--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whitman had a profound influence on me…" description: "\"Whitman had a profound influence on me. That was during my sophomore year when I came down with a bad attack of Whitmanitis. But he did me a lot of goo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/conrad-aiken-9766_influence_whitman-had-a-profound-influence-on-me-t_2588701.jpg" --- # Whitman had a profound influence on me. That was during my… ![“Whitman had a profound influence on me. That was during my sophomore year when I came down with a bad attack of Whitmanitis. But he did me a lot of good, and I think the influence is discoverable.” quote by Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/conrad-aiken-9766_influence_whitman-had-a-profound-influence-on-me-t_2588701.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/conrad-aiken-9766_influence_whitman-had-a-profound-influence-on-me-t_2588701.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/conrad-aiken-9766_influence_whitman-had-a-profound-influence-on-me-t_2588701.jpg) > “Whitman had a profound influence on me. That was during my sophomore year when I came down with a bad attack of Whitmanitis. But he did me a lot of good, and I think the influence is discoverable.” [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker credits Whitman's impact on personal growth during a challenging college period. **In simple terms:** Whitman's influence helped the speaker during a tough time. Key Takeaway Recognize how literature can aid personal resilience. Themes literature personal growth college life Mood reflective grateful Type personal anecdotal When to use this quote - studying literature - overcoming illness - seeking inspiration - reflecting on mentors Key Concepts influence resilience self‑discovery Questions to Reflect On - How has a specific author shaped your values? - What challenges can literature help you face? A Different Perspective The quote is anecdotal and lacks broader context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Sophomore year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sophomore-year/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I learned hard lessons in life; I had to because I had so much happen: My mother died my sophomore year in high school.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/i-learned-hard-lessons-in-life-i-had-to-because-i-had-so-much-happen/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [In his sophomore year Wilbanks tried out for the high school basketball team and made it. On the first day of practice his coach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-g-robbins/in-his-sophomore-year-wilbanks-tried-out-for-the-high-school/) [Lynn G. 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Alone in the silence I ascend my stairs once more, While waves remote in pale blue starlight Crash on a white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/it-is-moonlight-alone-in-the-silence-i-ascend-my-stairs-once-more/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [The truth--a hideous spectacle!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/the-truth-a-hideous-spectacle/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [“It was gentler here, softer, its seethe the quietest of whispers, as if, in deference to a drawing room, it had quite deliberately put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/it-was-gentler-here-softer-its-seethe-the-quietest-of-whispers-as-if/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [One cricket said to another - come, let us be ridiculous, and say love! love love love love love let us be absurd, woman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/one-cricket-said-to-another-come-let-us-be-ridiculous-and-say-love/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [I began by doing book reviews on the typewriter and then went over to short stories on the machine, meanwhile sticking to pencil for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/i-began-by-doing-book-reviews-on-the-typewriter-and-then-went-over-to/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [“And the mist of snow, as he had foreseen, was still on it - a ghost of snow falling in the bright sunlight, softly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/and-the-mist-of-snow-as-he-had-foreseen-was-still-on-it-a-ghost-of/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [I think it's very useful to be insulated from your surrounds, because it gives you your inviolate privacy, without pressures, so that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/i-think-it-s-very-useful-to-be-insulated-from-your-surrounds-because/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [Death is one dream out of another flowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/death-is-one-dream-out-of-another-flowing/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [The wind shrieks, the wind grieves; It dashes the leaves on walls, it whirls then again; And the enormous sleeper vaguely and stupidly dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/the-wind-shrieks-the-wind-grieves-it-dashes-the-leaves-on-walls-it/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [Death is never an ending, death is a change; Death is beautiful, for death is strange; Death is one dream out of another flowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/death-is-never-an-ending-death-is-a-change-death-is-beautiful-for/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [As poetry is the highest speech of man, it can not only accept and contain, but in the end express best everything in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/as-poetry-is-the-highest-speech-of-man-it-can-not-only-accept-and/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [Youth yearns to youth, full blood loves full blood only.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/youth-yearns-to-youth-full-blood-loves-full-blood-only/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [One is least sure of one's self, sometimes, when one is most positive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/one-is-least-sure-of-one-s-self-sometimes-when-one-is-most-positive/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [For in this walk, this voyage, it is yourself, the profound history of your 'self,' that now as always you encounter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/for-in-this-walk-this-voyage-it-is-yourself-the-profound-history-of/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [Life is the thing--the song of life-- The eager plow, the thirsty knife!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/life-is-the-thing-the-song-of-life-the-eager-plow-the-thirsty-knife/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) [Explore all 70 Conrad Aiken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) ## More Influence quotes > [My coach, Robert Allen, helped me a lot. He had more influence on my growth as a player than anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamarcus-aldridge/my-coach-robert-allen-helped-me-a-lot-he-had-more-influence-on-my/) [LaMarcus Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamarcus-aldridge/) > [Life is not about how much you have but how much you have affect others life positively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-not-about-how-much-you-have-but-how-much-you-have-affect/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [DECIDE, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/decide-v-i-to-succumb-to-the-preponderance-of-one-set-of-influences/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. 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Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [We believe a scientist because he can substantiate his remarks, not because he is eloquent and forcible in his enunciation. In fact, we distrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/we-believe-a-scientist-because-he-can-substantiate-his-remarks-not/) [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) > [It seemed to me that the human beings I met reacted pretty much the same to the same stimuli. Different idioms,yes. 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