--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once I began college, I was committed to…" description: "\"Once I began college, I was committed to writing, which I think is different from saying I wanted to become a writer. I knew I would always write; I ju..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f49/dinaw-mengestu-12378_about_once-i-began-college-i-was-committed-to_2959287.jpg" --- # Once I began college, I was committed to writing, which I… ![“Once I began college, I was committed to writing, which I think is different from saying I wanted to become a writer. I knew I would always write; I just wasn't always sure how I would go about doing so.” quote by Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f49/dinaw-mengestu-12378_about_once-i-began-college-i-was-committed-to_2959287.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f49/dinaw-mengestu-12378_about_once-i-began-college-i-was-committed-to_2959287.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f49/dinaw-mengestu-12378_about_once-i-began-college-i-was-committed-to_2959287.jpg) > “Once I began college, I was committed to writing, which I think is different from saying I wanted to become a writer. I knew I would always write; I just wasn't always sure how I would go about doing so.” [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Commitment to writing precedes the desire to be a writer; practice is the path to identity. **In simple terms:** Write before you claim the title. Key Takeaway Write consistently to become a writer. Themes creativity discipline identity Mood determined hopeful Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - blogging - academic work - fiction projects Key Concepts writing process career development Questions to Reflect On - What motivates your writing? - How do you define success as a writer? A Different Perspective Writing without direction can feel aimless. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Become](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/become/) [Began](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/began/) [Began College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/began-college-1570929/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [College Committed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-committed-2255958/) [Committed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committed/) [Committed Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committed-writing-369150/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/how/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew/) [Knew Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-write-344715/) [Once](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/once/) [Saying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying/) [Sure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sure/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/which/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Amherst is a liberal arts college, committed to providing students with a broad education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stiglitz/amherst-is-a-liberal-arts-college-committed-to-providing-students/) [Joseph Stiglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stiglitz/) > [ “I realized Jack \[Kerouac\] was deeply committed to writing. Kesey was just as deeply committed to living and experiencing the lives of others; for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-lord/i-realized-jack-kerouac-was-deeply-committed-to-writing-kesey-was/) [Sterling Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-lord/) > [“Being a writer is like being in a relationship. If you're not 100% committed to your writing, you will fail to be the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-roberts/being-a-writer-is-like-being-in-a-relationship-if-you-re-not-100/) [Patti Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-roberts/) > [“By the time I began college, anxiety about hell had disappeared—not because I was confident that I was “saved,” but because the whole package…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/by-the-time-i-began-college-anxiety-about-hell-had-disappeared-not/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [I began after college, about 1972. I began to teach myself photography. 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We write to connect the dots:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-coman/we-write-to-find-out-what-we-didn-t-know-we-knew-we-write-to-know/) [Carolyn Coman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-coman/) > [“Now he would never write the things that he had saved to write until he knew enough to write them well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/now-he-would-never-write-the-things-that-he-had-saved-to-write-until/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“If I knew what to do I'd do more than write a song for you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/if-i-knew-what-to-do-i-d-do-more-than-write-a-song-for-you/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [I knew I had to write a Mass of my own, but a real one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/i-knew-i-had-to-write-a-mass-of-my-own-but-a-real-one/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [If I knew how to write a poem, I wouldn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-galvin/if-i-knew-how-to-write-a-poem-i-wouldn-t/) [James Galvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-galvin/) > [By the time I was 12, I had memorised hundreds of couplets. 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We are asked to declare our allegiances, or they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/writers-especially-those-of-us-with-roots-in-other-countries-are/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [Personally, its a comfort and happiness to know that my work is taken seriously and is not marginalised and put in a box of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/personally-its-a-comfort-and-happiness-to-know-that-my-work-is-taken/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“If the last thing a man has to hold on to is his sense of pride and accompanying dignity, then more likely than not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/if-the-last-thing-a-man-has-to-hold-on-to-is-his-sense-of-pride-and/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“Have you seen a hungry man with a gun? Of course not. Such things don't exist. It's like saying, have you ever seen a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/have-you-seen-a-hungry-man-with-a-gun-of-course-not-such-things-don-t/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [There are those who wake up each morning to conquer the day, and then there are those of us who wake up only because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/there-are-those-who-wake-up-each-morning-to-conquer-the-day-and-then/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“She always thought Americans were too territorial. 'All those fences and flags,' she had once said, seeing very little difference between the two.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/she-always-thought-americans-were-too-territorial-all-those-fences/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [Ethnic divisions can definitely be exacerbated by a lack of natural resources, but those tensions become violent when people manipulate them for their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/ethnic-divisions-can-definitely-be-exacerbated-by-a-lack-of-natural/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“I remember another aphorism of my father's, one that he used to say whenever we passed someone pissing openly in the street: add color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/i-remember-another-aphorism-of-my-father-s-one-that-he-used-to-say/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“Through them, the story becomes an argument for a better way of seeing, which has always struck me as being one of the novel’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/through-them-the-story-becomes-an-argument-for-a-better-way-of-seeing/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [Obviously, in marketing, the best tool is to show the autobiography in fiction. It's inevitable how that happens, but it's generic. Say I've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/obviously-in-marketing-the-best-tool-is-to-show-the-autobiography-in/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [I had lost too much of the heart and all the faith needed to stay afloat in a job where every human encounter felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/i-had-lost-too-much-of-the-heart-and-all-the-faith-needed-to-stay/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) [Explore all 54 Dinaw Mengestu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [I just worried about my weight. Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) [Browse all 26,122 About quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Once I began college, I was committed to writing, which I think is different from saying I wanted to become a writer. 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