---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even if a university should turn out to…"
description: "\"Even if a university should turn out to be another version of a school, I had decided I could lose myself afterwards as an anonymous particle of the Lo..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/patrick-white-15190_afterwards_even-if-a-university-should-turn-out-to_1648237.jpg"
---

#  Even if a university should turn out to be another version…

![“Even if a university should turn out to be another version of a school, I had decided I could lose myself afterwards as an anonymous particle of the London I already loved.” quote by Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/patrick-white-15190_afterwards_even-if-a-university-should-turn-out-to_1648237.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/patrick-white-15190_afterwards_even-if-a-university-should-turn-out-to_1648237.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/patrick-white-15190_afterwards_even-if-a-university-should-turn-out-to_1648237.jpg)

> “Even if a university should turn out to be another version of a school, I had decided I could lose myself afterwards as an anonymous particle of the London I already loved.”

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He felt he could become a small, unnoticed part of the city he loved, even if the university felt like just another school.

**In simple terms:** He could blend into the city he adored.

Key Takeaway

Embrace anonymity in familiar places.

Themes

identity city anonymity belonging

Mood

reflective nostalgic

Type

literary personal

When to use this quote

- university life
- city exploration
- personal reflection

Key Concepts

existentialism urbanism

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you seek to disappear or be seen?
- How does anonymity affect your sense of self?

A Different Perspective

Anonymity may limit personal impact.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Afterwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterwards/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anonymous/) [Another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another/) [Could](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/could/) [Decided](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decided/) [Even](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/even/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) [London Loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london-loved-628102/) [Lose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lose/) [Lose Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lose-anonymous-628104/) [Loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loved/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myself/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Particle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particle/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [School Decided](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school-decided-628103/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Turn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turn/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [University Turn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university-turn-628101/) [Version](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/version/)

## Related quotes

> [“People say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Truth is, you knew what you had, you just never thought you’d lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-wild/people-say-you-don-t-know-what-you-ve-got-until-it-s-gone-truth-is-2/)

[Clarissa Wild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-wild/)

> [At school, I decided I wanted to be a director and then I went out and spent the rest of my adult life trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-daldry/at-school-i-decided-i-wanted-to-be-a-director-and-then-i-went-out-and/)

[Stephen Daldry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-daldry/)

> [In the end, auditioning was a big deal. It was a long trip for us. I had to take off school and my parents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-lloyd/in-the-end-auditioning-was-a-big-deal-it-was-a-long-trip-for-us-i-had/)

[Danny Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-lloyd/)

> [I'd be OK if we didn't go back out to London ever again... shout out to everybody in London. I loved the fans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-kelce/i-d-be-ok-if-we-didn-t-go-back-out-to-london-ever-again-shout-out-to/)

[Travis Kelce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-kelce/)

> [“He had achieved indifference to her in London. Why not here, too? But here was where he had loved her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-duran/he-had-achieved-indifference-to-her-in-london-why-not-here-too-but/)

[Meredith Duran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-duran/)

> [I love London. I loved it when I went there in the late '50s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-vaughn/i-love-london-i-loved-it-when-i-went-there-in-the-late-50s/)

[Robert Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-vaughn/)

> [When I first came to London, I loved hanging around in cafes, smoking, scribbling, dreaming. It was life-affirming and fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-capaldi/when-i-first-came-to-london-i-loved-hanging-around-in-cafes-smoking/)

[Peter Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-capaldi/)

> [I loved being in London. But what I loved the most, I think, and what I learned from the most, was about the 'moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-anderson/i-loved-being-in-london-but-what-i-loved-the-most-i-think-and-what-i/)

[Gillian Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-anderson/)

> [I always knew I would come to London. I loved Glasgow, but it seemed filled with echoes of my parents' lives, and sometimes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/i-always-knew-i-would-come-to-london-i-loved-glasgow-but-it-seemed/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [I have a theory that evolutionary biologists are more vain than particle physicists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-ince/i-have-a-theory-that-evolutionary-biologists-are-more-vain-than/)

[Robin Ince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-ince/)

