--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had wanted for so many years to feel…" description: "\"I had wanted for so many years to feel that writing really was at the center of my life, not something I did in my spare time. So the writing and teach..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c3/alison-hawthorne-deming-11586_education_i-had-wanted-for-so-many-years-to-feel-t_1117765.png" --- # I had wanted for so many years to feel that writing really… ![“I had wanted for so many years to feel that writing really was at the center of my life, not something I did in my spare time. So the writing and teaching feel in some way to be one thing - the personal engagement and the social engagement good partners.” quote by Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c3/alison-hawthorne-deming-11586_education_i-had-wanted-for-so-many-years-to-feel-t_1117765.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c3/alison-hawthorne-deming-11586_education_i-had-wanted-for-so-many-years-to-feel-t_1117765.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c3/alison-hawthorne-deming-11586_education_i-had-wanted-for-so-many-years-to-feel-t_1117765.png) > “I had wanted for so many years to feel that writing really was at the center of my life, not something I did in my spare time. So the writing and teaching feel in some way to be one thing - the personal engagement and the social engagement good partners.” [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing and teaching intertwine, merging personal passion with social impact, creating a unified purpose. **In simple terms:** Writing and teaching are linked. Key Takeaway Integrate passions. Themes creativity education purpose Mood thoughtful inspired Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - classroom - author workshops - public talks - curriculum design Key Concepts interdisciplinary practice community building Questions to Reflect On - How does your work serve both self and community? - Can you blend them more? A Different Perspective Balancing personal and social goals can cause burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Engagement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engagement/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Spare time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spare-time/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Politics for me is when I feel a personal engagement between people: I don't trust politicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/politics-for-me-is-when-i-feel-a-personal-engagement-between-people-i/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [“A deep level of personal engagement is key to good writing and complete immersion by the writer will translate into a richer and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nidhie-sharma/a-deep-level-of-personal-engagement-is-key-to-good-writing-and/) [Nidhie Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nidhie-sharma/) > [I'm writing; I'm teaching myself writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacre-montgomery/i-m-writing-i-m-teaching-myself-writing/) [Dacre Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacre-montgomery/) > [If you don't set your writing - teaching - at a level that makes them stretch, they are never going to develop their intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-h-abrams/if-you-don-t-set-your-writing-teaching-at-a-level-that-makes-them/) [M. H. Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-h-abrams/) > [I try to be realistic with students. And say that there's a good chance that they're not going to get a creative writing teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/i-try-to-be-realistic-with-students-and-say-that-there-s-a-good/) [Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/) > [I loved reading and writing, and teaching was the most exalted profession I could imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/i-loved-reading-and-writing-and-teaching-was-the-most-exalted/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [When you're researching you're learning. When you're writing, you're teaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-orlean/when-you-re-researching-you-re-learning-when-you-re-writing-you-re/) [Susan Orlean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-orlean/) > [I feel with writing, so much of the time, I don't know how to tap in and be spontaneous and alive on a daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-baker/i-feel-with-writing-so-much-of-the-time-i-don-t-know-how-to-tap-in/) [Annie Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-baker/) > [I always feel that I am writing for somebody who is bright but impatient. Someone who doesn't have unlimited time. That is my sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-always-feel-that-i-am-writing-for-somebody-who-is-bright-but/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [What you feel when you're writing is the relief of thinking: if you write the sentence correctly, you're clarifying. If you write the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/what-you-feel-when-you-re-writing-is-the-relief-of-thinking-if-you/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [I'm definitely feeling whatever's going on pretty hard. It's like playing Barbies. You're holding the Barbies, but all of the action is happening inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-kazan/i-m-definitely-feeling-whatever-s-going-on-pretty-hard-it-s-like/) [Zoe Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-kazan/) > [If I were a writer and not a singer in 10 years, I don't know how I'd feel about writing really personal songs and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele/if-i-were-a-writer-and-not-a-singer-in-10-years-i-don-t-know-how-i-d/) [Adele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele/) > [“I increasingly feel that my writing creates me...I am the invention of my own words~ ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ledo-ivo/i-increasingly-feel-that-my-writing-creates-me-i-am-the-invention-of/) Ledo Ivo > [I write in longhand. I am accustomed to that proximity, that feel of writing. Then I sit down and type.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/i-write-in-longhand-i-am-accustomed-to-that-proximity-that-feel-of/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [I'm always amazed by writers who tell me they plan everything at the beginning. I feel their writing days must be very bland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/i-m-always-amazed-by-writers-who-tell-me-they-plan-everything-at-the/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) ## More by Alison Hawthorne Deming > [Once you realize that human actions affect every bit of earth and sky, you realize that the environment isn't just what surrounds us -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/once-you-realize-that-human-actions-affect-every-bit-of-earth-and-sky/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [It's extremely important that, as writers, we give a voice to those who don't have voices, including the other animals that we share the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/it-s-extremely-important-that-as-writers-we-give-a-voice-to-those-who/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [I've been accused of darkness by my inner light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/i-ve-been-accused-of-darkness-by-my-inner-light/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [What keeps me level is the refusal to let the best of human aspirations die in the face of the challenges. I make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/what-keeps-me-level-is-the-refusal-to-let-the-best-of-human/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [I'm extremely interested in science as the mythos within which I live. Science tells me what kind of animal I am, what kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/i-m-extremely-interested-in-science-as-the-mythos-within-which-i-live/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [I like to joke that I started writing long poems out the anxiety over ending and starting poems. It just seemed easier to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/i-like-to-joke-that-i-started-writing-long-poems-out-the-anxiety-over/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [I like the dance between sustained focus and digression that the long poem invites. A controlling metaphor helps to sustain the long poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/i-like-the-dance-between-sustained-focus-and-digression-that-the-long/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [The countries that are the least responsible for causing climate change are paying the heaviest price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/the-countries-that-are-the-least-responsible-for-causing-climate/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [As deaths have accumulated I have begun to think of life and death as a set of balance scales. When one is young, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/as-deaths-have-accumulated-i-have-begun-to-think-of-life-and-death-as/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [Bringing science into poetry is one way of acknowledging some of the richest stuff that is in my cultural moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/bringing-science-into-poetry-is-one-way-of-acknowledging-some-of-the/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [I'm always writing towards a discovery. When I'm writing poems in particular, I'm often writing because a few images coalesced in my mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/i-m-always-writing-towards-a-discovery-when-i-m-writing-poems-in/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [I'm really interested in culture because it is such a powerful human force, particularly in America where we think it's all about the individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/i-m-really-interested-in-culture-because-it-is-such-a-powerful-human/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [Climate change is a moral challenge, not simply an economic or technological problem. It is linked to social justice, because it is the poor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/climate-change-is-a-moral-challenge-not-simply-an-economic-or/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [I'm trying to learn something about making a balance between the inner life and the outer life. I wouldn't write if I didn't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/i-m-trying-to-learn-something-about-making-a-balance-between-the/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [I'm always trying to bring as many poetic properties as possible to the essay without making it too overburdened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/i-m-always-trying-to-bring-as-many-poetic-properties-as-possible-to/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) [Explore all 59 Alison Hawthorne Deming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had wanted for so many years to feel that writing really was at the center of my life, not something I did in my spare time. 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