--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And I wasn't a journalist any more than I…" description: "\"And I wasn't a journalist any more than I was a trained nurse.\" — May Sinclair" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/may-sinclair-44446_journalist_and-i-wasn-t-a-journalist-any-more-than_1550054.jpg" --- # And I wasn't a journalist any more than I was a trained… ![“And I wasn't a journalist any more than I was a trained nurse.” quote by May Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/may-sinclair-44446_journalist_and-i-wasn-t-a-journalist-any-more-than_1550054.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/may-sinclair-44446_journalist_and-i-wasn-t-a-journalist-any-more-than_1550054.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/may-sinclair-44446_journalist_and-i-wasn-t-a-journalist-any-more-than_1550054.jpg) > “And I wasn't a journalist any more than I was a trained nurse.” [May Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sinclair/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She emphasizes that her identity was shaped by experience, not formal training. **In simple terms:** Identity comes from lived experience, not titles. Key Takeaway Recognize the value of practical knowledge. Themes identity experience professionalism Mood reflective confident Type observational inspirational When to use this quote - career transitions - skill building - personal branding - mentorship Key Concepts self‑definition expertise Questions to Reflect On - How does experience shape credibility? - When should you trust expertise over titles? A Different Perspective Formal credentials don’t always reflect competence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nurse/) ## Related quotes > [My mother-in-law trained as a nurse in a 1960s gynae ward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-page/my-mother-in-law-trained-as-a-nurse-in-a-1960s-gynae-ward/) [Joanna Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-page/) > [My mother was a trained nurse, and she'd tell me that patients would fight as they were administered anaesthetic, grappling to get the gas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/my-mother-was-a-trained-nurse-and-she-d-tell-me-that-patients-would/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) > [The trained nurse has become one of the great blessings of humanity, taking a place beside the physician and the priest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/the-trained-nurse-has-become-one-of-the-great-blessings-of-humanity/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [I am not yet worthy; and I will live to deserve to be called a Trained Nurse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/i-am-not-yet-worthy-and-i-will-live-to-deserve-to-be-called-a-trained/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [I trained as a journalist in America where paying sources is frowned upon. Now I work in the U.K. where there is a more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-brooke/i-trained-as-a-journalist-in-america-where-paying-sources-is-frowned/) [Heather Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-brooke/) > [AIs are only as good as the data they are trained on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-ehrsam/ais-are-only-as-good-as-the-data-they-are-trained-on/) [Fred Ehrsam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-ehrsam/) > [“We must play from the soul, not like trained birds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-must-play-from-the-soul-not-like-trained-birds/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I had planned to be a singer, I would have got trained. In fact, I was more into theatre and plays while growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohit-chauhan/if-i-had-planned-to-be-a-singer-i-would-have-got-trained-in-fact-i/) [Mohit Chauhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohit-chauhan/) > [Let's focus on how we can take someone who is being poorly educated in an American public school and how they are poorly trained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-steele/let-s-focus-on-how-we-can-take-someone-who-is-being-poorly-educated/) [Michael Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-steele/) > [Going to train out at Joel Diaz's out in Indio, I've trained with the Lomachenkos, I've seen Terrence Crawford's camp - I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-dillashaw/going-to-train-out-at-joel-diaz-s-out-in-indio-i-ve-trained-with-the/) [T.J. Dillashaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-dillashaw/) > [I'm trained in musical theatre and 'Pitch Perfect' is the first movie where I get to really belt out. I beat Adele for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebel-wilson/i-m-trained-in-musical-theatre-and-pitch-perfect-is-the-first-movie/) [Rebel Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebel-wilson/) > [I've always trained hard and I've never slacked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cub-swanson/i-ve-always-trained-hard-and-i-ve-never-slacked/) [Cub Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cub-swanson/) > [Osama Bin Laden is dead. Killed not by a massive troop deployment but by a commando raid carried out by a few dozen highly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-engel/osama-bin-laden-is-dead-killed-not-by-a-massive-troop-deployment-but/) [Richard Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-engel/) > [We are like highly trained athletes, who never run a race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/we-are-like-highly-trained-athletes-who-never-run-a-race/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [I'm not a classically trained actor, but I've been given a lot of opportunities along the way to kind of figure it out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-everett/i-m-not-a-classically-trained-actor-but-i-ve-been-given-a-lot-of/) [Bridget Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-everett/) ## More by May Sinclair > [At the moment you are no longer an observing, reflecting being; you have ceased to be aware of yourself; you exist only in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sinclair/at-the-moment-you-are-no-longer-an-observing-reflecting-being-you/) [May Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sinclair/) > [Knowing reality is knowing that you can't lose it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sinclair/knowing-reality-is-knowing-that-you-can-t-lose-it/) [May Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sinclair/) > [people in great trouble don't change to other people. They