--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For the first six or eight months at…" description: "\"For the first six or eight months at Juilliard I felt paralysed. I didn't know what I was doing.\" — Eric Whitacre" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/eric-whitacre-19929_doing_for-the-first-six-or-eight-months-at-jui_2251264.jpg" --- # For the first six or eight months at Juilliard I felt… ![“For the first six or eight months at Juilliard I felt paralysed. I didn't know what I was doing.” quote by Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/eric-whitacre-19929_doing_for-the-first-six-or-eight-months-at-jui_2251264.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/eric-whitacre-19929_doing_for-the-first-six-or-eight-months-at-jui_2251264.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/eric-whitacre-19929_doing_for-the-first-six-or-eight-months-at-jui_2251264.jpg) > “For the first six or eight months at Juilliard I felt paralysed. I didn't know what I was doing.” [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early career paralysis stems from uncertainty and lack of direction; acknowledging it is the first step to growth. **In simple terms:** Acknowledge uncertainty to grow. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty, seek guidance. Themes growth uncertainty learning career Mood encouraging reflective Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - music study - career planning - mentorship - self‑reflection Key Concepts psychology education creative process Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take when feeling stuck? - Who can help you navigate early challenges? A Different Perspective Overcoming paralysis may require external support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Paralysed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paralysed/) ## Related quotes > [Stigma is a social gangrene that has paralysed the function order in our communities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russyb/stigma-is-a-social-gangrene-that-has-paralysed-the-function-order-in/) Russyb > [My fiancee's brother-in-law was recently paralysed in an accident and it really brought home the fact that thousands of young people live with spinal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-lineker/my-fiancee-s-brother-in-law-was-recently-paralysed-in-an-accident-and/) [Gary Lineker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-lineker/) > [As I found at QPR, a club in the process of a takeover is paralysed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-warnock/as-i-found-at-qpr-a-club-in-the-process-of-a-takeover-is-paralysed/) [Neil Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-warnock/) > [“I die a little more, still in silence, paralysed by you, in fear, in pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poppet/i-die-a-little-more-still-in-silence-paralysed-by-you-in-fear-in-pain/) Poppet > [“Don’t you think it’s actually harder for you . . . to adapt, I mean? Because you’ve done all that stuff?’ ‘Are you asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/don-t-you-think-it-s-actually-harder-for-you-to-adapt-i-mean-because/) [Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/) > [“... he was totally in thrall to the face of the girl in front of him. She stunned him. She paralysed him. Just being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/he-was-totally-in-thrall-to-the-face-of-the-girl-in-front-of-him-she/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [Brexit has been a strain on all of us. In some ways it has paralysed us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annegret-kramp-karrenbauer/brexit-has-been-a-strain-on-all-of-us-in-some-ways-it-has-paralysed-us/) [Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annegret-kramp-karrenbauer/) > [“souls without prayer are like people whose bodies or limbs are paralysed: they possess feet and hands but they cannot control them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/souls-without-prayer-are-like-people-whose-bodies-or-limbs-are/) [Teresa of Ávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [I lay here on the ground, still. I can't move. I try moving my arm and legs. Nothing. I'm paralysed. I see a shadow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/i-lay-here-on-the-ground-still-i-can-t-move-i-try-moving-my-arm-and/) Im Nothing > [“I turned in my seat. Will’s face was in shadow and I couldn’t quite make it out. ‘Just hold on. Just for a minute.’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/i-turned-in-my-seat-will-s-face-was-in-shadow-and-i-couldn-t-quite/) [Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/) > [Wake up in the morning, we're paralysed... We'll fly into the garden like butterflies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-goulding/wake-up-in-the-morning-we-re-paralysed-we-ll-fly-into-the-garden-like/) [Ellie Goulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-goulding/) > [ I failed, I think, seven \[or\] eight times before I finally got my first \[championship\]. It was just, you know, just about me growing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-failed-i-think-seven-or-eight-times-before-i-finally-got-my-first/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [The minute you step onstage, you get eight feet taller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/the-minute-you-step-onstage-you-get-eight-feet-taller/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) ## More by Eric Whitacre > [The terror of performing never goes away. Instead, you get very, very comfortable being terrified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/the-terror-of-performing-never-goes-away-instead-you-get-very-very/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [Write the music your inside-you needs your outside-you to hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/write-the-music-your-inside-you-needs-your-outside-you-to-hear/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [ I think \[the virtual choir\] speaks well to a benevolent future for the Internet. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/i-think-the-virtual-choir-speaks-well-to-a-benevolent-future-for-the/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [I write music that sounds complex but isn't. I frankly never think in terms of theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/i-write-music-that-sounds-complex-but-isn-t-i-frankly-never-think-in/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [I'm not an atheist, but I'm not a Christian, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/i-m-not-an-atheist-but-i-m-not-a-christian-either/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [I can't write music unless I'm deeply connected to it and that connection almost always comes from some experience that I have had or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/i-can-t-write-music-unless-i-m-deeply-connected-to-it-and-that/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [I truly thought I was going to be in pop music. And then I joined a choir to meet girls, and everything changed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/i-truly-thought-i-was-going-to-be-in-pop-music-and-then-i-joined-a/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [To