--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I grew up wanting only to be an…" description: "\"I grew up wanting only to be an illustrator. I studied art at Laurel School in Cleveland and at Smith College.\" — Natalie Babbitt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/natalie-babbitt-7335_art_i-grew-up-wanting-only-to-be-an-illustra_2816673.jpg" --- # I grew up wanting only to be an illustrator. I studied art… ![“I grew up wanting only to be an illustrator. I studied art at Laurel School in Cleveland and at Smith College.” quote by Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/natalie-babbitt-7335_art_i-grew-up-wanting-only-to-be-an-illustra_2816673.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/natalie-babbitt-7335_art_i-grew-up-wanting-only-to-be-an-illustra_2816673.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/natalie-babbitt-7335_art_i-grew-up-wanting-only-to-be-an-illustra_2816673.jpg) > “I grew up wanting only to be an illustrator. I studied art at Laurel School in Cleveland and at Smith College.” [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator recounts an early passion for illustration, detailing formal art education at two institutions, highlighting a lifelong commitment to creative pursuits. **In simple terms:** She always wanted to illustrate and studied art at two schools. Key Takeaway Pursue your creative passion through dedicated learning. Themes art education career creativity Mood inspirational thoughtful Type personal career When to use this quote - art school - career planning - creative practice - skill building Key Concepts visual storytelling personal development Questions to Reflect On - How important is formal training for artistic success? - What alternative routes can nurture creativity? A Different Perspective The focus on formal education may undervalue self‑taught pathways. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Cleveland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleveland/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) ## Related quotes > [My husband wrote the story for my first book, but then he didn't want to do that anymore. So if I was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/my-husband-wrote-the-story-for-my-first-book-but-then-he-didn-t-want/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [I never wanted to be a writer. I wanted to be a book illustrator. I used to hurry home from school and draw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/i-never-wanted-to-be-a-writer-i-wanted-to-be-a-book-illustrator-i/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [I studied art history and philosophy and took economics and political science classes. I just took whatever I wanted and I didn't worry about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-studied-art-history-and-philosophy-and-took-economics-and-political/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [I would have been an artist, because I studied art and history in school and college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gauri-khan/i-would-have-been-an-artist-because-i-studied-art-and-history-in/) [Gauri Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gauri-khan/) > [“I have studied the art of the ancients and the art of the moderns, avoiding any preconceived system and without prejudice. I no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-courbet/i-have-studied-the-art-of-the-ancients-and-the-art-of-the-moderns/) [Gustave Courbet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-courbet/) > [The visual information of art history is going to students seamlessly, without the enormous trouble those of us who are older had when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nelson/the-visual-information-of-art-history-is-going-to-students-seamlessly/) [Robert Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nelson/) > [I haven't studied art and I haven't studied typography, but I've still gone out and done it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-haven-t-studied-art-and-i-haven-t-studied-typography-but-i-ve-still/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I studied art at Queens College, taking very few courses in literature. But I've always loved reading poetry and grew up enjoying the so-called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-florian/i-studied-art-at-queens-college-taking-very-few-courses-in-literature/) [Douglas Florian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-florian/) > [What I loved about wrestling was just being foolish, so I studied clown. I studied clown. I studied the art of clown. I actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-lynch/what-i-loved-about-wrestling-was-just-being-foolish-so-i-studied/) [Becky Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-lynch/) > [ Between 18 and 19 years old \[in the 1950s\] I came to Paris. I studied art. And that experience really did change my life.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-redford/between-18-and-19-years-old-in-the-1950s-i-came-to-paris-i-studied/) [Robert Redford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-redford/) > [I studied art just short of the level where you can earn a degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pj-harvey/i-studied-art-just-short-of-the-level-where-you-can-earn-a-degree/) [PJ Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pj-harvey/) > [Certainly, in college, I had no idea what I wanted to do, I studied art history and had a great time, but I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ells/certainly-in-college-i-had-no-idea-what-i-wanted-to-do-i-studied-art/) [Steve Ells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ells/) > [But I studied art in Belgium from the age of 17 to 18, and I learned French when I was there. Very reluctantly so.