--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know what I would've done without…" description: "\"I don't know what I would've done without it. I really struggled in school with reading and writing. Art was my refuge - my way of speaking, of dealing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/petra-collins-4546_art_i-don-t-know-what-i-would-ve-done-withou_1387223.jpg" --- # I don't know what I would've done without it. I really… ![“I don't know what I would've done without it. I really struggled in school with reading and writing. Art was my refuge - my way of speaking, of dealing with my own issues and connecting with the world.” quote by Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/petra-collins-4546_art_i-don-t-know-what-i-would-ve-done-withou_1387223.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/petra-collins-4546_art_i-don-t-know-what-i-would-ve-done-withou_1387223.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/petra-collins-4546_art_i-don-t-know-what-i-would-ve-done-withou_1387223.jpg) > “I don't know what I would've done without it. I really struggled in school with reading and writing. Art was my refuge - my way of speaking, of dealing with my own issues and connecting with the world.” [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author credits art as a vital outlet that helped overcome academic struggles and connect emotionally with the world. **In simple terms:** Art served as a personal refuge and communication tool. Key Takeaway Use creative expression to process challenges. Themes education self‑expression resilience Mood inspirational reflective Type motivational therapeutic When to use this quote - school difficulties - personal growth - community projects - mental health support Key Concepts art therapy narrative identity learning styles Questions to Reflect On - How can schools integrate art to support struggling learners? - What personal barriers can art help you overcome? A Different Perspective Art may not replace formal education but complements it. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Refuge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-refuge-4823003/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Connecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connecting/) [Reading and writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-and-writing/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Struggled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggled/) [Struggled School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggled-school-2042140/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-art-307319/) ## Related quotes > [My concern for education in New Mexico has always been there. 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I knew I was never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-booth/i-knew-i-wanted-to-do-something-creative-i-am-dyslexic-so-i-really/) [Douglas Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-booth/) > [Being very dyslexic I couldn't even tie my own shoe laces until the age of 21 and I struggled at school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-sayer/being-very-dyslexic-i-couldn-t-even-tie-my-own-shoe-laces-until-the/) [Leo Sayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-sayer/) > [I really struggled, growing up, with reading and writing. I had a hard time to do that, but I was really passionate about storytelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-hawke/i-really-struggled-growing-up-with-reading-and-writing-i-had-a-hard/) [Maya Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-hawke/) > [From the beginning of puberty, I did really badly in school. I was super dyslexic; I was in special ed. I had a hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/from-the-beginning-of-puberty-i-did-really-badly-in-school-i-was/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [“There’s a difference between the ‘art’ of writing and the ‘craft’ of writing. Art is subjective, its beauty lies in the eyes of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-de-marigny/there-s-a-difference-between-the-art-of-writing-and-the-craft-of/) [Gerard de Marigny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-de-marigny/) > [“Writing and art are my lovers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-stewart/writing-and-art-are-my-lovers/) [Edna Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-stewart/) > [Writing, the art of communicating thoughts to the mind through the eye, is the great invention of the world...enabling us to converse with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/writing-the-art-of-communicating-thoughts-to-the-mind-through-the-eye/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Writing is the art of repeating oneself without anyone noticing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/writing-is-the-art-of-repeating-oneself-without-anyone-noticing/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe." — Gustave Flaubert”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minnie-estelle-miller/the-art-of-writing-is-the-art-of-discovering-what-you-believe-gustave/) [Minnie Estelle Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minnie-estelle-miller/) > [When I started writing about art, there were no curators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waldemar-januszczak/when-i-started-writing-about-art-there-were-no-curators/) [Waldemar Januszczak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waldemar-januszczak/) > [I'm not sure sports writing is an art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-knight/i-m-not-sure-sports-writing-is-an-art/) [Bobby Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-knight/) > [“Writing is also an art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-mullo/writing-is-also-an-art/) [Marc Mullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-mullo/) > [Writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/writing-is-the-art-of-applying-the-ass-to-the-seat/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## More by Petra Collins > [Success doesn't happen overnight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/success-doesn-t-happen-overnight/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [When you see stories about women that aren't being told by women, it can make you feel like you don't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/when-you-see-stories-about-women-that-aren-t-being-told-by-women-it/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [With social media and all the new technology, there's just more interfaces around and reminders to constantly be working on our body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/with-social-media-and-all-the-new-technology-there-s-just-more/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [Just being with a group of girls and experiencing sadness together - it's a pretty powerful thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/just-being-with-a-group-of-girls-and-experiencing-sadness-together-it/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [I remember being 12 or 13 and reading 'Seventeen' and 'CosmoGirl.' They were all about self-improvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/i-remember-being-12-or-13-and-reading-seventeen-and-cosmogirl-they/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [I'm used to seeing women being degraded, slut shamed, harassed for what they look like. Even the most powerful women in the world are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/i-m-used-to-seeing-women-being-degraded-slut-shamed-harassed-for-what/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [My mom had been a script supervisor in Hungary, but you can't just jump into that in Canada without knowing any English. 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Specifically with women, they kind of only exist between the age of 15 to 25.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/there-s-definitely-a-romanticism-of-youth-like-everywhere/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [Hashtag activism is a catalyst, but things have to actually happen in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/hashtag-activism-is-a-catalyst-but-things-have-to-actually-happen-in/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [Social media has been such a big important thing for young artists and minorities because it's a community to get noticed. It's having an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/social-media-has-been-such-a-big-important-thing-for-young-artists/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [I'm either working or I'm lying in bed the entire day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/i-m-either-working-or-i-m-lying-in-bed-the-entire-day/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [The selfie is a powerful tool, but it can also be dangerous, and I am fascinated with the process of it because there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/the-selfie-is-a-powerful-tool-but-it-can-also-be-dangerous-and-i-am/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [I look for subjects who have stories to tell - who are looking to tell something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/i-look-for-subjects-who-have-stories-to-tell-who-are-looking-to-tell/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [It's so important for women to create images of women - or any group, at that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/it-s-so-important-for-women-to-create-images-of-women-or-any-group-at/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) [Explore all 109 Petra Collins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. 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