--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you leave college, there are…" description: "\"When you leave college, there are thousands of people out there with the same degree you have; when you get a job, there will be thousands of people do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/anna-quindlen-467_alive_when-you-leave-college-there-are-thousan_3112140.png" --- # When you leave college, there are thousands of people out… ![“When you leave college, there are thousands of people out there with the same degree you have; when you get a job, there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life.” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/anna-quindlen-467_alive_when-you-leave-college-there-are-thousan_3112140.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/anna-quindlen-467_alive_when-you-leave-college-there-are-thousan_3112140.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/anna-quindlen-467_alive_when-you-leave-college-there-are-thousan_3112140.png) > “When you leave college, there are thousands of people out there with the same degree you have; when you get a job, there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life.” [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It highlights personal responsibility for one's life despite common backgrounds and competition. **In simple terms:** You alone control your life's direction. Key Takeaway Take ownership of your path. Themes responsibility individuality career Mood motivational pragmatic Type career personal growth When to use this quote - job search - career planning - personal development Key Concepts self-determination uniqueness Questions to Reflect On - What unique strengths can you leverage? - How do you differentiate yourself? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic barriers affecting choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Inspirational life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational-life/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Seekers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seekers/) [What you want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-you-want/) ## Related quotes > [You are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life ... Your entire life ... Not just the life of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-are-the-only-person-alive-who-has-sole-custody-of-your-life-your-2/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [You have sole custody of your life. Who you are today is not who you have to be tomorrow. Embrace the possibility of transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leeza-gibbons/you-have-sole-custody-of-your-life-who-you-are-today-is-not-who-you/) [Leeza Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leeza-gibbons/) > [Take custody of your life. Show up, do your best, and let go of the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leeza-gibbons/take-custody-of-your-life-show-up-do-your-best-and-let-go-of-the-rest/) [Leeza Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leeza-gibbons/) > ["You are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life ... Your entire life ... Not just the life of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-are-the-only-person-alive-who-has-sole-custody-of-your-life-your/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [The only thing that I was equipped for with my very mediocre college Arts degree was to get a job in teaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/the-only-thing-that-i-was-equipped-for-with-my-very-mediocre-college/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [“I’m a man of leisure. That’s because I have an English degree and can’t get a job. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-m-a-man-of-leisure-that-s-because-i-have-an-english-degree-and-can/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [We must have a university degree even if we never get a job in the area of knowledge we were forced to study.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-must-have-a-university-degree-even-if-we-never-get-a-job-in-the/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Don’t ever confuse the two, your life and your work. That’s what I have to say. The second is only a part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hatmaker/don-t-ever-confuse-the-two-your-life-and-your-work-that-s-what-i-have/) [Jen Hatmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hatmaker/) > [I never expected to leave college early-especially after just one year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bosh/i-never-expected-to-leave-college-early-especially-after-just-one-year/) [Chris Bosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bosh/) > [“There is a kind of fallout that happens when you leave college. The classroom is a wonderful, if artificial, place: Your professor gets paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/there-is-a-kind-of-fallout-that-happens-when-you-leave-college-the/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [If you don't find a God by five o'clock this afternoon you must leave the college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-jowett/if-you-don-t-find-a-god-by-five-o-clock-this-afternoon-you-must-leave/) [Benjamin Jowett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-jowett/) > [Education doesn't cease when you leave college or leave the university. Education is a lifetime process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/education-doesn-t-cease-when-you-leave-college-or-leave-the/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [I watched a documentary about Freedom Riders. One young woman told her parents, 'I'm going to leave college to ride and represent the future.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/i-watched-a-documentary-about-freedom-riders-one-young-woman-told-her/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) > [When students leave college, they are like children who know nothing about the problems of life, and don't have a political stance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-niemeyer/when-students-leave-college-they-are-like-children-who-know-nothing/) [Oscar Niemeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-niemeyer/) > [Everybody is going to face adversity at some point, definitely when you leave college and try to get into the real world so to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-amendola/everybody-is-going-to-face-adversity-at-some-point-definitely-when/) [Danny Amendola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-amendola/) ## More by Anna Quindlen > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [You teach your 16-year-old with your heart in your mouth to be a good driver and none of that makes any difference when some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-teach-your-16-year-old-with-your-heart-in-your-mouth-to-be-a-good/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-reader-i-suspect-has-a-book-like-this-somewhere-in-his-or-her/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-ve-finally-recognized-my-body-for-what-it-is-a-personality-delivery/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you leave college, there are thousands of people out there with the same degree you have; when you get a job, there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. 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