--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Peculiar as I was, and remain, I was…" description: "\"Peculiar as I was, and remain, I was trained to be practical. I'm still amazed at the radical temerity of my friends, you included, Julie, who choose p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/debra-dean-17204_amazed_peculiar-as-i-was-and-remain-i-was-train_839829.jpg" --- # Peculiar as I was, and remain, I was trained to be… ![“Peculiar as I was, and remain, I was trained to be practical. I'm still amazed at the radical temerity of my friends, you included, Julie, who choose poetry as their vocation. I envy your faith.” quote by Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/debra-dean-17204_amazed_peculiar-as-i-was-and-remain-i-was-train_839829.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/debra-dean-17204_amazed_peculiar-as-i-was-and-remain-i-was-train_839829.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/debra-dean-17204_amazed_peculiar-as-i-was-and-remain-i-was-train_839829.jpg) > “Peculiar as I was, and remain, I was trained to be practical. I'm still amazed at the radical temerity of my friends, you included, Julie, who choose poetry as their vocation. I envy your faith.” [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) ## 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 admires friends who pursue poetic, risky careers despite practical training, feeling both awe and envy. **In simple terms:** Admiring bold artistic choices despite practical background. Key Takeaway Embrace bold creative pursuits. Themes courage art practicality envy Mood reflective admiring Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - career change - artistic projects - personal growth - friendship - overcoming fear Key Concepts risk-taking identity creative vocation Questions to Reflect On - Do you let practicality dictate your path? - How can you support friends' artistic dreams? A Different Perspective Practical constraints may limit artistic freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amazed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amazed/) [Amazed Radical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amazed-radical-632299/) [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Envy Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy-faith-632300/) [My friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-friends/) [Peculiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peculiar/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Vocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-vocation-632298/) [Practical Amazed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practical-amazed-632302/) [Practicals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practicals/) [Radical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radical/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Vocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocation/) [Vocation Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocation-envy-632301/) ## Related quotes > [I consider poetry my vocation, not my "career." 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If you need to be an actor, do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jacobi/if-you-want-to-be-an-actor-don-t-if-you-need-to-be-an-actor-do/) [Derek Jacobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jacobi/) > [It is funny, and also a bit sad, that poets are so often asked to justify our vocation. There seems to be something vaguely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-zapruder/it-is-funny-and-also-a-bit-sad-that-poets-are-so-often-asked-to/) [Matthew Zapruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-zapruder/) > [“On the other side of graduation was her actual life, the slow narrowing of possibilities that would catch her and freeze her in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ling-ma/on-the-other-side-of-graduation-was-her-actual-life-the-slow/) [Ling Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ling-ma/) > [I feel in me the vocation of the Priest. I have the vocation of the Apostle. Martyrdom was the dream of my youth, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-of-lisieux/i-feel-in-me-the-vocation-of-the-priest-i-have-the-vocation-of-the/) [Therese of Lisieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-of-lisieux/) > [“The gift of singleness is more a vocation than an empowerment, although to be sure God is faithful in supporting those He calls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-w-stott/the-gift-of-singleness-is-more-a-vocation-than-an-empowerment/) [John R.W. Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-w-stott/) > [We have only to see how that which makes up the reality of our lives relates to our vocation; we have only to hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-danielou/we-have-only-to-see-how-that-which-makes-up-the-reality-of-our-lives/) [Jean Danielou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-danielou/) > [“The vocation of a man lies in his vision.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-vocation-of-a-man-lies-in-his-vision/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) ## More by Debra Dean > [“Whatever we know as children, this is the world, eaten whole and without question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/whatever-we-know-as-children-this-is-the-world-eaten-whole-and/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [“What is heartbreaking is that there is still beauty in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/what-is-heartbreaking-is-that-there-is-still-beauty-in-the-world/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [I kept writing short stories and sending out my manuscript, and it kept coming back like a bad penny. It was rejected all over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/i-kept-writing-short-stories-and-sending-out-my-manuscript-and-it/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [That requires quite an imaginative leap because it's hard for me to