--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So one day my mother sat me down and…" description: "\"So one day my mother sat me down and explained that I couldn’t become an explorer because everything in the world had already been discovered. I’d been..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/422/ransom-riggs-1816_born_so-one-day-my-mother-sat-me-down-and-exp_577716.jpg" --- # So one day my mother sat me down and explained that I… ![“So one day my mother sat me down and explained that I couldn’t become an explorer because everything in the world had already been discovered. I’d been born in the wrong century, and I felt cheated.” quote by Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/422/ransom-riggs-1816_born_so-one-day-my-mother-sat-me-down-and-exp_577716.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/422/ransom-riggs-1816_born_so-one-day-my-mother-sat-me-down-and-exp_577716.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/422/ransom-riggs-1816_born_so-one-day-my-mother-sat-me-down-and-exp_577716.jpg) > “So one day my mother sat me down and explained that I couldn’t become an explorer because everything in the world had already been discovered. I’d been born in the wrong century, and I felt cheated.” [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels limited by the belief that all discoveries are already made, leading to frustration about missed opportunities. **In simple terms:** Feeling stuck because everything seems already known. Key Takeaway Seek new perspectives beyond conventional limits. Themes frustration exploration generational perspective Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - career choice - personal ambition - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism optimism historical context Questions to Reflect On - What new fields could you explore? - How can you redefine 'discovery'? A Different Perspective May overlook undiscovered niches in known fields. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Born Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born-wrong-866636/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Cheated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheated/) [Couldn Explorer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couldn-explorer-4755262/) [Down and](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/down-and/) [Explorers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explorers/) [Felt Cheated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-cheated-2103313/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [One day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-day/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Sat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sat/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Wrong Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-century-241730/) ## Related quotes > [I'd been born in the wrong century, and I felt cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/i-d-been-born-in-the-wrong-century-and-i-felt-cheated/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“Everything in the world had already been discovered. I'd been born in the wrong century, and I felt cheated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/everything-in-the-world-had-already-been-discovered-i-d-been-born-in/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“Sometimes he felt as if he'd been born in the wrong century. 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I'd really like to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/writing-allows-me-the-time-to-travel-and-see-the-world-which-is-what/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [The problem is that I am in the wrong century to burn things. I am the wrong generation to let it go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/the-problem-is-that-i-am-in-the-wrong-century-to-burn-things-i-am-the/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ransom Riggs > [“Maybe I could use a little metal on the inside, I thought. If I'd kept my heart better armored, where would I be now?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/maybe-i-could-use-a-little-metal-on-the-inside-i-thought-if-i-d-kept/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“To have endured horrors, to have seen the worst of humanity and have your life made unrecognizable by it, to come out of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/to-have-endured-horrors-to-have-seen-the-worst-of-humanity-and-have/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“When it comes to big things in life, there are no accidents. Everything happens for a reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/when-it-comes-to-big-things-in-life-there-are-no-accidents-everything/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“Hugh and Fiona stood off to one side, their hands linked and foreheads touching, saying goodbye in their own quiet way. Finally, we'd all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/hugh-and-fiona-stood-off-to-one-side-their-hands-linked-and-foreheads/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [I grew up feeling like a weirdo like many kids do. But I was lucky to find my own home for peculiar children. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/i-grew-up-feeling-like-a-weirdo-like-many-kids-do-but-i-was-lucky-to/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“Then I was face to face with it. Tongues fanned from its gaping, bladed mouth. Its eyes were black and weeping more black and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/then-i-was-face-to-face-with-it-tongues-fanned-from-its-gaping-bladed/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“It's not about destiny but i do think there's balance in the world and forces we don't understand intervene to tip the scales the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/it-s-not-about-destiny-but-i-do-think-there-s-balance-in-the-world/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“Oh, thank heavens! Someone remembered the bath mat," Enoch deadpanned. "We are saved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/oh-thank-heavens-someone-remembered-the-bath-mat-enoch-deadpanned-we/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“You tread a precariously thin line between being charmingly headstrong and insufferably pigheaded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/you-tread-a-precariously-thin-line-between-being-charmingly/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“I did love her, of course, but mostly because loving your mom is mandatory, not because she was someone I think I'd like very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/i-did-love-her-of-course-but-mostly-because-loving-your-mom-is/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“ ‘You don’t strike me as a quitter.’ ‘Then you don’t know me very well,’ I replied.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/you-don-t-strike-me-as-a-quitter-then-you-don-t-know-me-very-well-i/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“I came to enjoy communicating by hand. There was something sweet about holding a tangible thing that had been touched and marked upon by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/i-came-to-enjoy-communicating-by-hand-there-was-something-sweet-about/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“Bombs are falling and we're reading stories, I thought. I have entered the realm of the insane. -Jacob”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/bombs-are-falling-and-we-re-reading-stories-i-thought-i-have-entered/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“Yo no sabía como llamar a aquello que sucedía entre nosotros, pero me gustaba. Me proporcionaba una sensación estúpida, frágil y agradable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/yo-no-sab-a-como-llamar-a-aquello-que-suced-a-entre-nosotros-pero-me/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“I think they worried that my grandfather would infect me with some incurable dreaminess from which I’d never recover – that these fantasies were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/i-think-they-worried-that-my-grandfather-would-infect-me-with-some/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) [Explore all 201 Ransom Riggs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) ## More Born quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/) [Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. 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I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/) [Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. 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