--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I finished graduate school, the…" description: "\"When I finished graduate school, the first George Bush was president, and I really wanted to get out of the country. We'd just gone through the first G..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/lily-king-10967_bush_when-i-finished-graduate-school-the-firs_76172.jpg" --- # When I finished graduate school, the first George Bush was… ![“When I finished graduate school, the first George Bush was president, and I really wanted to get out of the country. We'd just gone through the first Gulf War.” quote by Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/lily-king-10967_bush_when-i-finished-graduate-school-the-firs_76172.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/lily-king-10967_bush_when-i-finished-graduate-school-the-firs_76172.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/lily-king-10967_bush_when-i-finished-graduate-school-the-firs_76172.jpg) > “When I finished graduate school, the first George Bush was president, and I really wanted to get out of the country. We'd just gone through the first Gulf War.” [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker felt a desire to leave the United States after completing graduate studies, motivated by political climate and recent conflict. **In simple terms:** Desire to escape post‑war US Key Takeaway Personal safety and political disillusionment Themes political climate war impact migration personal agency Mood reflective concerned Type personal anecdote historical observation When to use this quote - after graduation - during a presidency - following a war Key Concepts post‑war sentiment academic transition Practical Applications - political analysis - personal memoir Questions to Reflect On - How do political events shape personal decisions? - What factors drive migration after conflict? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Graduate school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate-school/) [Graduates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduates/) [Gulf war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gulf-war/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [President George H.W. 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I would not like to be George Bush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/we-ve-had-parallel-lives-and-frankly-i-prefer-mine-to-his-i-would-not/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [You know, when George Bush talks about freedom not being America's gift to world but God's gift to all humankind, it smells like market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-klein/you-know-when-george-bush-talks-about-freedom-not-being-america-s/) [Joe Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-klein/) > [It's hard to believe President George Bush gave a speech in New Orleans about disaster recovery and failed to mention the word 'farm' or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hightower/it-s-hard-to-believe-president-george-bush-gave-a-speech-in-new/) [Jim Hightower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hightower/) > [I'm not tempted to write a song about George W. Bush. I couldn't figure out what sort of song I would write. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-m-not-tempted-to-write-a-song-about-george-w-bush-i-couldn-t-figure/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [The president of the United States of North America, George W. Bush, the little gentleman of the North, the political cadaver that is visiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-chavez/the-president-of-the-united-states-of-north-america-george-w-bush-the/) [Hugo Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-chavez/) > [This country was the moral leader of the world until George Bush became president.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-dean/this-country-was-the-moral-leader-of-the-world-until-george-bush/) [Howard Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-dean/) ## More by Lily King > [“And this led to another round of mapping as we separated men from women, finding that while the male ethos usually represented the culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/and-this-led-to-another-round-of-mapping-as-we-separated-men-from/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [When I pick up a pencil, that this is a rough draft. This is not going anywhere, and no one's going to see it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/when-i-pick-up-a-pencil-that-this-is-a-rough-draft-this-is-not-going/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [I didn't major in anthropology in college, but I do feel I had an education in different cultures very early on. My parents divorced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/i-didn-t-major-in-anthropology-in-college-but-i-do-feel-i-had-an/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [I'm very interested in the way people interact emotionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/i-m-very-interested-in-the-way-people-interact-emotionally/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [“mind Nell was writing: —ornamentation of neck, wrists, fingers —paint on face only”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/mind-nell-was-writing-ornamentation-of-neck-wrists-fingers-paint-on/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [I have three stepfamilies as well as my family of origin. I've had to adjust to them and also go back and forth among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/i-have-three-stepfamilies-as-well-as-my-family-of-origin-i-ve-had-to/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [Perhaps all science is merely self-investigation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/perhaps-all-science-is-merely-self-investigation/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [Every fictional thing I wrote gave me strength to write another and another. 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The Democrats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/obama-s-policies-have-been-approximately-the-same-as-bush-s-though/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This country was the moral leader of the world until George Bush became president.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-dean/this-country-was-the-moral-leader-of-the-world-until-george-bush/) [Howard Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-dean/) > [We're half an hour from Toronto, which offers everything you could want from a city, and a couple of hours from beautiful vacation country.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/we-re-half-an-hour-from-toronto-which-offers-everything-you-could/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [On election night 2000, I had never met then-Governor Bush, though I'd supported him for years. I believed he would be a strong, optimistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-perino/on-election-night-2000-i-had-never-met-then-governor-bush-though-i-d/) [Dana Perino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-perino/) > [The president of the United States of North America, George W. Bush, the little gentleman of the North, the political cadaver that is visiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-chavez/the-president-of-the-united-states-of-north-america-george-w-bush-the/) [Hugo Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-chavez/) > [Obama and the Democrats were so critical of what Bush did, the interrogations, the secret prisons, Guantanamo and all of that, and even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/obama-and-the-democrats-were-so-critical-of-what-bush-did-the/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [I remember when President Bush, George W. Bush, came into office, he focused on No Child Left Behind, and with - and before very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-alexander/i-remember-when-president-bush-george-w-bush-came-into-office-he/) [Lamar Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-alexander/) > [ If George Bush \[Jr.\] decided he was going to turn the troops loose on Syria and Iran after that he would last in office… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-eagleburger/if-george-bush-jr-decided-he-was-going-to-turn-the-troops-loose-on/) [Lawrence Eagleburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-eagleburger/) > [I mean, look, no matter how you feel about Bush, watching him speak is difficult. It's like- it's like watching a drunk man cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-carlson/i-mean-look-no-matter-how-you-feel-about-bush-watching-him-speak-is/) [Tucker Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-carlson/) > [I'm not tempted to write a song about George W. Bush. 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