--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At a certain point, the graduate school…" description: "\"At a certain point, the graduate school thing didn't work out, and that meant I was liberated.\" — Kurt Elling" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bb/kurt-elling-6944_graduate-school_at-a-certain-point-the-graduate-school-t_1813936.jpg" --- # At a certain point, the graduate school thing didn't work… ![“At a certain point, the graduate school thing didn't work out, and that meant I was liberated.” quote by Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bb/kurt-elling-6944_graduate-school_at-a-certain-point-the-graduate-school-t_1813936.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bb/kurt-elling-6944_graduate-school_at-a-certain-point-the-graduate-school-t_1813936.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bb/kurt-elling-6944_graduate-school_at-a-certain-point-the-graduate-school-t_1813936.jpg) > “At a certain point, the graduate school thing didn't work out, and that meant I was liberated.” [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A realization that leaving academia opened personal freedom. **In simple terms:** Leaving grad school led to liberation. Key Takeaway Embrace unexpected paths. Themes education freedom career Mood inspirational reflective Type personal motivational When to use this quote - career change - creative pursuits - personal development Key Concepts self‑discovery non‑linear growth Questions to Reflect On - What constraints have you outgrown? - How can you turn setbacks into freedom? A Different Perspective May not suit those needing formal credentials. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Graduate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate/) [Graduate school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate-school/) [Graduation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduation/) [Liberated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberated/) [Meant Liberated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meant-liberated-2139053/) [Point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point/) [Point Graduate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-graduate-2139054/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [As I was leaving graduate school in 1974, I was recruited to join a fledgling SETI project at the Hat Creek Observatory in California,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/as-i-was-leaving-graduate-school-in-1974-i-was-recruited-to-join-a/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [Travel is the best and probably cheapest graduate school you can buy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-freston/travel-is-the-best-and-probably-cheapest-graduate-school-you-can-buy/) [Tom Freston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-freston/) > [I made it a point not to graduate. I thought that was a positive, independent kind of statement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-dean-stanton/i-made-it-a-point-not-to-graduate-i-thought-that-was-a-positive/) [Harry Dean Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-dean-stanton/) > [When we first started 'The Big Bang Theory,' I would get incredibly nervous because it's such a big show and I was just out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-nayyar/when-we-first-started-the-big-bang-theory-i-would-get-incredibly/) [Kunal Nayyar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-nayyar/) > [I started my career as a liberal arts major from Berkeley, wrote about enterprise IT for a few years, then followed my passion for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/i-started-my-career-as-a-liberal-arts-major-from-berkeley-wrote-about/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [When I started teaching at Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2000, no field-based courses in strategic philanthropy existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-arrillaga-andreessen/when-i-started-teaching-at-stanford-graduate-school-of-business-in/) [Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-arrillaga-andreessen/) > [As for facial hair, I think I decided it was a good look after graduate school. I always shave it myself and trim my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/as-for-facial-hair-i-think-i-decided-it-was-a-good-look-after/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [The Vietnam War was causing people to get drafted; I had received a deferment to finish my undergraduate education, and in order to continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-shapiro/the-vietnam-war-was-causing-people-to-get-drafted-i-had-received-a/) [Robert Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-shapiro/) > [It was actually a women's writing group I belonged to in graduate school that gave me the courage to move from poetry to fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gordon/it-was-actually-a-women-s-writing-group-i-belonged-to-in-graduate/) [Mary Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gordon/) > [I started out in graduate school to be a fiction writer. I thought I wanted to write short stories. I started writing poems at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/i-started-out-in-graduate-school-to-be-a-fiction-writer-i-thought-i/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [When I was in graduate school, I had a teacher who said to me, 'Women writers should marry somebody who thinks writing is cute.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/when-i-was-in-graduate-school-i-had-a-teacher-who-said-to-me-women/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [The great thing about a sitcom is that you're in front of a live audience, so you really get in touch with what audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/topher-grace/the-great-thing-about-a-sitcom-is-that-you-re-in-front-of-a-live/) [Topher Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/topher-grace/) > [I was always very aware of the nature of the place where I was growing up in Gulfport, Mississippi, how that place was shaping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/i-was-always-very-aware-of-the-nature-of-the-place-where-i-was/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [I ended up doing four or five plays in college and being an English major with my thesis in language acquisition, which I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/i-ended-up-doing-four-or-five-plays-in-college-and-being-an-english/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [Through high school, college, graduate school and beyond, I had a number of relationships that were wonderful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/through-high-school-college-graduate-school-and-beyond-i-had-a-number/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Kurt Elling > [Man, I just feel so fortunate to be a jazz musician at all. I have a hard time thinking of it any other way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/man-i-just-feel-so-fortunate-to-be-a-jazz-musician-at-all-i-have-a/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [You can start from any source material, and you can approach it with a jazz ear, and then it will become a jazz moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/you-can-start-from-any-source-material-and-you-can-approach-it-with-a/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [I don't really have a more intellectualized approach. After the fact, I can sure talk about stuff a lot - but when I make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/i-don-t-really-have-a-more-intellectualized-approach-after-the-fact-i/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [I think my intention was there, and my love for the music was apparent. And there are very few singers who get up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/i-think-my-intention-was-there-and-my-love-for-the-music-was-apparent/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [I've worked with a number of big bands, but there's nothing in life like the Basie band.