--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Things don't go away just because you…" description: "\"Things don't go away just because you choose to forget them.\" — Teju Cole" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/teju-cole-2851_choose_things-don-t-go-away-just-because-you-ch_2231776.png" --- # Things don't go away just because you choose to forget them. ![“Things don't go away just because you choose to forget them.” quote by Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/teju-cole-2851_choose_things-don-t-go-away-just-because-you-ch_2231776.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/teju-cole-2851_choose_things-don-t-go-away-just-because-you-ch_2231776.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/teju-cole-2851_choose_things-don-t-go-away-just-because-you-ch_2231776.png) > “Things don't go away just because you choose to forget them.” [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unresolved issues persist despite attempts to ignore them, affecting mental health and relationships. **In simple terms:** Problems linger even if you try to forget them. Key Takeaway Address issues directly instead of ignoring. Themes psychology memory mental health Mood reflective somber Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - therapy sessions - self‑reflection - grief counseling Key Concepts repression avoidance emotional resilience Questions to Reflect On - What are you avoiding that still affects you? - How can confronting it improve your wellbeing? A Different Perspective Ignoring problems can worsen anxiety and prevent healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Going away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-away/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [You choose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you-choose/) ## Related quotes > [Here is the Divine Dichotomy... The way to 'get there' is to 'be there'. Just be where you choose to get!' It's that simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/here-is-the-divine-dichotomy-the-way-to-get-there-is-to-be-there-just/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > […It’s not just where you go, but how you choose to get there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-s-not-just-where-you-go-but-how-you-choose-to-get-there/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I don't need to be in the press or seen. Just because I'm not in magazines or because I'm not in a movie doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-alba/i-don-t-need-to-be-in-the-press-or-seen-just-because-i-m-not-in/) [Jessica Alba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-alba/) > [The pain doesn't go away, you just make room for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-pain-doesn-t-go-away-you-just-make-room-for-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone has a dog or a cat... I just choose other animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hill/everyone-has-a-dog-or-a-cat-i-just-choose-other-animals/) [George Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hill/) > [You can't make yourself fall in love, just as you can't choose who you fall in love with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-potter/you-can-t-make-yourself-fall-in-love-just-as-you-can-t-choose-who-you/) [Alexandra Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-potter/) > [“Each and Everyone is Beautiful in this World. You just have to choose the right person for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/3xcuse-me/each-and-everyone-is-beautiful-in-this-world-you-just-have-to-choose/) 3xcuse\_Me > [We choose to forget aspects of ourselves and then we forget that we've forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/we-choose-to-forget-aspects-of-ourselves-and-then-we-forget-that-we/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [“Sometimes the best reminders are the memories we choose to forget.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-vankoughnett/sometimes-the-best-reminders-are-the-memories-we-choose-to-forget/) [Carla VanKoughnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-vankoughnett/) > [“But we can't choose what we forget. The more we try to forget something, the more we end up remembering it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/but-we-can-t-choose-what-we-forget-the-more-we-try-to-forget/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [“We are all enlightened, but we choose to forget.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihail-militaru/we-are-all-enlightened-but-we-choose-to-forget/) [Mihail Militaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihail-militaru/) > [“If you choose to forget all other things, remember only this and you will never fail: you are awesome, in the most total sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-huggens/if-you-choose-to-forget-all-other-things-remember-only-this-and-you/) Kim Huggens > [Choose to forget first before being forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blondie/choose-to-forget-first-before-being-forgotten/) [Blondie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blondie/) > [My memories are mine.. What I remember and choose to forget is all up to me... -](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/my-memories-are-mine-what-i-remember-and-choose-to-forget-is-all-up/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Whether you face reality head on and make a life change, or deny your responsibility, you've made a choice. The way I see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-phillips/whether-you-face-reality-head-on-and-make-a-life-change-or-deny-your/) [Shawn Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-phillips/) ## More by Teju Cole > [One of the difficulties of photography is that it is much better at being explicit than at being reticent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/one-of-the-difficulties-of-photography-is-that-it-is-much-better-at/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [Note-taking is important to me: a week's worth of reading notes (or "thoughts I had in the shower" notes) is cumulatively more interesting than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/note-taking-is-important-to-me-a-week-s-worth-of-reading-notes-or/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [It's an Obama book, certainly. I was delighted, and astonished, to hear recently that he was reading it. It's a book about a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/it-s-an-obama-book-certainly-i-was-delighted-and-astonished-to-hear/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [Because I'm an art historian, I have some experience of writing that comes out of close attention. That's what really art history is. