description: "\"I've never thought of leaving the South, never.\" — Ntozake Shange"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03e/ntozake-shange-11891_funny_i-ve-never-thought-of-leaving-the-south_3034304.png"
---

#  I've never thought of leaving the South, never.

![“I've never thought of leaving the South, never.” quote by Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03e/ntozake-shange-11891_funny_i-ve-never-thought-of-leaving-the-south_3034304.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03e/ntozake-shange-11891_funny_i-ve-never-thought-of-leaving-the-south_3034304.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03e/ntozake-shange-11891_funny_i-ve-never-thought-of-leaving-the-south_3034304.png)

> “I've never thought of leaving the South, never.”

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A steadfast commitment to staying in one's home region, rejecting thoughts of leaving.

**In simple terms:** Refuses to consider leaving the South.

Key Takeaway

Embrace your chosen place.

Themes

home identity steadfastness regional loyalty

Mood

determined nostalgic

Type

personal cultural

When to use this quote

- migration decisions
- family ties
- career location
- social expectations

Key Concepts

personal choice cultural roots

Questions to Reflect On

- What keeps you rooted in a place?
- When is moving beneficial?

A Different Perspective

Leaving may be necessary for growth; staying can limit opportunities.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Leaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving/) [Leaving South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving-south-658090/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south/) [Thought Leaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-leaving-573732/) [Ve Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ve-thought/)

## Related quotes

> [I grew up in the age of discount air fare, and for me, the act of joining a culture was a great way about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/i-grew-up-in-the-age-of-discount-air-fare-and-for-me-the-act-of/)

[Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/)

> [“I want you, Zel. The thought of you leaving fucking kills me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepper-winters/i-want-you-zel-the-thought-of-you-leaving-fucking-kills-me/)

[Pepper Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepper-winters/)

> [I was not leaving the south to forget the south, but so that some day I might understand it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/i-was-not-leaving-the-south-to-forget-the-south-but-so-that-some-day/)

[Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/)

> [I was leaving the South to fling myself into the unknown . . . I was taking a part of the South to transplant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/i-was-leaving-the-south-to-fling-myself-into-the-unknown-i-was-taking/)

[Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/)

> [Leaving South Africa was very difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-pietersen/leaving-south-africa-was-very-difficult/)

[Kevin Pietersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-pietersen/)

> [“Don’t be.” She changed gear with a crash and a groan. “You know the white population all around here is falling? You go out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-be-she-changed-gear-with-a-crash-and-a-groan-you-know-the-white/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The thought of leaving for college is both depressing and exhilerating. I'm leaving behind a whole phase of my life but I'm also making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajay-menon/the-thought-of-leaving-for-college-is-both-depressing-and/)

[Ajay Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajay-menon/)

> [Did you really think I would be this excited about college if I thought I'd be leaving my girl behind?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/did-you-really-think-i-would-be-this-excited-about-college-if-i/)

[Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/)

> [I guess it was the first time I really thought about leaving. I don't just mean Iron Maiden, I mean quitting music altogether. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-dickinson/i-guess-it-was-the-first-time-i-really-thought-about-leaving-i-don-t/)

[Bruce Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-dickinson/)

> [“I want you, goddammit! … The thought of you leaving at never seeing you again tears-me-up-inside! … I can’t fucking breathe without you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-redmerski/i-want-you-goddammit-the-thought-of-you-leaving-at-never-seeing-you/)

[J.A. Redmerski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-redmerski/)

> [I've thought so much about leaving La Liga, but if I did I would prove the racists right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinicius-junior/i-ve-thought-so-much-about-leaving-la-liga-but-if-i-did-i-would-prove/)

[Vinicius Junior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinicius-junior/)

> [“Maybe you've gotten through something and when you did you thought, I am leaving that behind and will never return. And that's a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-antonucci/maybe-you-ve-gotten-through-something-and-when-you-did-you-thought-i/)

[Vince Antonucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-antonucci/)

> [My head was a condemned church with a ceiling of bats, but I swung from this dark mood to euphoria when I thought about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/my-head-was-a-condemned-church-with-a-ceiling-of-bats-but-i-swung/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [For some reason I have always felt at home here at Inter and this is why I have never thought of leaving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-zanetti/for-some-reason-i-have-always-felt-at-home-here-at-inter-and-this-is/)

[Javier Zanetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-zanetti/)

> [The thought of leaving school at the end of this year and hopefully going to college just hit me and its quite scary to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-thought-of-leaving-school-at-the-end-of-this-year-and-hopefully/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Ntozake Shange

