ELI5: What does ‘you can’t go home again’ mean?

“You can’t go home again” means that once time changes you, the place you used to know will never feel exactly the same as before.

• Think of home like a toy you loved when you were little.
• If you find that toy years later, it may still be there, but you are older, and the toy may not feel the same anymore.
• The same is true for a house, a town, or a family place you once knew.

• People change over time.
• Places change over time.
• Memories are not the same as real life.

• You might visit your old neighborhood and expect it to feel just like before.
• But the trees may be bigger, the store may be gone, and you may think differently now.
• So it can feel like you are “going back,” but you can’t really return to the exact same feeling or life you had before.