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-polachek/but-i-studied-art-in-belgium-from-the-age-of-17-to-18-and-i-learned/) [Caroline Polachek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-polachek/) > [As a working-class girl, receiving free school dinners, I studied art history. Having never had the chance to visit art galleries, I devoured the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/as-a-working-class-girl-receiving-free-school-dinners-i-studied-art/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [“I tried everything. I moved a thousand miles away from home to Chicago and a new environment. I studied art; I desperately endeavored to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/i-tried-everything-i-moved-a-thousand-miles-away-from-home-to-chicago/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) ## More by Natalie Babbitt > [Like all magnificent things, it's very simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/like-all-magnificent-things-it-s-very-simple/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [“He knows you?” said Mae, her frown deepening. “But you didn’t call out to him, child. Why not?” “I was too scared to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/he-knows-you-said-mae-her-frown-deepening-but-you-didn-t-call-out-to/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [“He wasn't crazy. How could he be? He was just -- amazing. But she was struck dumb. All she could do was stare at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/he-wasn-t-crazy-how-could-he-be-he-was-just-amazing-but-she-was/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [My mother was an artist, and I was fairly good at art as a child. I was always the best drawer in class, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/my-mother-was-an-artist-and-i-was-fairly-good-at-art-as-a-child-i-was/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [Do not fear death... only the unlived life. You don't have to live forever; You just have to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/do-not-fear-death-only-the-unlived-life-you-don-t-have-to-live/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [“You can't have living without dying. So you can't call it living, what we got. We just are, we just be, like rocks beside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/you-can-t-have-living-without-dying-so-you-can-t-call-it-living-what/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [“I’m not exactly sure what I’d do, you know, but something interesting—something that’s all mine. Something that would make some kind of difference in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/i-m-not-exactly-sure-what-i-d-do-you-know-but-something-interesting/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [“Miles said softly, “Ma. We’ll get you out right away.” “Sure, Ma,” said Jesse. “Don’t worry about me none,” said Mae in the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/miles-said-softly-ma-we-ll-get-you-out-right-away-sure-ma-said-jesse/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [But dying's part of the wheel, right there next to being born. You can't pick out the pieces you like and leave the rest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/but-dying-s-part-of-the-wheel-right-there-next-to-being-born-you-can/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [“There’s a pretty good old rowboat. I’ll take you out for a row after supper.” “No, I will,” said Jesse. “Let me . I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/there-s-a-pretty-good-old-rowboat-i-ll-take-you-out-for-a-row-after/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [Don't be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. You don't have to live forever, you just have to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/don-t-be-afraid-of-death-be-afraid-of-an-unlived-life-you-don-t-have/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [Readers are lucky - they will never be bored or lonely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/readers-are-lucky-they-will-never-be-bored-or-lonely/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [“...with white dawns and glaring moons, and sunsets smeared with too much color.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/with-white-dawns-and-glaring-moons-and-sunsets-smeared-with-too-much/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [in reading ... stories, you can be many different people in many different places, doing things you would never have a chance to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/in-reading-stories-you-can-be-many-different-people-in-many-different/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [Time is like a wheel. Turning and turning - never stopping. And the woods are the center; the hub of the wheel. It began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/time-is-like-a-wheel-turning-and-turning-never-stopping-and-the-woods/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) [Explore all 90 Natalie Babbitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I grew up wanting only to be an illustrator. I studied art at Laurel School in Cleveland and at Smith College.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Natalie Babbitt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/i-grew-up-wanting-only-to-be-an-illustrator-i-studied-art-at-laurel/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/i-grew-up-wanting-only-to-be-an-illustrator-i-studied-art-at-laurel/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/natalie-babbitt-7335_art_i-grew-up-wanting-only-to-be-an-illustra_2816673.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/natalie-babbitt-7335_art_i-grew-up-wanting-only-to-be-an-illustra_2816673.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/natalie-babbitt-7335_art_i-grew-up-wanting-only-to-be-an-illustra_2816673.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I grew up wanting only to be an illustrator. I studied art at Laurel School in Cleveland and at Smith College.” — Natalie Babbitt", "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": "Natalie Babbitt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I grew up wanting only to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/i-grew-up-wanting-only-to-be-an-illustrator-i-studied-art-at-laurel/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/i-grew-up-wanting-only-to-be-an-illustrator-i-studied-art-at-laurel/#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 } } ] } ```