--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: WHEN I GOT TO HIGH SCHOOL, A MINISTER…" description: "\"“WHEN I GOT TO HIGH SCHOOL, A MINISTER ASKED if I wanted to write an article for a church newsletter. When he asked, it felt like somebody had finally ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/donald-miller-607_first-time_when-i-got-to-high-school-a-minister-ask_1347541.png" --- # WHEN I GOT TO HIGH SCHOOL, A MINISTER ASKED if I wanted to… ![“WHEN I GOT TO HIGH SCHOOL, A MINISTER ASKED if I wanted to write an article for a church newsletter. When he asked, it felt like somebody had finally noticed me and wondered if there was something going on in my invisible world. I doubt that’s exactly what he was doing, but that’s the way it felt…” quote by Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/donald-miller-607_first-time_when-i-got-to-high-school-a-minister-ask_1347541.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/donald-miller-607_first-time_when-i-got-to-high-school-a-minister-ask_1347541.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/donald-miller-607_first-time_when-i-got-to-high-school-a-minister-ask_1347541.png) > ““WHEN I GOT TO HIGH SCHOOL, A MINISTER ASKED if I wanted to write an article for a church newsletter. When he asked, it felt like somebody had finally noticed me and wondered if there was something going on in my invisible world. I doubt that’s exactly what he was doing, but that’s the way it felt to me. I spent a solid week on the article, all of four hundred words, no more than a few paragraphs. I gave it to the minister and he called and said it was good, that I was a good writer and smart. I still remember how I felt when he said the word smart. I felt a little drunk. Kind of disoriented. A pleasure chemical seeped into my brain and, without me knowing it, I’d become Pavlov’s dog. If I was smart it meant I mattered. So I wanted to be smart. When the article came out, people stopped me in the halls to say they enjoyed reading it. My mother told me she had friends calling to say they liked the article too. And that was all I needed. I had a costume and it felt great to wear it. I could be smart. I could write, and if I wrote I mattered. So for the first time I started reading books. And I kept writing. I heard a speaker quote a poem so I went home and started memorizing poems. I wrote more than a thousand poems over the next two years. And I started dreaming about writing a book. Today, when people ask why I became a writer I try to answer honestly. I’m a writer because, at an early age, I became convinced it was the one thing I could do to earn people’s respect. It’s true in the process I learned to love words and ideas and these days I actually like to get lost in the writing process. But the early fuel, the early motivation, was all about becoming a person worth loving.”” [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early validation sparked a desire for respect, leading to a lifelong commitment to writing and self‑expression. **In simple terms:** Feeling valued motivated a career in writing. Key Takeaway Seek authentic feedback to fuel growth. Themes identity motivation creativity Mood reflective inspired Type personal motivational When to use this quote - writing workshops - peer review - public speaking - personal journaling Key Concepts self‑esteem social validation narrative identity Questions to Reflect On - What internal drives sustain creative work? - How to balance external praise with self‑worth? A Different Perspective Reliance on external approval may hinder intrinsic motivation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Reading books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-books/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing a book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-a-book/) [Writing process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-process/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not a writer. I'm not smart. I couldn't possibly even write my own story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoey-deutch/i-m-not-a-writer-i-m-not-smart-i-couldn-t-possibly-even-write-my-own/) [Zoey Deutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoey-deutch/) > [“You're never as good a writer as you think you are, and you're never as bad. Just keep reading and writing, writing, writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/you-re-never-as-good-a-writer-as-you-think-you-are-and-you-re-never/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [Sarah Palin - now don't laugh - is writing a book. Not just reading a book, writing a book. Actually, in the word of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-matthews/sarah-palin-now-don-t-laugh-is-writing-a-book-not-just-reading-a-book/) [Chris Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-matthews/) > [While in the middle of writing a book, I have a hard time reading other books for pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/while-in-the-middle-of-writing-a-book-i-have-a-hard-time-reading/) [Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/) > [Writing a book is as different from digital curation as night and day. Digital curation is a series of split-second decisions: good/no good. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-kawasaki/writing-a-book-is-as-different-from-digital-curation-as-night-and-day/) [Guy Kawasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-kawasaki/) > [I started to write. And I wrote and wrote all through high school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/i-started-to-write-and-i-wrote-and-wrote-all-through-high-school/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [Well, writing was what I wanted to do, it was always what I wanted to do. I had novels to write so I wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/well-writing-was-what-i-wanted-to-do-it-was-always-what-i-wanted-to/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I'm not reading what I write when I wrote. It's an unconscious outpouring that's a mess, and it's many, many steps away from anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-m-not-reading-what-i-write-when-i-wrote-it-s-an-unconscious/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“I stretched out on the bed and slept. It was twilight when I awakened and turned on the light. I felt better, no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-stretched-out-on-the-bed-and-slept-it-was-twilight-when-i-awakened/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [I