--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I told the students that they were at the…" description: "\"“I told the students that they were at the age when they might begin to choose places that would sustain them the rest of their lives, that places were..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/rebecca-solnit-569_home_i-told-the-students-that-they-were-at-th_3175997.jpg" --- # I told the students that they were at the age when they… ![“I told the students that they were at the age when they might begin to choose places that would sustain them the rest of their lives, that places were more reliable than human beings, and often much longer-lasting, and I asked them where they felt at home.” quote by Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/rebecca-solnit-569_home_i-told-the-students-that-they-were-at-th_3175997.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/rebecca-solnit-569_home_i-told-the-students-that-they-were-at-th_3175997.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/rebecca-solnit-569_home_i-told-the-students-that-they-were-at-th_3175997.jpg) > ““I told the students that they were at the age when they might begin to choose places that would sustain them the rest of their lives, that places were more reliable than human beings, and often much longer-lasting, and I asked them where they felt at home.”” [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing supportive environments shapes lifelong fulfillment more than transient relationships. **In simple terms:** Pick places that nurture you. Key Takeaway Seek stable, nurturing communities. Themes choice environment fulfillment Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - career planning - education - relocation decisions Key Concepts psychology social support life design Questions to Reflect On - What environment best supports your growth? - How do you balance place stability with personal change? A Different Perspective Places may change, but personal growth also matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Sense of place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-of-place/) ## Related quotes > [I'm able to actually choose places to go which have intrigued me for the last god knows how many years, and Tasmania's always been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/i-m-able-to-actually-choose-places-to-go-which-have-intrigued-me-for/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [I choose the places I go to carefully and wisely. I'll rarely go to a shopping mall anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-drescher/i-choose-the-places-i-go-to-carefully-and-wisely-i-ll-rarely-go-to-a/) [Fran Drescher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-drescher/) > [The subject must be thought of in terms of the 20th century, of houses he lives in and places he works, in terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-newman/the-subject-must-be-thought-of-in-terms-of-the-20th-century-of-houses/) [Arnold Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-newman/) > [It's interesting to see these lives from places I may never go unfold on screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paz-vega/it-s-interesting-to-see-these-lives-from-places-i-may-never-go-unfold/) [Paz Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paz-vega/) > [Man…who lives in three places – in the past, in the present, and in the future – can be unhappy if one of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/man-who-lives-in-three-places-in-the-past-in-the-present-and-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What is the school like? First, let me set the stage. The school enrolls students from the age of 4 up. No one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-l-ackoff/what-is-the-school-like-first-let-me-set-the-stage-the-school-enrolls/) [Russell L. Ackoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-l-ackoff/) > [“She was right: school was lonely. The eighteen and nineteen year olds didn't socialize with the younger kids, and though there were plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/she-was-right-school-was-lonely-the-eighteen-and-nineteen-year-olds/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [I tell college students, when you get to be my age you will be successful if the people who you hope to have love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/i-tell-college-students-when-you-get-to-be-my-age-you-will-be/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [“States and Provinces and curricula around the world track students by age. This practice is so common that we do not think of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zalman-usiskin/states-and-provinces-and-curricula-around-the-world-track-students-by/) Zalman Usiskin > [Sense of place is the sixth sense, an internal compass and map made by memory and spatial perception together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/sense-of-place-is-the-sixth-sense-an-internal-compass-and-map-made-by/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [It had come to me not in a sudden epiphany but with a gradual sureness, a sense of meaning like a sense of place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/it-had-come-to-me-not-in-a-sudden-epiphany-but-with-a-gradual/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [ I told the students \[at Yale\] we were going to talk about love - I meant love in the sense of devotions to one's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-told-the-students-at-yale-we-were-going-to-talk-about-love-i-meant/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I told the students that we can exert pressure without resorting to violence, and that we can move towards democracy without violence; that way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdurrahman-wahid/i-told-the-students-that-we-can-exert-pressure-without-resorting-to/) [Abdurrahman Wahid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdurrahman-wahid/) > [I told my students the other day in class, which is about the spirituality and creativity as much as it is about music. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-haden/i-told-my-students-the-other-day-in-class-which-is-about-the/) [Charlie Haden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-haden/) > [As I told the students every time I visited a campus, you are the director of your own movie, and if you aren't enjoying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-johnson/as-i-told-the-students-every-time-i-visited-a-campus-you-are-the/) [Gary Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-johnson/) ## More by Rebecca Solnit > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/joy-doesn-t-betray-but-sustains-activism-and-when-you-face-a-politics/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“To love someone is to put yourself in their place, we say, which is to put ourself in their story, or figure out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/to-love-someone-is-to-put-yourself-in-their-place-we-say-which-is-to/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“People have always been good at imagining the end of the world, which is much easier to picture than the strange sidelong paths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/people-have-always-been-good-at-imagining-the-end-of-the-world-which/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Whose maps are we trying to read? And what are we trying to draw? It's so common to live in a place without truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-what-are-we-trying-to-draw-it-s/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“I was being cured of soldiering on endlessly: my job was now to be still, which had become almost easy at last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-was-being-cured-of-soldiering-on-endlessly-my-job-was-now-to-be/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [In the aftermath of 9/11, people had not a good time, but a deep, profound, rousing time, woke up from their ennui and isolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-the-aftermath-of-9-11-people-had-not-a-good-time-but-a-deep/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“I wonder now about Demeter and Persephone. Maybe Persephone was glad to run off with the king of death to his underground realm, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-wonder-now-about-demeter-and-persephone-maybe-persephone-was-glad/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [ \[In mountaineering, if\] we look for private experience rather than public history, even getting to the top becomes an optional narrative rather than the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-mountaineering-if-we-look-for-private-experience-rather-than/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [For me, being in a car or on an airplane is like being in limbo. It's this dead zone between two places. But to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/for-me-being-in-a-car-or-on-an-airplane-is-like-being-in-limbo-it-s/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“How do you calculate upon the unforeseen? It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/how-do-you-calculate-upon-the-unforeseen-it-seems-to-be-an-art-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Walking shares with making and working that crucial element of engagement of the body and the mind with the world, of knowing the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/walking-shares-with-making-and-working-that-crucial-element-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Marriage equality is a threat: to inequality. It’s a boon to everyone who values and benefits from equality. It’s for all of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/marriage-equality-is-a-threat-to-inequality-it-s-a-boon-to-everyone/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Mountaineering is always spoken of as though summiting is conquest, but as you get higher, the world gets bigger, and you feel smaller in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/mountaineering-is-always-spoken-of-as-though-summiting-is-conquest/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“A procession is a participants' journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/a-procession-is-a-participants-journey-while-a-parade-is-a/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Explore all 469 Rebecca Solnit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## More Home quotes > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [I don't like being away from home. That's one reason why I don't work as much as I used to \[when I started my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-powell/i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s-one-reason-why-i-don-t-work/) [Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-powell/) > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [If your life's at a juncture and you need to think about things, there's nowhere better than home. However old you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/if-your-life-s-at-a-juncture-and-you-need-to-think-about-things-there/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [Most days, I go home and I feel rejuvenated. I feel ebullient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/most-days-i-go-home-and-i-feel-rejuvenated-i-feel-ebullient/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [Everything comes home, my mother used to say; every word spoken, every shadow cast, every footprint in the sand. It can't be helped; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/everything-comes-home-my-mother-used-to-say-every-word-spoken-every/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [When you're in the middle of a pennant race, you can't go up there thinking about home runs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-sosa/when-you-re-in-the-middle-of-a-pennant-race-you-can-t-go-up-there/) [Sammy Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-sosa/) > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [You play a part, and as soon as a movie is over and the camera stops, you go home and you're not really responsible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nastassja-kinski/you-play-a-part-and-as-soon-as-a-movie-is-over-and-the-camera-stops/) [Nastassja Kinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nastassja-kinski/) [Browse all 25,855 Home quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I told the students that they were at the age when they might begin to choose places that would sustain them the rest of their lives, that places were more reliable than human beings, and often much longer-lasting, and I asked them where they felt at home.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rebecca Solnit" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-told-the-students-that-they-were-at-the-age-when-they-might-begin/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Home" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-told-the-students-that-they-were-at-the-age-when-they-might-begin/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/rebecca-solnit-569_home_i-told-the-students-that-they-were-at-th_3175997.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/rebecca-solnit-569_home_i-told-the-students-that-they-were-at-th_3175997.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/rebecca-solnit-569_home_i-told-the-students-that-they-were-at-th_3175997.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I told the students that they were at the age when they might begin to choose places that would sustain them…” — Rebecca Solnit", "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": "Rebecca Solnit", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I told the students that they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-told-the-students-that-they-were-at-the-age-when-they-might-begin/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-told-the-students-that-they-were-at-the-age-when-they-might-begin/#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 } } ] } ```