> [We really try to have only one new particle per paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-really-try-to-have-only-one-new-particle-per-paper/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [An elementary particle is not an independently existing, unanalyzable entity. It is, in essence, a set of relationships that reaches outward to other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-stapp/an-elementary-particle-is-not-an-independently-existing-unanalyzable/)

[Henry Stapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-stapp/)

> [That name was a kind of joke, and not a very good one. An author, Leon Lederman, wanted to call it 'that goddamn particle'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-higgs/that-name-was-a-kind-of-joke-and-not-a-very-good-one-an-author-leon/)

[Peter Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-higgs/)

> [The full name of string theory is really superstring theory. The 'super' stands for this feature called supersymmetry, which, without getting into any details,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-full-name-of-string-theory-is-really-superstring-theory-the-super/)

[Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/)

> [“Light is a particle and a wave. This is hard to understand, how a thing can be two things at once. But a woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kalfus/light-is-a-particle-and-a-wave-this-is-hard-to-understand-how-a-thing/)

[Ken Kalfus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kalfus/)

## More by Patrick White

> [“At times his arrogance did resolve itself into simplicity, though it was difficult, especially for strangers, to distinguish these occasions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/at-times-his-arrogance-did-resolve-itself-into-simplicity-though-it/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

> [I developed the habit of writing novels behind a closed door, or at my uncle's, on the dining table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/i-developed-the-habit-of-writing-novels-behind-a-closed-door-or-at-my/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

> [“There are moments when the eyes flow into each other. Then the souls are wrapped around each other across a distance”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/there-are-moments-when-the-eyes-flow-into-each-other-then-the-souls/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

> [“The worst thing about love between human beings is that when you are prepared to love them they don't want it; when they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/the-worst-thing-about-love-between-human-beings-is-that-when-you-are/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

> [In fact I enjoyed every minute of my life at King's, especially the discovery of French and German literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/in-fact-i-enjoyed-every-minute-of-my-life-at-king-s-especially-the/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

> [Because he had nothing to hide, he did perhaps appear to have forfeited a little of his strength. But that is the irony of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/because-he-had-nothing-to-hide-he-did-perhaps-appear-to-have/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

> [She would have liked to sit upon a rock and listen to words, not of any man, but detached, mysterious, poetic words that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/she-would-have-liked-to-sit-upon-a-rock-and-listen-to-words-not-of/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

> [“Superficially my war was a comfortable exercise in futility carried out in a grand Scottish hotel amongst the bridge players and swillers of easy-come-by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/superficially-my-war-was-a-comfortable-exercise-in-futility-carried/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

> [To understand the stars would spoil their appearance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/to-understand-the-stars-would-spoil-their-appearance/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

> [My father and mother were second cousins, though they did not meet till shortly before their marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/my-father-and-mother-were-second-cousins-though-they-did-not-meet/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

> [Then about 1951 I began writing again, painfully, a novel I called in the beginning A Life Sentence on Earth, but which developed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/then-about-1951-i-began-writing-again-painfully-a-novel-i-called-in/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

> [“Where have you been, Theodora?," Mrs Goodman asked. "Walking, Mother." "And whom did you see?" Mrs Goodman flung her grammar like a stone. "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/where-have-you-been-theodora-mrs-goodman-asked-walking-mother-and/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

> [I expect we are all jealous of the women in their past, but how much less exciting if the women had not kept the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/i-expect-we-are-all-jealous-of-the-women-in-their-past-but-how-much/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

> [Probably induced by the asthma, I started reading and writing early on, my literary efforts from the age of about nine running chiefly to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/probably-induced-by-the-asthma-i-started-reading-and-writing-early-on/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

> [“He himself, he realized, had always been most abominably frightened, even at the height of his divine power, a frail god upon a rickety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/he-himself-he-realized-had-always-been-most-abominably-frightened/)

[Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

[Explore all 44 Patrick White quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/)

## More Afterwards quotes

> [I didn't grow up in one of those restrictive Christian households where you couldn't do this or that. We were brought up with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yolanda-adams/i-didn-t-grow-up-in-one-of-those-restrictive-christian-households/)

[Yolanda Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yolanda-adams/)

> [When I work, I'm thinking in terms of purely visual effects and relations, and any verbal equivalent is something that comes afterwards. But it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolph-gottlieb/when-i-work-i-m-thinking-in-terms-of-purely-visual-effects-and/)