write my first draft by hand, at least for fiction. For non-fiction, I write happily on a computer, but for fiction I write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-write-my-first-draft-by-hand-at-least-for-fiction-for-non-fiction-i/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I had novels to write, so I wrote them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/i-had-novels-to-write-so-i-wrote-them/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [No matter how long my day job hours were, I always made time to write. I wrote fiction, short stories, and poetry. I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-joy/no-matter-how-long-my-day-job-hours-were-i-always-made-time-to-write/) [Lisa Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-joy/) > [“I began to write again. I wrote just for the fuck of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-leebron/i-began-to-write-again-i-wrote-just-for-the-fuck-of-it/) Fred Leebron > ['A Fair Maiden' existed in notes and sketches for perhaps a year. When I traveled, I would take along with me my folder of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-fair-maiden-existed-in-notes-and-sketches-for-perhaps-a-year-when-i/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [It wasn't that I couldn't write. I wrote every day. I actually worked really hard at writing. At my desk by 7 A.M., would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-wasn-t-that-i-couldn-t-write-i-wrote-every-day-i-actually-worked/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## More by Donald Miller > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [I think each of us can, through our writing, discover our super power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/i-think-each-of-us-can-through-our-writing-discover-our-super-power/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [If you don't feel free and be yourself, you can't connect. Find people who accept your quirks. They'll heal your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/if-you-don-t-feel-free-and-be-yourself-you-can-t-connect-find-people/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [And so I have come to understand that strength, inner strength, comes from receiving love as much as it comes from giving it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/and-so-i-have-come-to-understand-that-strength-inner-strength-comes/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“Humans, as a species, are constantly, and in every way, comparing themselves to one another, which, given the brief nature of their existence, seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/humans-as-a-species-are-constantly-and-in-every-way-comparing/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“alone, lonely, and loneliness are three of the most powerful words in the English language... Those words say that we are human; they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/alone-lonely-and-loneliness-are-three-of-the-most-powerful-words-in/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“It isn't about what you don't get done; it's about what you do get done.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/it-isn-t-about-what-you-don-t-get-done-it-s-about-what-you-do-get-done/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“Most Christians have enormous respect for the space and freedom of others, it is only that they have found a joy in Jesus they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/most-christians-have-enormous-respect-for-the-space-and-freedom-of/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“The soul needs to interact with other people to be healthy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/the-soul-needs-to-interact-with-other-people-to-be-healthy/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [Don't let go of your strength or your beauty. It was given to you by God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/don-t-let-go-of-your-strength-or-your-beauty-it-was-given-to-you-by/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [There's a lot of letters, and a lot of people come say "hi" at book signings, but I'm amazed at how normal everybody is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-a-lot-of-letters-and-a-lot-of-people-come-say-hi-at-book/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [I am something of a recluse by nature. I am that cordless screwdriver that has to charge for twenty hours to earn ten minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/i-am-something-of-a-recluse-by-nature-i-am-that-cordless-screwdriver/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [The most important thing that happens within Christian spirituality is when a person falls in love with Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/the-most-important-thing-that-happens-within-christian-spirituality/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [Every day you live is a page. Every year, a chapter. Your life, a book. What is it about?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/every-day-you-live-is-a-page-every-year-a-chapter-your-life-a-book/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“And that’s the first time I realized that the idea a character is what he does makes as much sense in life as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/and-that-s-the-first-time-i-realized-that-the-idea-a-character-is/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) [Explore all 448 Donald Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) ## More First time quotes > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [“I’m so stressed that a weird Olympic-style commentary starts up in my head. And here we have Zelah Green, the fourteen-year-old champion of rituals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-curtis/i-m-so-stressed-that-a-weird-olympic-style-commentary-starts-up-in-my/) Vanessa Curtis > [I'm very used to working with first time actors - you can just look back at 'E.T.' with Drew Barrymore, and Christian Bale from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-m-very-used-to-working-with-first-time-actors-you-can-just-look/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [“I’m waiting for you,” he murmured, smiling a slow, familiar grin that seemed to hint at a secret between them. And for the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-monir/i-m-waiting-for-you-he-murmured-smiling-a-slow-familiar-grin-that/) [Alexandra Monir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-monir/) > [“Treat every natural beauty you met as if you see them for the first and last time!