--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you leave here, don't forget why you…" description: "\"When you leave here, don't forget why you came. ( to college graduates)\" — Adlai E Stevenson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/adlai-e-stevenson-2-26747_college-graduates_when-you-leave-here-don-t-forget-why-you_415047.png" --- # When you leave here, don't forget why you came. ( to… ![“When you leave here, don't forget why you came. ( to college graduates)” quote by Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/adlai-e-stevenson-2-26747_college-graduates_when-you-leave-here-don-t-forget-why-you_415047.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/adlai-e-stevenson-2-26747_college-graduates_when-you-leave-here-don-t-forget-why-you_415047.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77b/adlai-e-stevenson-2-26747_college-graduates_when-you-leave-here-don-t-forget-why-you_415047.png) > “When you leave here, don't forget why you came. ( to college graduates)” [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Remember the purpose that motivated you, especially during challenging times. **In simple terms:** Stay true to your original motivation. Key Takeaway Keep your founding purpose in mind. Themes education purpose perseverance reflection Mood inspirational reflective Type advice motivational When to use this quote - career planning - personal setbacks - long‑term projects Key Concepts Motivational speaking life goals graduation Questions to Reflect On - What originally inspired your path? - How can you rekindle that drive? A Different Perspective Motivation can wane without reinforcement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [College graduates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-graduates/) [Graduates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduates/) [Graduation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduation/) ## Related quotes > [John Shook's experience shows just how important problemsolving is at Toyota - it comes before any other job skill for the graduate intake. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-burns/john-shook-s-experience-shows-just-how-important-problemsolving-is-at/) Martin Burns > [As the only class distinction available in a democracy, the college degree has created a caste society as rigid as ancient India's. Condemning elitism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/as-the-only-class-distinction-available-in-a-democracy-the-college/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) > [If they don't go to law school, bright college graduates head to Wall Street precisely because they have no real plan for their careers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-they-don-t-go-to-law-school-bright-college-graduates-head-to-wall/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [Maybe everyone is a little too reassuring that things are going to be OK to college graduates. It gives them a false sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/maybe-everyone-is-a-little-too-reassuring-that-things-are-going-to-be/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [People will frighten you about a graduation…They use words you don't hear often.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/people-will-frighten-you-about-a-graduation-they-use-words-you-don-t/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [Life for young American college graduates is a festive affair. Free of having to support their families, they mostly have gay parties on rooftops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/life-for-young-american-college-graduates-is-a-festive-affair-free-of/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [Currently, only 70 percent of our high school students earn diplomas with their peers, and less than one-third of our high school students graduate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-hinojosa/currently-only-70-percent-of-our-high-school-students-earn-diplomas/) [Ruben Hinojosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-hinojosa/) > [It is clear the future holds great opportunities. It also holds pitfalls. The trick will be to avoid the pitfalls, seize the opportunities, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/it-is-clear-the-future-holds-great-opportunities-it-also-holds/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [I want my kids to graduate from high school. But that's not enough. I also want them to go to college. Why? Because rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-canada/i-want-my-kids-to-graduate-from-high-school-but-that-s-not-enough-i/) [Geoffrey Canada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-canada/) > [I think it's sort of an outrage that companies should have to hire firms to teach the college graduates they employ how to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/i-think-it-s-sort-of-an-outrage-that-companies-should-have-to-hire/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [The college graduate is presented with a sheepskin to cover his intellectual nakedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hutchins/the-college-graduate-is-presented-with-a-sheepskin-to-cover-his/) [Robert M. Hutchins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-hutchins/) > [ The average college graduate's proficient literacy in English \[the ability to read lengthy, complex texts and draw complicated inferences\] has declined from 40 percent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-colson/the-average-college-graduate-s-proficient-literacy-in-english-the/) [Charles Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-colson/) > [If knowledge is power and power is knowledge, then how so many idiots be graduating from college?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coolio/if-knowledge-is-power-and-power-is-knowledge-then-how-so-many-idiots/) [Coolio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coolio/) > [Through high school, college, graduate school and beyond, I had a number of relationships that were wonderful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/through-high-school-college-graduate-school-and-beyond-i-had-a-number/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Harder than training for the Olympics, harder than graduating from college, has been to stay a virgin before marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lolo-jones/harder-than-training-for-the-olympics-harder-than-graduating-from/) [Lolo Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lolo-jones/) ## More by Adlai E Stevenson > [In youth, everything seems possible; but we reach a point in the middle years when we realize that we are never going to reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/in-youth-everything-seems-possible-but-we-reach-a-point-in-the-middle/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [Respect for intellectual excellence, the restoration of vigor and discipline to our ideas of study, curricula which aim at strengthening intellectual fiber and stretching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/respect-for-intellectual-excellence-the-restoration-of-vigor-and/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [Nature is neutral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/nature-is-neutral/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [Man is a strange animal. He generally cannot read the handwriting on the wall until his back is up against it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/man-is-a-strange-animal-he-generally-cannot-read-the-handwriting-on/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [You will find that the truth is