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/because-i-m-an-art-historian-i-have-some-experience-of-writing-that/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [For purposes of marketing, writers are designated as poets, novelists, or something else. But writing is about matchmaking, an attempt to marry sensations with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/for-purposes-of-marketing-writers-are-designated-as-poets-novelists/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“Most of the people around me yesterday were middle-aged or old. I am used to it, but it never ceases to surprise me how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/most-of-the-people-around-me-yesterday-were-middle-aged-or-old-i-am/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“I look at his hands. In those hands is new knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/i-look-at-his-hands-in-those-hands-is-new-knowledge/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“The mind roams more widely in the dark than it does in light. It is no surprise, then, stepping out of the unlit house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/the-mind-roams-more-widely-in-the-dark-than-it-does-in-light-it-is-no/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“Each person must, on some level, take himself as the calibration point for normalcy, must assume that the room of his own mind is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/each-person-must-on-some-level-take-himself-as-the-calibration-point/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [Writing as writing. Writing as rioting. Writing as righting. On the best days, all three.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/writing-as-writing-writing-as-rioting-writing-as-righting-on-the-best/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“The site was a palimpsest, as was all the city, written, erased, rewritten...Generations rushed through the eye of the needle, and I, one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/the-site-was-a-palimpsest-as-was-all-the-city-written-erased/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“As I contemplated the silent world before me, I thought of the many romantic ideas attached to blindness. Ideas of unusual sensitivity and genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/as-i-contemplated-the-silent-world-before-me-i-thought-of-the-many/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [Always say 'no pun intended' to draw attention to the intended pun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/always-say-no-pun-intended-to-draw-attention-to-the-intended-pun/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [In a sense, Open City is a kind of Wunderkammer, one of those little rooms assembled with bric-a-brac by Renaissance scholars. I don't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/in-a-sense-open-city-is-a-kind-of-wunderkammer-one-of-those-little/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [One of the chief characteristics of a mob is its quickness. It is sudden. It pounces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/one-of-the-chief-characteristics-of-a-mob-is-its-quickness-it-is/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) [Explore all 146 Teju Cole quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) ## More Choose quotes > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [If somebody asks me to choose a biopic, it would be Narain Karthikeyan because I love racing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naga-chaitanya/if-somebody-asks-me-to-choose-a-biopic-it-would-be-narain-karthikeyan/) [Naga Chaitanya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naga-chaitanya/) > [“Either you soften your ego, or the world will do it for you. Choose!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-mccoy/either-you-soften-your-ego-or-the-world-will-do-it-for-you-choose/) [Bert McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-mccoy/) > [I'm aware of who I am and I'm comfortable with who I choose to date.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shibani-dandekar/i-m-aware-of-who-i-am-and-i-m-comfortable-with-who-i-choose-to-date/) [Shibani Dandekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shibani-dandekar/) > [No actor wants to choose - they just want all of the options available to them all the time; we tend to be pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/no-actor-wants-to-choose-they-just-want-all-of-the-options-available/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) > [If you choose to work at a larger company over a smaller company, you are more likely to be higher paid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-sweet/if-you-choose-to-work-at-a-larger-company-over-a-smaller-company-you/) [Julie Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-sweet/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [It's only a thought and a thought can be changed. Choose good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/it-s-only-a-thought-and-a-thought-can-be-changed-choose-good-ones/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime...so you gotta choose who is good for you! Be wise, be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-come-into-your-life-for-a-reason-a-season-or-a-lifetime-so-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not opposed - we manufacture a lot of socks in North Carolina - I just choose not to wear them. It's a Southern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-burr/i-m-not-opposed-we-manufacture-a-lot-of-socks-in-north-carolina-i/) [Richard Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-burr/) > [Having too many options is bad. I want one person, just one. Not a whole bunch to choose from,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roderickthefirst/having-too-many-options-is-bad-i-want-one-person-just-one-not-a-whole/) RoderickTheFirst > [If I could be anyone, I'd choose the lead singer of Arcade Fire, Win Butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-kardashian/if-i-could-be-anyone-i-d-choose-the-lead-singer-of-arcade-fire-win/) [Rob Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-kardashian/) > [People are as happy as they choose to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/people-are-as-happy-as-they-choose-to-be/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) Browse all 3,851 Choose quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Things don't go away just because you choose to forget them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Teju Cole" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/things-don-t-go-away-just-because-you-choose-to-forget-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choose" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/things-don-t-go-away-just-because-you-choose-to-forget-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/teju-cole-2851_choose_things-don-t-go-away-just-because-you-ch_2231776.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/teju-cole-2851_choose_things-don-t-go-away-just-because-you-ch_2231776.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/teju-cole-2851_choose_things-don-t-go-away-just-because-you-ch_2231776.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Things don't go away just because you choose to forget them.” — Teju Cole", "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": "Teju Cole", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Things don't go away just because...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/things-don-t-go-away-just-because-you-choose-to-forget-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/things-don-t-go-away-just-because-you-choose-to-forget-them/#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 } } ] } ```