--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I remember being a teenager, I never…" description: "\"I remember being a teenager, I never thought that I'd live in a society that was not segregated. It happened.\" — Shelby Steele" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/shelby-steele-3370_being_i-remember-being-a-teenager-i-never-thou_1314576.png" --- # I remember being a teenager, I never thought that I'd live… ![“I remember being a teenager, I never thought that I'd live in a society that was not segregated. It happened.” quote by Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/shelby-steele-3370_being_i-remember-being-a-teenager-i-never-thou_1314576.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/shelby-steele-3370_being_i-remember-being-a-teenager-i-never-thou_1314576.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/shelby-steele-3370_being_i-remember-being-a-teenager-i-never-thou_1314576.png) > “I remember being a teenager, I never thought that I'd live in a society that was not segregated. It happened.” [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reflects on unexpected societal change from segregation to integration. **In simple terms:** Realized society changed from segregation. Key Takeaway Recognize how societies can evolve unexpectedly. Themes social change history integration Mood reflective thoughtful Type observational historical When to use this quote - education reform - community dialogue - policy making Key Concepts segregation social evolution unexpected change Questions to Reflect On - How have your assumptions about society shifted? - What signs indicate deeper change? A Different Perspective May overlook ongoing systemic inequities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember Teenager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-teenager-1775634/) [Segregated Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/segregated-happened-4361510/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Society Segregated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-segregated-4361511/) [Teenager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teenager/) [Teenager Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teenager-thought-1153748/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [I would say I was a philosophical boy. Thoughts about 'identical stones' are the earliest philosophical thoughts I remember. But when I was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gonzalo-rodriguez-pereyra/i-would-say-i-was-a-philosophical-boy-thoughts-about-identical-stones/) [Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gonzalo-rodriguez-pereyra/) > [I remember being a teenager and being really impressed by "let's sit around and b\*tch" people, and I have so little time for those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/i-remember-being-a-teenager-and-being-really-impressed-by-let-s-sit/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) > [When I was a teenager, I thought nothing would ever happen to me because my childhood was so normal. I had this complex of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-tautou/when-i-was-a-teenager-i-thought-nothing-would-ever-happen-to-me/) [Audrey Tautou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-tautou/) > [Remember that as a teenager you are in the last stage of your life when you will be happy to hear the phone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/remember-that-as-a-teenager-you-are-in-the-last-stage-of-your-life/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [When I was a teenager, I thought maybe I'll be a filmmaker, making film documentaries. 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My Brian Wilson and Beach Boys fandom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmir-questlove-thompson/i-remember-being-a-teenager-and-being-ashamed-of-my-musical-tastes-at/) [Ahmir Questlove Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmir-questlove-thompson/) > [Remember that as a teenager you are at the last stage of your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/remember-that-as-a-teenager-you-are-at-the-last-stage-of-your-life/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [As a teenager, I thought about being married and having children then I started having success in cars so I switched off my mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-coulthard/as-a-teenager-i-thought-about-being-married-and-having-children-then/) [David Coulthard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-coulthard/) > [When I was a teenager, I thought if any of my friends or people at school see me reading a book, they're gonna think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pelecanos/when-i-was-a-teenager-i-thought-if-any-of-my-friends-or-people-at/) [George Pelecanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pelecanos/) > [I remember being a teenager and seeing Seymour Cassel across a crowded room and being incredibly star struck, and not having the courage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-sachs/i-remember-being-a-teenager-and-seeing-seymour-cassel-across-a/) [Ira Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-sachs/) > [I was at a time of my life of making choices, I suppose: am I a writer, am I a visual artist? And when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-toop/i-was-at-a-time-of-my-life-of-making-choices-i-suppose-am-i-a-writer/) [David Toop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-toop/) > [I remember being a teenager and watching 40-year-old Michael Jordan compete in his final All-Star game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kawhi-leonard/i-remember-being-a-teenager-and-watching-40-year-old-michael-jordan/) [Kawhi Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kawhi-leonard/) > [“I can’t believe I’m thirty-one-years-old, lying on my back on a pier in broad daylight--in my own hometown, I might add--trying to figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/i-can-t-believe-i-m-thirty-one-years-old-lying-on-my-back-on-a-pier/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [I never got a chance to be a teenager.