--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I've learned anything in the…" description: "\"“If I've learned anything in the twenty-five years that have transpired between graduation and today it is this: I am stronger than I thought I was and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/deborah-copaken-kogan-40640_five-years_if-i-ve-learned-anything-in-the-twenty-f_2973947.jpg" --- # If I've learned anything in the twenty-five years that… ![“If I've learned anything in the twenty-five years that have transpired between graduation and today it is this: I am stronger than I thought I was and weaker than I'd hoped to be, and in between those two extremes is a little thing called life.” quote by Deborah Copaken Kogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/deborah-copaken-kogan-40640_five-years_if-i-ve-learned-anything-in-the-twenty-f_2973947.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/deborah-copaken-kogan-40640_five-years_if-i-ve-learned-anything-in-the-twenty-f_2973947.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/deborah-copaken-kogan-40640_five-years_if-i-ve-learned-anything-in-the-twenty-f_2973947.jpg) > ““If I've learned anything in the twenty-five years that have transpired between graduation and today it is this: I am stronger than I thought I was and weaker than I'd hoped to be, and in between those two extremes is a little thing called life.”” [Deborah Copaken Kogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-copaken-kogan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life balances strength and vulnerability, revealing its complexity. **In simple terms:** Life is a mix of strength and weakness. Key Takeaway Embrace both strengths and limits. Themes self‑discovery balance growth Mood introspective hopeful Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - career transitions - relationship dynamics - health challenges Key Concepts Human complexity personal evolution Questions to Reflect On - What strengths surprise you? - How do you accept weakness? A Different Perspective May cause self‑doubt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Five years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/) [Graduation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduation/) [Graduation Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduation-today-1526520/) [Learned Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-years/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Stronger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stronger/) [Today Stronger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today-stronger-2744724/) ## Related quotes > [The graduation part of today doesn't really sink in until you lay down on your bed and realize, wow now I'm moving on with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-graduation-part-of-today-doesn-t-really-sink-in-until-you-lay/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If she had learned anything twenty-five years, it was that money wasn't worth much if you didn't have anyone to share it with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-mccarthy/if-she-had-learned-anything-twenty-five-years-it-was-that-money-wasn/) [Erin McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-mccarthy/) > [No matter what happened yesterday, you can be strong today and even be stronger tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/no-matter-what-happened-yesterday-you-can-be-strong-today-and-even-be/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [I cryed today but stronger now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-cryed-today-but-stronger-now/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Today is another day. Work on your strength's today to be stronger for tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-spinelli-old-indian-wisemen/today-is-another-day-work-on-your-strength-s-today-to-be-stronger-for/) [Paul Spinelli(old Indian Wisemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-spinelli-old-indian-wisemen/) > [Today I am stronger.. I own this, I'm not training for maybe next time, not there yet, or almost. each day, each rep, each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-dayton/today-i-am-stronger-i-own-this-i-m-not-training-for-maybe-next-time/) [Jasper Dayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-dayton/) > [Pain changed me and made me who I am today. A stronger person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pain-changed-me-and-made-me-who-i-am-today-a-stronger-person/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The power of women! I've never felt so full of mysterious power. Men are a joke. We're so weak physically, so helpless with things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-power-of-women-i-ve-never-felt-so-full-of-mysterious-power-men/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Smile. Let everyone know that today you are stronger than you were yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-herrera/smile-let-everyone-know-that-today-you-are-stronger-than-you-were/) [Alexandra Herrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-herrera/) > [Smile and let everybody know that today you are stronger than you were yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/smile-and-let-everybody-know-that-today-you-are-stronger-than-you/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [I woke up today, stronger than yesterday...Facing my fears and wiping my tears...i'm ready to pass the day...learning to live my life without you..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mislali/i-woke-up-today-stronger-than-yesterday-facing-my-fears-and-wiping-my/) [MisLali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mislali/) > [Allow yourself to graduate, every five years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-guisewite/allow-yourself-to-graduate-every-five-years/) [Cathy Guisewite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-guisewite/) > [I've learned, over the years, to go after the parts where I feel I can add something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-scott/i-ve-learned-over-the-years-to-go-after-the-parts-where-i-feel-i-can/) [Adam Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-scott/) > [“. . . he had learned in his years of tracking Indians that things which seemed impossible often weren't. They only became so if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/he-had-learned-in-his-years-of-tracking-indians-that-things-which/) [Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/) > [I have learned over the years that you should never save for two meetings what you can accomplish in one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-have-learned-over-the-years-that-you-should-never-save-for-two/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) ## More by Deborah Copaken Kogan > [“Stories are how we make sense of our lives. To tell a story is to own it: to own the narrative thread to own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-copaken-kogan/stories-are-how-we-make-sense-of-our-lives-to-tell-a-story-is-to-own/) [Deborah Copaken Kogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-copaken-kogan/) > [“I love this idea," Bruno says. "Of being broken but finding pleasure in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-copaken-kogan/i-love-this-idea-bruno-says-of-being-broken-but-finding-pleasure-in-it/) [Deborah Copaken Kogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-copaken-kogan/) > [“My truth she'd said to him. What the hell is truth anyway Two separate questions yes. But not wholly unrelated. For truth no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-copaken-kogan/my-truth-she-d-said-to-him-what-the-hell-is-truth-anyway-two-separate/) [Deborah Copaken Kogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-copaken-kogan/) > [I'd always assumed that by 40 I'd have at least a modicum of stability - a