--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was always on the outside. It was the…" description: "\"I was always on the outside. It was the worst when I still wanted to be a professor, having to deal with colleagues and students, and having to listen ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/georg-baselitz-11545_academic_i-was-always-on-the-outside-it-was-the-w_2396270.png" --- # I was always on the outside. It was the worst when I still… ![“I was always on the outside. It was the worst when I still wanted to be a professor, having to deal with colleagues and students, and having to listen to all that academic nonsense. It's really just a haze that keeps them busy. But all of that is fortunately over now, once and for all.” quote by Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/georg-baselitz-11545_academic_i-was-always-on-the-outside-it-was-the-w_2396270.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/georg-baselitz-11545_academic_i-was-always-on-the-outside-it-was-the-w_2396270.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/georg-baselitz-11545_academic_i-was-always-on-the-outside-it-was-the-w_2396270.png) > “I was always on the outside. It was the worst when I still wanted to be a professor, having to deal with colleagues and students, and having to listen to all that academic nonsense. It's really just a haze that keeps them busy. But all of that is fortunately over now, once and for all.” [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reflects on feeling marginalized in academia and feeling relief after leaving that environment. **In simple terms:** Feeling alienated in academia, now free. Key Takeaway Seek environments that align with values. Themes alienation academic freedom identity relief Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - career change - academic burnout - self‑realization Key Concepts institutional critique personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to stay in a hostile setting? - How can institutions become more inclusive? A Different Perspective Leaving may not solve underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Busy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy/) [Colleagues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleagues/) [Colleagues Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleagues-students-2057515/) [Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense/) [Professor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professor/) [Professor Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professor-having-5986547/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Teachers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teachers/) [Wanted Professor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-professor-637715/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) ## Related quotes > [“Heaven help me, but I wanted my professor to be my boyfriend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-carmack/heaven-help-me-but-i-wanted-my-professor-to-be-my-boyfriend/) [Cora Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-carmack/) > [You wanted to see me, Professor Dippet?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-riddle/you-wanted-to-see-me-professor-dippet/) [Tom Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-riddle/) > [I can honestly say that, growing up, it never crossed my mind that I could ever make anything. I could write articles about things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-savage/i-can-honestly-say-that-growing-up-it-never-crossed-my-mind-that-i/) [Stephanie Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-savage/) > [With the artists, I don't teach, I coach. I can't tell them how to make art. I tell them to make more art. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/with-the-artists-i-don-t-teach-i-coach-i-can-t-tell-them-how-to-make/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [“You wanted to see me, Professor?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/you-wanted-to-see-me-professor/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [Most important, I have learned from my colleagues and students.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-tobin/most-important-i-have-learned-from-my-colleagues-and-students/) [James Tobin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-tobin/) > [One great pleasure of being an academic is the ability to trade in ideas with your colleagues and students; it is not much fun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-banerjee/one-great-pleasure-of-being-an-academic-is-the-ability-to-trade-in/) [Abhijit Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-banerjee/) > [I HEARD SHE REALLY WANT ME BAD LIKE HOW MONIQUE WANTED PROFESSOR](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/710/i-heard-she-really-want-me-bad-like-how-monique-wanted-professor/) [710](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/710/) > [My mother wanted me to be a professor, because I have several people in my family who are professors at university,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-manuel-barroso/my-mother-wanted-me-to-be-a-professor-because-i-have-several-people/) [Jose Manuel Barroso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-manuel-barroso/) > [...academic credentials are neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for having your ideas taken seriously. 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And that's not so tough in academic life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/you-know-what-happiness-is-having-a-little-more-money-than-your/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [When I went from being an academic to being a member of the community of writers some of my former colleagues did look on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/when-i-went-from-being-an-academic-to-being-a-member-of-the-community/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [If the professor doesn't show up to class in the first 15 minutes, you get to leave. Somebody make that a law, please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-professor-doesn-t-show-up-to-class-in-the-first-15-minutes-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Every professor worth his PhD should have a fireplace in his study.