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/i-ve-worked-with-a-number-of-big-bands-but-there-s-nothing-in-life/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [A lot of the commercial world wants to bank in on the cachet that jazz brings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/a-lot-of-the-commercial-world-wants-to-bank-in-on-the-cachet-that/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [The great jazz and jazz-influenced singers carry themselves with a certain panache and a certain elegance and, for lack of a better word, self-confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/the-great-jazz-and-jazz-influenced-singers-carry-themselves-with-a/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [You work very hard on the lyrics. Getting them to fit the contours of improvised melodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/you-work-very-hard-on-the-lyrics-getting-them-to-fit-the-contours-of/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [There's a wide spectrum of possibilities in how to deliver a song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/there-s-a-wide-spectrum-of-possibilities-in-how-to-deliver-a-song/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [A lot of people are put off by the idea of scat singing. Either that or it's something to be made fun of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/a-lot-of-people-are-put-off-by-the-idea-of-scat-singing-either-that/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [As improvisers, we're acting as composers in front of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/as-improvisers-we-re-acting-as-composers-in-front-of-people/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [You want to be doing your best work whatever field of the arts you're in because your life's going to be over all too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/you-want-to-be-doing-your-best-work-whatever-field-of-the-arts-you-re/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [Why limit yourself to one discipline or field of study?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/why-limit-yourself-to-one-discipline-or-field-of-study/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [Sometimes, with vocalese, I'm dealing with something, a great solo from the past, which is so iconic I can't presume to change it or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/sometimes-with-vocalese-i-m-dealing-with-something-a-great-solo-from/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [I'm a guy who has more slapstick than Joe Cool moments in his day, so I'm not taking myself so seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/i-m-a-guy-who-has-more-slapstick-than-joe-cool-moments-in-his-day-so/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) [Explore all 96 Kurt Elling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) ## More Graduate quotes > [Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it sure has earned a lot of people graduate degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-irving/curiosity-may-have-killed-the-cat-but-it-sure-has-earned-a-lot-of/) [Robyn Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-irving/) > [A much as I say I'm ready to graduate I know I'm going to miss high school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-much-as-i-say-i-m-ready-to-graduate-i-know-i-m-going-to-miss-high/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My undergraduate studies at Brown and graduate degrees from Harvard prepared me for a multifaceted career as an actor, entrepreneur and philanthropist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hill-harper/my-undergraduate-studies-at-brown-and-graduate-degrees-from-harvard/) [Hill Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hill-harper/) > [You have, unfortunately, a K-12 educational system where the requirements to graduate are not the requirements to be college and career-ready. So if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-chertavian/you-have-unfortunately-a-k-12-educational-system-where-the/) [Gerald Chertavian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-chertavian/) > [We had to get serious and hit all aspects. We had to graduate. That's what you got to do: reach all people across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quavo/we-had-to-get-serious-and-hit-all-aspects-we-had-to-graduate-that-s/) [Quavo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quavo/) > [As the first member of my immediate family to graduate from college, I understand the importance access to high quality education plays in preparing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elise-stefanik/as-the-first-member-of-my-immediate-family-to-graduate-from-college-i/) [Elise Stefanik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elise-stefanik/) > [Allow yourself to graduate, every five years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-guisewite/allow-yourself-to-graduate-every-five-years/) [Cathy Guisewite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-guisewite/) > [As a graduate student at Oxford in 1963, I began writing about books in revolutionary France, helping to found the discipline of book history.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-darnton/as-a-graduate-student-at-oxford-in-1963-i-began-writing-about-books/) [Robert Darnton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-darnton/) > [“To Graduate from the "School of Life" you need to have met the following criteria: Found your life purpose, know how the egoic mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-g-roussou/to-graduate-from-the-school-of-life-you-need-to-have-met-the/) [Marina G. Roussou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-g-roussou/) > [Through high school, college, graduate school and beyond, I had a number of relationships that were wonderful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/through-high-school-college-graduate-school-and-beyond-i-had-a-number/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I studied acting in NYU's graduate program, in which we covered everything from Ibsen and Chekov to August Wilson and David Mamet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-holland/i-studied-acting-in-nyu-s-graduate-program-in-which-we-covered/) [Andre Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-holland/) > [“Yes, we know you are a graduate with PhD. But when was the last time you chase after a book shop to buy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/yes-we-know-you-are-a-graduate-with-phd-but-when-was-the-last-time/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I ended up doing four or five plays in college and being an English major with my thesis in language acquisition, which I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/i-ended-up-doing-four-or-five-plays-in-college-and-being-an-english/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [I want my kids to graduate from high school. But that's not enough. I also want them to go to college. Why? Because rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-canada/i-want-my-kids-to-graduate-from-high-school-but-that-s-not-enough-i/) [Geoffrey Canada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-canada/) > [I was always very aware of the nature of the place where I was growing up in Gulfport, Mississippi, how that place was shaping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/i-was-always-very-aware-of-the-nature-of-the-place-where-i-was/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) [Browse all 293 Graduate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "At a certain point, the graduate school thing didn't work out, and that meant I was liberated.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kurt Elling" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/at-a-certain-point-the-graduate-school-thing-didn-t-work-out-and-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Graduate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/at-a-certain-point-the-graduate-school-thing-didn-t-work-out-and-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bb/kurt-elling-6944_graduate-school_at-a-certain-point-the-graduate-school-t_1813936.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bb/kurt-elling-6944_graduate-school_at-a-certain-point-the-graduate-school-t_1813936.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bb/kurt-elling-6944_graduate-school_at-a-certain-point-the-graduate-school-t_1813936.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“At a certain point, the graduate school thing didn't work out, and that meant I was liberated.” — Kurt Elling", "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": "Kurt Elling", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "At a certain point, the graduate...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/at-a-certain-point-the-graduate-school-thing-didn-t-work-out-and-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/at-a-certain-point-the-graduate-school-thing-didn-t-work-out-and-that/#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 } } ] } ```