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-bruckner/i-never-got-a-chance-to-be-a-teenager/) [Agnes Bruckner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-bruckner/) ## More by Shelby Steele > [When blacks become humanly visible, when their true beliefs are known, their mask shatters and their symbiotic bond with whites is broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/when-blacks-become-humanly-visible-when-their-true-beliefs-are-known/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [I alienated myself from the academic world almost entirely because it's a left-wing world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/i-alienated-myself-from-the-academic-world-almost-entirely-because-it/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Freedom is just freedom. 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Certainly, Israel was born at the price of considerable dislocation and suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/no-doubt-israel-and-america-have-made-mistakes-in-the-middle-east/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [And if you want to make many of our black leaders angry, just tell them that racism is not the number problem that black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/and-if-you-want-to-make-many-of-our-black-leaders-angry-just-tell/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Thomas Sowell, among many others, has articulated the power of individual responsibility as an antidote to black poverty for over 40 years. Black thinkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/thomas-sowell-among-many-others-has-articulated-the-power-of/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton cannot write a timeless letter to us from a Birmingham jail or walk, as John Lewis did in 1965,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/jesse-jackson-and-al-sharpton-cannot-write-a-timeless-letter-to-us/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [My father bought three ramshackle houses, rebuilt them, rented them out, kept clawing his way up the ladder. A man with a third grade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/my-father-bought-three-ramshackle-houses-rebuilt-them-rented-them-out/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Whatever I'm doing, I try to write well. I try to give the reader a nice, clean well-written surface, where the writing is transparent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/whatever-i-m-doing-i-try-to-write-well-i-try-to-give-the-reader-a/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [We have laws on the books. If somebody's discriminating against you, I strongly advocate suing them. That's the most effective thing you can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/we-have-laws-on-the-books-if-somebody-s-discriminating-against-you-i/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [The first thing I ever heard about Barack Obama was that he had a white mother and a black father. Interestingly, the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/the-first-thing-i-ever-heard-about-barack-obama-was-that-he-had-a/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Racism is endemic to the human condition, just as stupidity is. We will always have to be on guard against it. But now it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/racism-is-endemic-to-the-human-condition-just-as-stupidity-is-we-will/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Without an ugly America to loathe, there is no automatic esteem to receive. Thus liberalism's unrelenting current of anti-Americanism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/without-an-ugly-america-to-loathe-there-is-no-automatic-esteem-to/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) [Explore all 132 Shelby Steele quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) ## More Being quotes > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [I love being in Malibu. It's so cool there, and the water is just, it's nice and, and I love the beach. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/i-love-being-in-malibu-it-s-so-cool-there-and-the-water-is-just-it-s/) [Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [I love to fish. I love the peacefulness of being around the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evonne-goolagong-cawley/i-love-to-fish-i-love-the-peacefulness-of-being-around-the-water/) [Evonne Goolagong Cawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evonne-goolagong-cawley/) > [When you're in your twenties and starting out, the problem is that you care about being cool. Being older, I can care less about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-righton/when-you-re-in-your-twenties-and-starting-out-the-problem-is-that-you/) [James Righton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-righton/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [Being a new mother is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-parks/being-a-new-mother-is-a-blessing/) [Phaedra Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-parks/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. 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On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [We should not live in fear, we should all enjoy being able to express our views freely and openly, challenge each other on issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-cheng-bock/we-should-not-live-in-fear-we-should-all-enjoy-being-able-to-express/) [Tan Cheng Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-cheng-bock/) [Browse all 18,139 Being quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I remember being a teenager, I never thought that I'd live in a society that was not segregated. 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