[Adolph Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolph-gottlieb/)

> [It's amazing when I do a gig how many people of different ages come up to me afterwards and chat to me about songs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-henderson/it-s-amazing-when-i-do-a-gig-how-many-people-of-different-ages-come/)

[Ella Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-henderson/)

> [I play golf, but sometimes it's so un-relaxing, I have to play tennis to wind down. Now that I think about it, this process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ross/i-play-golf-but-sometimes-it-s-so-un-relaxing-i-have-to-play-tennis/)

[Adam Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ross/)

> [When I play, I'm so in the moment that I can't really remember what happened afterwards. It's a rare experience for a thinking person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lykke-li/when-i-play-i-m-so-in-the-moment-that-i-can-t-really-remember-what/)

[Lykke Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lykke-li/)

> [Professional camera crews are rarely there when a bomb goes off or a rocket lands. They usually show up afterwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/professional-camera-crews-are-rarely-there-when-a-bomb-goes-off-or-a/)

[Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/)

> [I was just so focused on being healthy for my baby during pregnancy, and afterward I was not in a rush to lose the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-miller/i-was-just-so-focused-on-being-healthy-for-my-baby-during-pregnancy/)

[Marisa Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-miller/)

> [You get yourself prepared for a big game, you get yourself up for it. Then afterwards you don't sleep or eat properly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-giggs/you-get-yourself-prepared-for-a-big-game-you-get-yourself-up-for-it/)

[Ryan Giggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-giggs/)

> [I mention this fact as tending to support what I have often heard stated, namely, that a shark's sense of smell is so keen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grey/i-mention-this-fact-as-tending-to-support-what-i-have-often-heard/)

[George Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grey/)

> [Serious drama in a significant degree began at Harvard in the 1880s. In 1881, the Cercle Francais initiated the annual French play, and shortly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-lukas/serious-drama-in-a-significant-degree-began-at-harvard-in-the-1880s/)

[J. Anthony Lukas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-lukas/)

> [Scoring goals is the best feeling you can have. I always look up at the stand for my family straight afterwards; it means everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lampard/scoring-goals-is-the-best-feeling-you-can-have-i-always-look-up-at/)

[Frank Lampard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lampard/)

> [The only thing I find difficult to watch - horror movies - not that I don't like them. Like 'The Shining,' it's one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolaj-coster-waldau/the-only-thing-i-find-difficult-to-watch-horror-movies-not-that-i-don/)

[Nikolaj Coster-Waldau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolaj-coster-waldau/)

> [My usual day is I get up around 11 o'clock and do yoga and then eat afterwards. Then I have sound check and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-franti/my-usual-day-is-i-get-up-around-11-o-clock-and-do-yoga-and-then-eat/)

[Michael Franti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-franti/)

> [Once you walk off the set, if you're an actor, the rest isn't your responsibility, which I like a lot. I'm not responsible for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-kirk/once-you-walk-off-the-set-if-you-re-an-actor-the-rest-isn-t-your/)

[Justin Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-kirk/)

> [Iranians launched their constitutional revolution in 1906 and established their parliament soon afterward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/iranians-launched-their-constitutional-revolution-in-1906-and/)

[Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/)

[Browse all 117 Afterwards quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterwards/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Even if a university should turn out to be another version of a school, I had decided I could lose myself afterwards as an anonymous particle of the London I already loved.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Patrick White"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/even-if-a-university-should-turn-out-to-be-another-version-of-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Afterwards"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/even-if-a-university-should-turn-out-to-be-another-version-of-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/patrick-white-15190_afterwards_even-if-a-university-should-turn-out-to_1648237.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/patrick-white-15190_afterwards_even-if-a-university-should-turn-out-to_1648237.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/patrick-white-15190_afterwards_even-if-a-university-should-turn-out-to_1648237.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Even if a university should turn out to be another version of a school, I had decided I could lose myself…” — Patrick White",
                "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": "Patrick White",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Even if a university should turn...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/even-if-a-university-should-turn-out-to-be-another-version-of-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/even-if-a-university-should-turn-out-to-be-another-version-of-a/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
