But let us not forget that cities are like human beings. They are born, they go through childhood and adolescence, they grow old, and eventually they die
Elif SafakRead
Part of me always felt like the other, the outsider, the observer. My father had two sons with his second wife, who I didn't meet until my late 20s. I was always on the periphery. In Madrid, I was the only Turk in a very international school, so I had to start thinking about identity. All these things affected me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on feelings of being an outsider and how experiences shape one's identity.
Elif Safak's quote illustrates the complex emotions involved in navigating one's identity amidst feelings of exclusion. Her experiences—being the only Turk in an international school and having a different family dynamic—contributed to her sense of being an outsider, reflecting the broader challenges many face in understanding their place in a diverse world.
Themes
IdentityOutsiderExperienceBelongingFamily
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the importance of understanding diverse identities at a cultural seminar.
More from Elif Safak
All quotes →I like to question cultural biases wherever I go, and I question Islamophobia as much as I question anti-western sentiment because I think all extremist ideologies are very similar.
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Stories cannot demolish frontiers, but they can punch holes in our mental walls, and through those holes we can get a glimpse of the other and sometimes even like what we see.
Elif SafakRead
What i’m saying is, my friends, one ought to be able to let go. If a path does not please us, instead of insisting on going that specific way, of making our selfishness the guide, we ought to forsake. The books we cannot write, the films we cannot shoot, the projects we cannot develop, the jobs we cannot pursue and the people who no longer love us. Being able to let go, at times, is the most beautiful of all!
Elif SafakRead
For me, writing stories is one way of feeling connected to the universe and God.
Elif SafakRead
I write as if I were drunk. It is a process of intuition rather than placing myself above my story like a puppeteer pulling strings. For me, it's a scary, chaotic process over which I have little control. Words demand other words, characters resist me.
Elif SafakRead
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