have a live choir there on the stage and then these singers from different countries signing with us in real time through Skype,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/to-have-a-live-choir-there-on-the-stage-and-then-these-singers-from/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [People in chorus tends to be much more emotional or at least wear their hearts on their sleeve. They are generally the kind to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/people-in-chorus-tends-to-be-much-more-emotional-or-at-least-wear/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [When you look back on music history, it falls into these neat periods, but of course, the period you yourself are living through seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/when-you-look-back-on-music-history-it-falls-into-these-neat-periods/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [There must be four or five hundred choirs here in London alone. In a way, there's nowhere else on Earth I could go and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/there-must-be-four-or-five-hundred-choirs-here-in-london-alone-in-a/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [For me, the virtual choir has taught me that, if anything, the Internet builds these post-national tribes, people finding each other anyway they can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/for-me-the-virtual-choir-has-taught-me-that-if-anything-the-internet/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [The virtual choir would never replace live music or a real choir, but the same sort of focus and intent and esprit de corps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/the-virtual-choir-would-never-replace-live-music-or-a-real-choir-but/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [I'm a self-confessed geek, and my whole concept of music at first was entirely electronic. In many ways, it turned out to be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/i-m-a-self-confessed-geek-and-my-whole-concept-of-music-at-first-was/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) > [Since I first fell in love with choral music when I was 18 and began composing at 21, I've been listening to these recordings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/since-i-first-fell-in-love-with-choral-music-when-i-was-18-and-began/) [Eric Whitacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) [Explore all 31 Eric Whitacre quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/) ## More Doing quotes > [I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm damn well gonna do it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geri-halliwell/i-don-t-know-what-i-m-doing-but-i-m-damn-well-gonna-do-it/) [Geri Halliwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geri-halliwell/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [If you think you're doing everything right, then you have a tendency to stand pat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stockton/if-you-think-you-re-doing-everything-right-then-you-have-a-tendency/) [John Stockton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stockton/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [Doing the right things is more important than doing things right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ko-wen-je/doing-the-right-things-is-more-important-than-doing-things-right/) [Ko Wen-je](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ko-wen-je/) > [I was in high school and I had an independent album out, and we kept sending that out, and I was doing shows. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hilton/i-was-in-high-school-and-i-had-an-independent-album-out-and-we-kept/) [Tyler Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hilton/) > [If I'm not thinking about you then I am texting you , if I am not texting you then I am on the phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-m-not-thinking-about-you-then-i-am-texting-you-if-i-am-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [.\*. why u hate me..Bitches be doing the most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty/why-u-hate-me-bitches-be-doing-the-most/) Kitty > [“dances with mine as if we’ve been doing this our whole”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-michaels/dances-with-mine-as-if-we-ve-been-doing-this-our-whole/) [Corinne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-michaels/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [When the dollar collapses, it's not doing it in a vacuum. If the dollar loses value, it's doing so relative to some other currency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/when-the-dollar-collapses-it-s-not-doing-it-in-a-vacuum-if-the-dollar/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [When I made it, I still didn't wave the flag and say, Yeah go Asian people. I do want people to know that about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-hugo/when-i-made-it-i-still-didn-t-wave-the-flag-and-say-yeah-go-asian/) [Chad Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-hugo/) > [I really can't live without my In-N-Out burgers. Honestly, I can't. Even when I'm doing the whole no-carb thing occasionally, I make an exception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/i-really-can-t-live-without-my-in-n-out-burgers-honestly-i-can-t-even/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) > [You can't drain the swamp, as President Trump has touted doing, without getting rid of Mitch McConnell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-mcgrath/you-can-t-drain-the-swamp-as-president-trump-has-touted-doing-without/) [Amy McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-mcgrath/) Browse all 10,133 Doing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For the first six or eight months at Juilliard I felt paralysed. I didn't know what I was doing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Whitacre" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/for-the-first-six-or-eight-months-at-juilliard-i-felt-paralysed-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/for-the-first-six-or-eight-months-at-juilliard-i-felt-paralysed-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/eric-whitacre-19929_doing_for-the-first-six-or-eight-months-at-jui_2251264.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/eric-whitacre-19929_doing_for-the-first-six-or-eight-months-at-jui_2251264.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/eric-whitacre-19929_doing_for-the-first-six-or-eight-months-at-jui_2251264.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For the first six or eight months at Juilliard I felt paralysed. I didn't know what I was doing.” — Eric Whitacre", "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": "Eric Whitacre", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-whitacre/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For the first six or eight...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/for-the-first-six-or-eight-months-at-juilliard-i-felt-paralysed-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-whitacre/for-the-first-six-or-eight-months-at-juilliard-i-felt-paralysed-i/#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 } } ] } ```