--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Without willing it, I had gone from being…" description: "\"Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being aware. And the worst part of my awareness was that I didn'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/maya-angelou-104_awareness_without-willing-it-i-had-gone-from-being_829052.png" --- # Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of… ![“Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being aware. And the worst part of my awareness was that I didn't know what I was aware of. I knew I knew very little, but I was certain that the things I had yet to learn wouldn't be taught to me at George…” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/maya-angelou-104_awareness_without-willing-it-i-had-gone-from-being_829052.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/maya-angelou-104_awareness_without-willing-it-i-had-gone-from-being_829052.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/maya-angelou-104_awareness_without-willing-it-i-had-gone-from-being_829052.png) > “Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being aware. And the worst part of my awareness was that I didn't know what I was aware of. I knew I knew very little, but I was certain that the things I had yet to learn wouldn't be taught to me at George Washington High School.” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Awareness can be recursive: realizing one's ignorance leads to deeper insight, yet also reveals unknown unknowns. **In simple terms:** Knowing you know little opens deeper learning. Key Takeaway Embrace humility to discover more. Themes learning self‑awareness humility Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - classroom discussions - personal reflection - mentorship programs Key Concepts metacognition epistemic humility Questions to Reflect On - What unknowns are you avoiding? - How can you turn uncertainty into growth? A Different Perspective Self‑knowledge can be unsettling and paralyzing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Being ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-ignorant/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) ## Related quotes > [“Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being aware. And the worst part of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/without-willing-it-i-had-gone-from-being-ignorant-of-being-ignorant/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being unaware. And the worst part of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/without-willing-it-i-had-gone-from-being-ignorant-of-being-ignorant-3/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I didn't want you to notice that I noticed you not wanting you to notice. You think I don't know your existence because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emerah-marie/i-didn-t-want-you-to-notice-that-i-noticed-you-not-wanting-you-to/) [Emerah Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emerah-marie/) > [I didn't know what I knew. I wasn't aware of what I knew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-didn-t-know-what-i-knew-i-wasn-t-aware-of-what-i-knew/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [Since an early age I was taught to be very politically aware and knew from childhood that the process was something I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rickitt/since-an-early-age-i-was-taught-to-be-very-politically-aware-and-knew/) [Adam Rickitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rickitt/) > [Well, I think first of all there was a failure to have real, clear information at our disposal. 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If we ask it, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose/we-ask-for-what-reason-our-lord-was-unwilling-to-state-the-time-of/) [Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose/) > [When someone refuses to tell me a certain piece of information, it only makes me that much more determined to find out the truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/when-someone-refuses-to-tell-me-a-certain-piece-of-information-it/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [I have been accused of being ignorant of economics (although I am the founder and Chairman of the Board of a company which publishes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-demause/i-have-been-accused-of-being-ignorant-of-economics-although-i-am-the/) [Lloyd deMause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-demause/) > [Vietnam was an exercise in mistaken idealism Iraq in cynical money-making. And there's no optimism or idealism now -- Americans are tired of knowledge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/vietnam-was-an-exercise-in-mistaken-idealism-iraq-in-cynical-money/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. 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Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Awareness quotes > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. 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It should be obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-know-the-importance-of-highly-trained-awareness-of-the-moment-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/it-is-not-so-much-about-fighting-against-the-ego-it-is-more-about/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [I'm part of a team that raises millions of dollars and raises awareness of HIV and AIDS all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-evangelista/i-m-part-of-a-team-that-raises-millions-of-dollars-and-raises/) [Linda Evangelista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-evangelista/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. 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