often unpopular and the contest between agreeable fancy and disagreeable fact is unequal. For, in the vernacular,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/you-will-find-that-the-truth-is-often-unpopular-and-the-contest/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [Flattery is all right if you don't inhale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/flattery-is-all-right-if-you-don-t-inhale/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [The elephant has a thick skin, a head full of ivory, and as everyone who has seen a circus parade knows, proceeds best by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/the-elephant-has-a-thick-skin-a-head-full-of-ivory-and-as-everyone/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [Those who corrupt the public mind are just as evil as those who steal from the public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/those-who-corrupt-the-public-mind-are-just-as-evil-as-those-who-steal-2/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [We mean by 'politics' the people's business - the most important business there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/we-mean-by-politics-the-people-s-business-the-most-important-business/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [After four years at the United Nations I sometimes yearn for the peace and tranquillity of a political convention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/after-four-years-at-the-united-nations-i-sometimes-yearn-for-the/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [A diplomat's life is made up of three ingredients: protocol, Geritol and alcohol.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/a-diplomat-s-life-is-made-up-of-three-ingredients-protocol-geritol/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/a-free-society-is-one-where-it-is-safe-to-be-unpopular/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [The free press is the mother of all our liberties and of our progress under liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/the-free-press-is-the-mother-of-all-our-liberties-and-of-our-progress/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [Let us talk sense to the American people. Let us tell them the truth, that there are no gains without pains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/let-us-talk-sense-to-the-american-people-let-us-tell-them-the-truth/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [The definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/the-definition-of-a-free-society-is-a-society-where-it-is-safe-to-be/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) [Explore all 21 Adlai E Stevenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) ## More College graduates quotes > [John Shook's experience shows just how important problemsolving is at Toyota - it comes before any other job skill for the graduate intake. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-burns/john-shook-s-experience-shows-just-how-important-problemsolving-is-at/) Martin Burns > [“Pleasure died forty years ago in America, perhaps further back, in a wave of carbon monoxide, gasoline, cigarettes for dames, the belief in everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-purdy/pleasure-died-forty-years-ago-in-america-perhaps-further-back-in-a/) [James Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-purdy/) > [The college graduate is presented with a sheepskin to cover his intellectual nakedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hutchins/the-college-graduate-is-presented-with-a-sheepskin-to-cover-his/) [Robert M. Hutchins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-hutchins/) > [I think it's sort of an outrage that companies should have to hire firms to teach the college graduates they employ how to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/i-think-it-s-sort-of-an-outrage-that-companies-should-have-to-hire/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [Through high school, college, graduate school and beyond, I had a number of relationships that were wonderful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/through-high-school-college-graduate-school-and-beyond-i-had-a-number/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I want my kids to graduate from high school. But that's not enough. I also want them to go to college. Why? Because rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-canada/i-want-my-kids-to-graduate-from-high-school-but-that-s-not-enough-i/) [Geoffrey Canada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-canada/) > [“As a 2011 Brookings Institution study found, “compared to 2000, residents of extreme-poverty neighborhoods in 2005–09 were more likely to be white, native-born, high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-a-2011-brookings-institution-study-found-compared-to-2000/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [ The average college graduate's proficient literacy in English \[the ability to read lengthy, complex texts and draw complicated inferences\] has declined from 40 percent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-colson/the-average-college-graduate-s-proficient-literacy-in-english-the/) [Charles Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-colson/) > [It is clear the future holds great opportunities. It also holds pitfalls. The trick will be to avoid the pitfalls, seize the opportunities, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/it-is-clear-the-future-holds-great-opportunities-it-also-holds/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Harder than training for the Olympics, harder than graduating from college, has been to stay a virgin before marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lolo-jones/harder-than-training-for-the-olympics-harder-than-graduating-from/) [Lolo Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lolo-jones/) > [Life for young American college graduates is a festive affair. Free of having to support their families, they mostly have gay parties on rooftops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/life-for-young-american-college-graduates-is-a-festive-affair-free-of/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [If knowledge is power and power is knowledge, then how so many idiots be graduating from college?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coolio/if-knowledge-is-power-and-power-is-knowledge-then-how-so-many-idiots/) [Coolio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coolio/) > [A great many college graduates come here thinking of lawyers as social engineers arguing the great Constitutional issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-cox/a-great-many-college-graduates-come-here-thinking-of-lawyers-as/) [Archibald Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-cox/) > [“If I don’t succeed, I will try again and never stop trying. When I succeed, I will again explore new opportunities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/if-i-don-t-succeed-i-will-try-again-and-never-stop-trying-when-i/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“So, You’re Rooting for Everybody Black, Right? Yeah right! Some of my Brothas and Sistas be straight up frontin’ and lying to themselves. Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-lahart/so-you-re-rooting-for-everybody-black-right-yeah-right-some-of-my/) [Stephanie Lahart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-lahart/) [Browse all 107 College graduates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-graduates/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you leave here, don't forget why you came. 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