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/every-professor-worth-his-phd-should-have-a-fireplace-in-his-study/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) ## More by Georg Baselitz > [When Michael Werner saw a painting of mine, such as Die grosse Nacht im Eimer, which back then nobody wanted and everybody thought was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/when-michael-werner-saw-a-painting-of-mine-such-as-die-grosse-nacht/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I paint German artists whom I admire. I paint their pictures, their work as painters, and their portraits too. But oddly enough, each of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-paint-german-artists-whom-i-admire-i-paint-their-pictures-their/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [Most of arts what comes from the States to Europe has something to do with entertainment. I can't imagine artists in the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/most-of-arts-what-comes-from-the-states-to-europe-has-something-to-do/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [Alfred Schnittke was an important contemporary composer, and he lived in Germany, but no one here has heard of him. Everyone has heard of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/alfred-schnittke-was-an-important-contemporary-composer-and-he-lived/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I don't paint over my paintings with black paint. I paint black paintings. It isn't because I'm sad, just as I didn't paint red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-don-t-paint-over-my-paintings-with-black-paint-i-paint-black/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [A citizen sticks to conventions, does whatever is social. Artists, of course, must reject all conventions. I see no differently in reconciling the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/a-citizen-sticks-to-conventions-does-whatever-is-social-artists-of/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I do not have a philosophy about retrospectives. Of course, I cannot change what I have done. What I am doing today, this I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-do-not-have-a-philosophy-about-retrospectives-of-course-i-cannot/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [An object painted upside down is suitable for painting because it is unsuitable as an object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/an-object-painted-upside-down-is-suitable-for-painting-because-it-is/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I don't know who made up this sort of greatest-hits list for artists. If one artist isn't moving forward anymore, then it's assumed another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-don-t-know-who-made-up-this-sort-of-greatest-hits-list-for-artists/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [Women don't paint very well. It's a fact. There are, of course, exceptions. Agnes Martin or, from the past, Paula Modersohn-Becker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/women-don-t-paint-very-well-it-s-a-fact-there-are-of-course/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I would say for everyday I build buildings or houses like a bricklayer with canvas and paint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-would-say-for-everyday-i-build-buildings-or-houses-like-a/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I had always loved expressionist painting, like every European. In fact I admired it all the more because these were precisely the paintings despised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-had-always-loved-expressionist-painting-like-every-european-in-fact/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I hang my work upside down to emphasize surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-hang-my-work-upside-down-to-emphasize-surface/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [Talent seduces us into interpretation. My sister could draw wonderfully, but she would never have hit upon the idea of becoming a painter. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/talent-seduces-us-into-interpretation-my-sister-could-draw/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I have always had the feeling that other people are too stupid to discover interesting things. That's why I do it myself. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-have-always-had-the-feeling-that-other-people-are-too-stupid-to/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) [Explore all 59 Georg Baselitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) ## More Academic quotes > [When I went to college, as much as my parents emphasized academic achievement, they emphasized marriage even more. 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Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [An academic discipline, or any other semiotic domain, for that matter, is not primarily content, in the sense of facts and principles. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paul-gee/an-academic-discipline-or-any-other-semiotic-domain-for-that-matter/) [James Paul Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paul-gee/) > [“In the end, ethical interpretation of the Bible means to think critically about how our practices of textual engagement might help us to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/in-the-end-ethical-interpretation-of-the-bible-means-to-think/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [Perhaps art criticism cannot be reformed in a logical sense because it was never well-formed in the first place. Art criticism has long been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/perhaps-art-criticism-cannot-be-reformed-in-a-logical-sense-because/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [And I'm the first one to tell people to break the rules. 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I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-an-academic-who-happens-to-have-written-a-novel-i-am-a/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) [Browse all 958 Academic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was always on the outside. It was the worst when I still wanted to be a professor, having to deal with colleagues and students, and having to listen to all that academic nonsense. It's really just a haze that keeps them busy. 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