only change to themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sinclair/people-in-great-trouble-don-t-change-to-other-people-they-only-change/) [May Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sinclair/) > [For with him the phantoms of the mind (which to the average man are merely phantoms) projected themselves with a bodily vividness and violence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sinclair/for-with-him-the-phantoms-of-the-mind-which-to-the-average-man-are/) [May Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sinclair/) > [when you think you've got hold of a genius ... you can't be sure whether it's a spark of the divine fire or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sinclair/when-you-think-you-ve-got-hold-of-a-genius-you-can-t-be-sure-whether/) [May Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sinclair/) > [The War will leave none of us as it found us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sinclair/the-war-will-leave-none-of-us-as-it-found-us/) [May Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sinclair/) > [“She sewed as she read. For the Vicar considered that sewing was an occupation and that reading was not. He was silent as long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sinclair/she-sewed-as-she-read-for-the-vicar-considered-that-sewing-was-an/) [May Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sinclair/) > [if you don't believe in yourself, you'll have some difficulty in making other people believe in you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sinclair/if-you-don-t-believe-in-yourself-you-ll-have-some-difficulty-in/) [May Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sinclair/) [Explore all 9 May Sinclair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sinclair/) ## More Journalist quotes > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [Music journalists love Elvis Costello and hate me because they look like Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/music-journalists-love-elvis-costello-and-hate-me-because-they-look/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [I realized I couldn't be a journalist because I like to take a side, to have an opinion and a point a view; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/i-realized-i-couldn-t-be-a-journalist-because-i-like-to-take-a-side/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [The official independence celebration was going to be held over four or five days, and a group of journalists from all over the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/the-official-independence-celebration-was-going-to-be-held-over-four/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [This ball was so crowded that it took me - a trained professional journalist with vast experience in this area - forty five minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-ball-was-so-crowded-that-it-took-me-a-trained-professional/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“I’m a journalist, and journalists need news. Deprive them of it, and they go a bit barking. Deprive them of news long enough, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-a-journalist-and-journalists-need-news-deprive-them-of-it-and/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [There's this American pretense, which is the pretense of the journalist with the view from nowhere - which has somehow morphed into the journalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/there-s-this-american-pretense-which-is-the-pretense-of-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [No-deal Brexit could be Boris Johnson's biggest deception yet - worse than the Boris bus or the lies that had him sacked as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-davey/no-deal-brexit-could-be-boris-johnson-s-biggest-deception-yet-worse/) [Ed Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-davey/) > [I never intended to be a journalist. Frankly, I don't think I ever was a journalist. I backed into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-shames/i-never-intended-to-be-a-journalist-frankly-i-don-t-think-i-ever-was/) [Laurence Shames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-shames/) > [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [In the end I'm still a writer. I'm still a journalist, and my first responsibility is to my readers. That's where I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-the-end-i-m-still-a-writer-i-m-still-a-journalist-and-my-first/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Journalists are notoriously easy to kid. 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Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-luce/) > [Like a versatile baller, George Dohrmann swings seamlessly from position to position: investigative journalist, social critic, gifted storyteller. The result is a gem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-jon-wertheim/like-a-versatile-baller-george-dohrmann-swings-seamlessly-from/) [L. Jon Wertheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-jon-wertheim/) [Browse all 1,737 Journalist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And I wasn't a journalist any more than I was a trained nurse.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "May Sinclair" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sinclair/and-i-wasn-t-a-journalist-any-more-than-i-was-a-trained-nurse/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Journalist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sinclair/and-i-wasn-t-a-journalist-any-more-than-i-was-a-trained-nurse/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/may-sinclair-44446_journalist_and-i-wasn-t-a-journalist-any-more-than_1550054.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/may-sinclair-44446_journalist_and-i-wasn-t-a-journalist-any-more-than_1550054.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/may-sinclair-44446_journalist_and-i-wasn-t-a-journalist-any-more-than_1550054.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And I wasn't a journalist any more than I was a trained nurse.” — May Sinclair", "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": "May Sinclair", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sinclair/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "And I wasn't a journalist any...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sinclair/and-i-wasn-t-a-journalist-any-more-than-i-was-a-trained-nurse/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sinclair/and-i-wasn-t-a-journalist-any-more-than-i-was-a-trained-nurse/#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 } } ] } ```