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/treat-every-natural-beauty-you-met-as-if-you-see-them-for-the-first/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“I won’t break your heart. For the first time in my life, I’ve found something worth fighting for, someone more important than me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelle-bliss/i-won-t-break-your-heart-for-the-first-time-in-my-life-i-ve-found/) [Chelle Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelle-bliss/) > [Life is like a parachute jump: you have to get it right the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/life-is-like-a-parachute-jump-you-have-to-get-it-right-the-first-time/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [When I was in my twenties and just so sexually prolific, the first time I went to Machu Picchu, this guy, a spiritual teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-and-just-so-sexually-prolific-the-first/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [When my kids were in the school play for the first time, I decided I had to make the costumes from scratch and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-alexander/when-my-kids-were-in-the-school-play-for-the-first-time-i-decided-i/) [Sarah Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-alexander/) > [“I will run every mile, i will save every line, i will say i reached the top and i will fall back down standing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mennah-al-refaey/i-will-run-every-mile-i-will-save-every-line-i-will-say-i-reached-the/) Mennah al refaey > [“Or maybe your magic isn't that destructive after all. The rain of Doritos, the bed thing,this...Maybe it's just that you create too big, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/or-maybe-your-magic-isn-t-that-destructive-after-all-the-rain-of/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [There is no pain like the first time you get your heart broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ne-yo/there-is-no-pain-like-the-first-time-you-get-your-heart-broken/) [Ne-Yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ne-yo/) > [I don't know why, but everybody thinks that I'm short. When they see me for the first time, women are always surprised to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-carey/i-don-t-know-why-but-everybody-thinks-that-i-m-short-when-they-see-me/) [Mariah Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-carey/) > [“I met Suffering on a quiet road, just as the sun was setting behind me. Its presence was heavy, like an old coat I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/i-met-suffering-on-a-quiet-road-just-as-the-sun-was-setting-behind-me/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [“You never talk to the pitcher when…” He shook his head. “You just never talk to the pitcher when--” “I just wanted to congratulate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawthorne/you-never-talk-to-the-pitcher-when-he-shook-his-head-you-just-never/) [Rachel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawthorne/) Browse all 9,309 First time quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“WHEN I GOT TO HIGH SCHOOL, A MINISTER ASKED if I wanted to write an article for a church newsletter. When he asked, it felt like somebody had finally noticed me and wondered if there was something going on in my invisible world. I doubt that’s exactly what he was doing, but that’s the way it felt to me. I spent a solid week on the article, all of four hundred words, no more than a few paragraphs. I gave it to the minister and he called and said it was good, that I was a good writer and smart. I still remember how I felt when he said the word smart. I felt a little drunk. Kind of disoriented. A pleasure chemical seeped into my brain and, without me knowing it, I’d become Pavlov’s dog. If I was smart it meant I mattered. So I wanted to be smart. When the article came out, people stopped me in the halls to say they enjoyed reading it. My mother told me she had friends calling to say they liked the article too. And that was all I needed. I had a costume and it felt great to wear it. I could be smart. I could write, and if I wrote I mattered. So for the first time I started reading books. And I kept writing. I heard a speaker quote a poem so I went home and started memorizing poems. I wrote more than a thousand poems over the next two years. And I started dreaming about writing a book. Today, when people ask why I became a writer I try to answer honestly. I’m a writer because, at an early age, I became convinced it was the one thing I could do to earn people’s respect. It’s true in the process I learned to love words and ideas and these days I actually like to get lost in the writing process. But the early fuel, the early motivation, was all about becoming a person worth loving.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donald Miller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/when-i-got-to-high-school-a-minister-asked-if-i-wanted-to-write-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "First time" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/when-i-got-to-high-school-a-minister-asked-if-i-wanted-to-write-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/donald-miller-607_first-time_when-i-got-to-high-school-a-minister-ask_1347541.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/donald-miller-607_first-time_when-i-got-to-high-school-a-minister-ask_1347541.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/donald-miller-607_first-time_when-i-got-to-high-school-a-minister-ask_1347541.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“WHEN I GOT TO HIGH SCHOOL, A MINISTER ASKED if I wanted to write an article for a church newsletter. When he…” — Donald Miller", "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": "Donald Miller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“WHEN I GOT TO HIGH SCHOOL,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/when-i-got-to-high-school-a-minister-asked-if-i-wanted-to-write-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/when-i-got-to-high-school-a-minister-asked-if-i-wanted-to-write-an/#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 } } ] } ```