steady income, an established career, a bountiful fullness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-copaken-kogan/i-d-always-assumed-that-by-40-i-d-have-at-least-a-modicum-of/) [Deborah Copaken Kogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-copaken-kogan/) > [I have an Emmy, but it's no big deal: work in TV news long enough, you eventually get one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-copaken-kogan/i-have-an-emmy-but-it-s-no-big-deal-work-in-tv-news-long-enough-you/) [Deborah Copaken Kogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-copaken-kogan/) > [When it comes down to it, I believe that, having made the decision to bring children into the world, I owe it to them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-copaken-kogan/when-it-comes-down-to-it-i-believe-that-having-made-the-decision-to/) [Deborah Copaken Kogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-copaken-kogan/) > [“Because that was the problem, really, wasn’t it, with being human? You couldn’t just be, couldn’t just live and exist without dragging your feet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-copaken-kogan/because-that-was-the-problem-really-wasn-t-it-with-being-human-you/) [Deborah Copaken Kogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-copaken-kogan/) > [“Female readers, on the other hand, were unmoved by the book, one of them going so far as to give it the ultimate insult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-copaken-kogan/female-readers-on-the-other-hand-were-unmoved-by-the-book-one-of-them/) [Deborah Copaken Kogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-copaken-kogan/) > [When it comes to writers, I'm a huge fan of Ian McEwan. I've never taken a writing course, but reading and deconstructing his novels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-copaken-kogan/when-it-comes-to-writers-i-m-a-huge-fan-of-ian-mcewan-i-ve-never/) [Deborah Copaken Kogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-copaken-kogan/) [Explore all 10 Deborah Copaken Kogan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-copaken-kogan/) ## More Five years quotes > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) [Yoram Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoram-wind/) > [“A clear look back on the Cold War's battlegrounds, along with a sense of relief that the world survived forty-five years of confrontation, evokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-clear-look-back-on-the-cold-war-s-battlegrounds-along-with-a-sense/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Something had been confirmed: I was worth giving a shit about; I was getting to be a successful sick person. Sick is when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/something-had-been-confirmed-i-was-worth-giving-a-shit-about-i-was/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“His Army Ranger unit had always been ready for an ambush. Five years in special ops had made him suspicious of most. On that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-perini/his-army-ranger-unit-had-always-been-ready-for-an-ambush-five-years/) [Robin Perini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-perini/) > [“I looked at him, tipping down the coarse wine like a man who expects to put up with worse. I felt I was looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/i-looked-at-him-tipping-down-the-coarse-wine-like-a-man-who-expects/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) > [I was sober for five years a long time ago and was just bored out of my tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-was-sober-for-five-years-a-long-time-ago-and-was-just-bored-out-of/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) > [“Whatand why were never questions for me. How was the only question. When I look back now, I realize that I never thought about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhguru/whatand-why-were-never-questions-for-me-how-was-the-only-question/) [Sadhguru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadhguru/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“most professionals progress until they reach an “acceptable” level, and then they plateau. Software engineers, for instance, usually stop progressing somewhere around five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-grenny/most-professionals-progress-until-they-reach-an-acceptable-level-and/) [Joseph Grenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-grenny/) > [In five years of my previous tenure, the treasury was never shut for one day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amarinder-singh/in-five-years-of-my-previous-tenure-the-treasury-was-never-shut-for/) [Amarinder Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amarinder-singh/) > [We have been playing every summer on clay since I was five years old, so it is an easy surface for us in Belgium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-goffin/we-have-been-playing-every-summer-on-clay-since-i-was-five-years-old/) [David Goffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-goffin/) > [I'm an immigrant, a legal immigrant to the United States. I only became a citizen five years ago. Every day, for seven months, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-gorka/i-m-an-immigrant-a-legal-immigrant-to-the-united-states-i-only-became/) [Sebastian Gorka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-gorka/) > [“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Wrestling introduced me to the idea that my body has a purpose besides trying to look five years younger for the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-gilpin/wrestling-introduced-me-to-the-idea-that-my-body-has-a-purpose/) [Betty Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-gilpin/) > [“I have entered the New Yorker's Cartoon Caption Contest almost weekly virtually since it began and have never even been a finalist. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-mankoff/i-have-entered-the-new-yorker-s-cartoon-caption-contest-almost-weekly/) [Bob Mankoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-mankoff/) [Browse all 2,724 Five years quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If I've learned anything in the twenty-five years that have transpired between graduation and today it is this: I am stronger than I thought I was and weaker than I'd hoped to be, and in between those two extremes is a little thing called life.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Deborah Copaken Kogan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-copaken-kogan/if-i-ve-learned-anything-in-the-twenty-five-years-that-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Five years" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-copaken-kogan/if-i-ve-learned-anything-in-the-twenty-five-years-that-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/deborah-copaken-kogan-40640_five-years_if-i-ve-learned-anything-in-the-twenty-f_2973947.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/deborah-copaken-kogan-40640_five-years_if-i-ve-learned-anything-in-the-twenty-f_2973947.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/deborah-copaken-kogan-40640_five-years_if-i-ve-learned-anything-in-the-twenty-f_2973947.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I've learned anything in the twenty-five years that have transpired between graduation and today it is…” — Deborah Copaken Kogan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Deborah Copaken Kogan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-copaken-kogan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If I've learned anything in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-copaken-kogan/if-i-ve-learned-anything-in-the-twenty-five-years-that-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-copaken-kogan/if-i-ve-learned-anything-in-the-twenty-five-years-that-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```