--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can't remember a time when I didn't…" description: "\"I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a doctor. The doctors I knew as a very young child must have helped to plant the desire in me, when I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/608/c-everett-koop-15997_children_i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-didn-t-wa_1454495.jpg" --- # I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a doctor… ![“I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a doctor. The doctors I knew as a very young child must have helped to plant the desire in me, when I was as young as five or six. One homeopathic physician, Dr. Justice Gage Wright, was a great model.” quote by C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/608/c-everett-koop-15997_children_i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-didn-t-wa_1454495.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/608/c-everett-koop-15997_children_i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-didn-t-wa_1454495.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/608/c-everett-koop-15997_children_i-can-t-remember-a-time-when-i-didn-t-wa_1454495.jpg) > “I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a doctor. The doctors I knew as a very young child must have helped to plant the desire in me, when I was as young as five or six. One homeopathic physician, Dr. Justice Gage Wright, was a great model.” [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early exposure to role models can ignite lifelong aspirations, especially when a professional exemplifies compassion and competence. **In simple terms:** Seeing doctors as kids inspired a career in medicine. Key Takeaway Seek mentors early and reflect on their impact. Themes inspiration career role models education Mood reflective motivational Type inspirational personal growth When to use this quote - childhood experiences - career counseling - medical school applications - volunteering - family discussions Key Concepts mentorship identity formation professional development Questions to Reflect On - Who inspired your career choice? - How can you become a role model for others? A Different Perspective Not everyone has early exposure; alternative paths exist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Doctors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctors/) [Homeopathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homeopathy/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Physicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicians/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Young children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-children/) ## Related quotes > [As with eggs, there is no such thing as a poor doctor, doctors are either good or bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fuller-albright/as-with-eggs-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-poor-doctor-doctors-are/) [Fuller Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fuller-albright/) > [“Being a doctor, doctors are your own worst enemies. That comes with a profession.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-vangala/being-a-doctor-doctors-are-your-own-worst-enemies-that-comes-with-a/) Dr.Vangala > [If you want to be a doctor, you may say, There are all these beings, they're sick, they're dying, I've got to go out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/if-you-want-to-be-a-doctor-you-may-say-there-are-all-these-beings/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [I want to be a doctor, to give treatment to other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phan-thi-kim-phuc/i-want-to-be-a-doctor-to-give-treatment-to-other-people/) [Phan Thi Kim Phuc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phan-thi-kim-phuc/) > [“Just then I hear the doorbell ring and make my way out to look through the peephole. It’s Jax. My heart does that crashing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyne-hart/just-then-i-hear-the-doorbell-ring-and-make-my-way-out-to-look/) [Alyne Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyne-hart/) > ['We really shouldn't look like a church.' I've heard that so much I want to vomit. 'Why?' I ask. 'Do you want your bank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/we-really-shouldn-t-look-like-a-church-i-ve-heard-that-so-much-i-want/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [They were saying you would be a tremendous addition to the military, and we can get you into West Point with a full scholarship.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/they-were-saying-you-would-be-a-tremendous-addition-to-the-military/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [As a doctor, when I was minister of health and would go somewhere, little girls would come up to me and say, 'I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-bachelet/as-a-doctor-when-i-was-minister-of-health-and-would-go-somewhere/) [Michelle Bachelet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-bachelet/) > [I knew I did not want to be a doctor; my parents kept talking to me about that. I wanted to be an NBA…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chieh-huang/i-knew-i-did-not-want-to-be-a-doctor-my-parents-kept-talking-to-me/) [Chieh Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chieh-huang/) > [See, my philosophy is had Beyonce or Solange came to me and said Dad, I want to be a doctor. My personality is how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathew-knowles/see-my-philosophy-is-had-beyonce-or-solange-came-to-me-and-said-dad-i/) [Mathew Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathew-knowles/) > [If you want to get healthy, you just might not want to go to a doctor. You might instead, go to church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-want-to-get-healthy-you-just-might-not-want-to-go-to-a-doctor/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It was all confusing. I used to want to become a doctor, but after everything we had been through, I began to think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/it-was-all-confusing-i-used-to-want-to-become-a-doctor-but-after/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [If I did not believe in God, I should still want my doctor, my lawyer and my banker to do so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/if-i-did-not-believe-in-god-i-should-still-want-my-doctor-my-lawyer/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“Joey, it's high time, dear child. What will people say? If you don't want to be a doctor, at least be a womanizer, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witold-gombrowicz/joey-it-s-high-time-dear-child-what-will-people-say-if-you-don-t-want/) [Witold Gombrowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witold-gombrowicz/) > [Learn your craft. You want to be a doctor or a teacher - it's very important to learn your craft and indulge in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-horry/learn-your-craft-you-want-to-be-a-doctor-or-a-teacher-it-s-very/) [Robert Horry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-horry/) ## More by C. Everett Koop > [The right of smokers to smoke ends where their behavior affects the health and well-being of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/the-right-of-smokers-to-smoke-ends-where-their-behavior-affects-the/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [The Carnegie Foundation is well aware of the fact that their reports frequently find their way to dusty archives in academic institutions, but occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/the-carnegie-foundation-is-well-aware-of-the-fact-that-their-reports/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [I might be better able to help parents of dying children, but for quite a while I felt less able, too emotionally involved. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/i-might-be-better-able-to-help-parents-of-dying-children-but-for/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [The best prescription is knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/the-best-prescription-is-knowledge/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [The health care industry can play a great role in this by being aware of the fact that these children form perhaps the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/the-health-care-industry-can-play-a-great-role-in-this-by-being-aware/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [A thousand people will stop smoking today. Their funerals will be held sometime in the next three or four days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/a-thousand-people-will-stop-smoking-today-their-funerals-will-be-held/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [I'd like to say let your kids go out and play. Then I'd say you're not going to do that are you? Make your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/i-d-like-to-say-let-your-kids-go-out-and-play-then-i-d-say-you-re-not/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [Health care is vital to all of us some of the time, but public health is vital to all of us all of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/health-care-is-vital-to-all-of-us-some-of-the-time-but-public-health/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [Polls that have been taken by kindergarten, first- and second-grade teachers indicate that 30 percent of the kids have been deprived in some way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/polls-that-have-been-taken-by-kindergarten-first-and-second-grade/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [You can't talk of the dangers of snake poisoning and not mention snakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/you-can-t-talk-of-the-dangers-of-snake-poisoning-and-not-mention/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [Risks I think are the thing that make life important and everything that you and I do is risk vs. benefit. Is there a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/risks-i-think-are-the-thing-that-make-life-important-and-everything/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [That is why we are working with these various groups that have volunteers. We can get a lot of these things done. Nobody has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/that-is-why-we-are-working-with-these-various-groups-that-have/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/life-affords-no-greater-responsibility-no-greater-privilege-than-the/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [One of the things we want to do is find ways, first, to impress these parents how important it is to have children in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/one-of-the-things-we-want-to-do-is-find-ways-first-to-impress-these/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [They have been deprived nutritionally, or some illness has not been picked up, or they have not been screened for vision or hearing defects,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/they-have-been-deprived-nutritionally-or-some-illness-has-not-been/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) [Explore all 41 C. Everett Koop quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. 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