imagine that my biography would be of much interest to anyone, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/that-requires-quite-an-imaginative-leap-because-it-s-hard-for-me-to/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [“Whatever is eating her brain consumes only the fresher memories, the unripe moments”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/whatever-is-eating-her-brain-consumes-only-the-fresher-memories-the/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [With the historical fictions, I was already doing so much research, and so much of the stories was anchored by historical truth that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/with-the-historical-fictions-i-was-already-doing-so-much-research-and/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [Whatever one may say about the perils of workshops, they help writers internalize an awareness of audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/whatever-one-may-say-about-the-perils-of-workshops-they-help-writers/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [Unless you're Stephen King or Joyce Carol Oates, no one's going to recognize you on the street, and you're promoting your book, not yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/unless-you-re-stephen-king-or-joyce-carol-oates-no-one-s-going-to/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [I tell my students, if you're interested in marine biology or llama farming, follow that string. Yes, it will probably take you a longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/i-tell-my-students-if-you-re-interested-in-marine-biology-or-llama/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [Along the way, I've worked as a waitress, I've done phone surveys, and worked as a receptionist, and for the last twenty years I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/along-the-way-i-ve-worked-as-a-waitress-i-ve-done-phone-surveys-and/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [“He nods solemnly and repeats the stock response of the Housing Committee whenever they address the perpetual shortage of apartments in Leningrad. “Privacy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/he-nods-solemnly-and-repeats-the-stock-response-of-the-housing/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [“Each day, the world is made fresh again, holy, and she takes it in, in all its raw intensity, like a young child. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/each-day-the-world-is-made-fresh-again-holy-and-she-takes-it-in-in/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [Practicality continues to be a challenge for me - it's at odds with being an artist. I actually had a career on stage in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/practicality-continues-to-be-a-challenge-for-me-it-s-at-odds-with/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [“is eating her brain consumes only the fresher memories, the unripe moments. Her distant past is preserved, better than preserved. Moments that occurred in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/is-eating-her-brain-consumes-only-the-fresher-memories-the-unripe/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) > [“She is leaving him, not all at once, which would be painful enough, but in a wrenching succession of separations. One moment she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dean/she-is-leaving-him-not-all-at-once-which-would-be-painful-enough-but/) [Debra Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) [Explore all 37 Debra Dean quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dean/) ## More Amazed quotes > [You will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/you-will-never-cease-to-be-the-most-amazed-person-on-earth-at-what/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [You'd be amazed at pain and tears a single smile hides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-vasquez/you-d-be-amazed-at-pain-and-tears-a-single-smile-hides/) [Christian Vasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-vasquez/) > [“I am amazed at how being with him changes everything for me, socially speaking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-hand/i-am-amazed-at-how-being-with-him-changes-everything-for-me-socially/) [Cynthia Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-hand/) > [I'm endlessly amazed by what people are capable of, and incapable of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dov-davidoff/i-m-endlessly-amazed-by-what-people-are-capable-of-and-incapable-of/) [Dov Davidoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dov-davidoff/) > [Souls love. 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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/) > [What I am telling you is that you do not need to know to love, and it is right that you feel it all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/what-i-am-telling-you-is-that-you-do-not-need-to-know-to-love-and-it/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [My father was truly a great man. I remember one day putting my feet in my father's shoes. I was amazed at the size.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/my-father-was-truly-a-great-man-i-remember-one-day-putting-my-feet-in/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [J. Budziszewski is perhaps the clearest and most eloquent natural lawyer writing today. 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Consider what you have and be satisfied with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luci-swindoll/the-key-to-contentment-is-to-consider-consider-who-you-are-and-be/) [Luci Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luci-swindoll/) [Browse all 776 Amazed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amazed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Peculiar as I was, and remain, I was trained to be practical. I'm still amazed at the radical temerity of my friends, you included, Julie, who choose poetry as their vocation. 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