> [My characters don't talk necessarily in a normal American way of talking. They talk a little different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/my-characters-don-t-talk-necessarily-in-a-normal-american-way-of/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [It still amazes and fascinates me that women of color have kept my work alive for these many generations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/it-still-amazes-and-fascinates-me-that-women-of-color-have-kept-my/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [I write for young girls of color, for girls who don't even exist yet, so that there is something there for them when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/i-write-for-young-girls-of-color-for-girls-who-don-t-even-exist-yet/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [My family moved around a lot, so I don't have any friends that I had all my life, but I did have annual trips…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/my-family-moved-around-a-lot-so-i-don-t-have-any-friends-that-i-had/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [Creation is everything you do. Make something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/creation-is-everything-you-do-make-something/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [Where there is a woman there is magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/where-there-is-a-woman-there-is-magic/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [i usedta live in the world really be in the world free &amp; sweet talkin good mornin &amp; thank-you &amp; nice day uh huh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/i-usedta-live-in-the-world-really-be-in-the-world-free-sweet-talkin/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [The slaves who were ourselves had known terror intimately, confused sunrise with pain, &amp; accepted indifference as kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/the-slaves-who-were-ourselves-had-known-terror-intimately-confused/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [White people use their literature to maintain culture. That's why you find references to Milton and Spencer and Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky in contemporary novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/white-people-use-their-literature-to-maintain-culture-that-s-why-you/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [Multiculturalism isn't about culture, it's about power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/multiculturalism-isn-t-about-culture-it-s-about-power/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [Art gives us the opportunity to have clarity as well as hope that we might be able to survive a situation, or hope that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/art-gives-us-the-opportunity-to-have-clarity-as-well-as-hope-that-we/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [I think art is a healing force, and if we give in to the joy that can be found in art, then we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/i-think-art-is-a-healing-force-and-if-we-give-in-to-the-joy-that-can/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [Being alive and being a woman is all I got, but being colored is a metaphysical dilemma I haven't conquered yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/being-alive-and-being-a-woman-is-all-i-got-but-being-colored-is-a/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [When I die, I will no be guilty of having left a generation of girls behind thinking that anyone can tend to their emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/when-i-die-i-will-no-be-guilty-of-having-left-a-generation-of-girls/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

> [I had - there were three strokes, and I lost my ability to read and write and speak, and it really put me by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/i-had-there-were-three-strokes-and-i-lost-my-ability-to-read-and/)

[Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

[Explore all 57 Ntozake Shange quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/)

## More Funny quotes

> [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/)

[Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/)

> [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/)

[Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/)

> [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/)

[Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/)

> [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/)

[Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/)

> [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/)

[Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/)

> [Sometimes I look at my awesome twitter followers &amp; think to myself, What the hell would I do without them :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/sometimes-i-look-at-my-awesome-twitter-followers-think-to-myself-what/)

[Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/)

> [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/)

[Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/)

> [Congratulations to Facebook on going public with all my private information...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/congratulations-to-facebook-on-going-public-with-all-my-private/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Why are things as they are and not otherwise?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/why-are-things-as-they-are-and-not-otherwise/)

[Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/)

> [I've been funny my whole life. This is a gift God gave me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/i-ve-been-funny-my-whole-life-this-is-a-gift-god-gave-me/)

[Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/)

> [Penis goes in , sperms cums out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/penis-goes-in-sperms-cums-out/)

[Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/)

> [If you were to send a werewolf to the moon, would he be a werewolf permanently?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-schaal/if-you-were-to-send-a-werewolf-to-the-moon-would-he-be-a-werewolf/)

[Kristen Schaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-schaal/)

> [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/)

[Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/)

> [If you can connect people, you can create the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-heiferman/if-you-can-connect-people-you-can-create-the-future/)

[Scott Heiferman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-heiferman/)

> [Don't think OF the market. Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/)

[Michael Fishman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fishman/)

[Browse all 39,858 Funny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I've never thought of leaving the South, never.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ntozake Shange"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/i-ve-never-thought-of-leaving-the-south-never/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Funny"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/i-ve-never-thought-of-leaving-the-south-never/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03e/ntozake-shange-11891_funny_i-ve-never-thought-of-leaving-the-south_3034304.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03e/ntozake-shange-11891_funny_i-ve-never-thought-of-leaving-the-south_3034304.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03e/ntozake-shange-11891_funny_i-ve-never-thought-of-leaving-the-south_3034304.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I've never thought of leaving the South, never.” — Ntozake Shange",
                "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": "Ntozake Shange",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I've never thought of leaving the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/i-ve-never-thought-of-leaving-the-south-never/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/i-ve-never-thought-of-leaving-the-south-never/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
