--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I learned I learned on my own. I…" description: "\"What I learned I learned on my own. I didn't have much school. Three years.\" — Pinetop Perkins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/pinetop-perkins-48585_education_what-i-learned-i-learned-on-my-own-i-did_168833.png" --- # What I learned I learned on my own. I didn't have much… ![“What I learned I learned on my own. I didn't have much school. Three years.” quote by Pinetop Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/pinetop-perkins-48585_education_what-i-learned-i-learned-on-my-own-i-did_168833.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/pinetop-perkins-48585_education_what-i-learned-i-learned-on-my-own-i-did_168833.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/pinetop-perkins-48585_education_what-i-learned-i-learned-on-my-own-i-did_168833.png) > “What I learned I learned on my own. I didn't have much school. Three years.” [Pinetop Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pinetop-perkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑directed learning can arise from limited formal education, driven by personal curiosity and perseverance. **In simple terms:** Learning on your own is possible. Key Takeaway Embrace independent study. Themes self‑education perseverance curiosity Mood determined reflective Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - career development - personal projects - skill acquisition - lifelong learning Key Concepts autodidactism intrinsic motivation Questions to Reflect On - How do you fill gaps without formal schooling? - What motivates you to keep learning? A Different Perspective Limited resources may restrict depth of knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [School years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school-years/) ## Related quotes > [I didn’t have much school. Three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinetop-perkins/i-didn-t-have-much-school-three-years/) [Pinetop Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pinetop-perkins/) > [I didn't go to school three years for nothing. It was something that was understood. Even though I went to play baseball, one day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/i-didn-t-go-to-school-three-years-for-nothing-it-was-something-that/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [The teachers I've learned the most from, didn't think they were teaching me; they just thought we were friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/the-teachers-i-ve-learned-the-most-from-didn-t-think-they-were/) [Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/) > [You may wish you knew then what you know now, but remember sometimes... the things you know now were learned from what you didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-amshey/you-may-wish-you-knew-then-what-you-know-now-but-remember-sometimes/) [Terri Amshey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-amshey/) > [Everything important I learned, I learned as a dishwasher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/everything-important-i-learned-i-learned-as-a-dishwasher/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [Those who know are not learned. Those who are learned do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/those-who-know-are-not-learned-those-who-are-learned-do-not-know/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Everything I learned I learned from the movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/everything-i-learned-i-learned-from-the-movies/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [You have learned what you have learned very well. It has helped you survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-satir/you-have-learned-what-you-have-learned-very-well-it-has-helped-you/) [Virginia Satir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-satir/) > [Love must be learned, and learned again; there is no end to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/love-must-be-learned-and-learned-again-there-is-no-end-to-it/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [“If you cannot teach others what you have learned, then you have learned nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balan-gothandaraman/if-you-cannot-teach-others-what-you-have-learned-then-you-have/) [Balan Gothandaraman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balan-gothandaraman/) > [I'm glad I've learned what I've learned when I learned it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonny-lang/i-m-glad-i-ve-learned-what-i-ve-learned-when-i-learned-it/) [Jonny Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonny-lang/) > [The wise are not learned, the learned are not wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-wise-are-not-learned-the-learned-are-not-wise/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [All I have learned, I learned from books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-i-have-learned-i-learned-from-books/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“That the other suffers has to be learned; and it can never be learned fully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/that-the-other-suffers-has-to-be-learned-and-it-can-never-be-learned/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I have learned that I am enough... I have learned that no one else can LOVE ME - FOR ME.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-ward-harrison/i-have-learned-that-i-am-enough-i-have-learned-that-no-one-else-can/) [Sabrina Ward Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-ward-harrison/) ## More by Pinetop Perkins > [I play any piano with a good tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinetop-perkins/i-play-any-piano-with-a-good-tune/) [Pinetop Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pinetop-perkins/) > [I didn’t have much school. Three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinetop-perkins/i-didn-t-have-much-school-three-years/) [Pinetop Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pinetop-perkins/) > [What little family I got is in Mississippi. A whole lot of them died before I left, and my sister died a long time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinetop-perkins/what-little-family-i-got-is-in-mississippi-a-whole-lot-of-them-died/) [Pinetop Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pinetop-perkins/) > [I grew up hard. I picked cotton and plowed with the mule and fixed the cars and played with the guitar and the piano.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinetop-perkins/i-grew-up-hard-i-picked-cotton-and-plowed-with-the-mule-and-fixed-the/) [Pinetop Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pinetop-perkins/) > [I can't play piano like I used to either. I used to have bass rolling like thunder. I can't do that no more. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinetop-perkins/i-can-t-play-piano-like-i-used-to-either-i-used-to-have-bass-rolling/) [Pinetop Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pinetop-perkins/) > [I taught myself off records, Memphis Slim, them old piano players, then added to it. Yeah, hard and loud, beat it to pieces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinetop-perkins/i-taught-myself-off-records-memphis-slim-them-old-piano-players-then/) [Pinetop Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pinetop-perkins/) > [I play blues old-timey style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinetop-perkins/i-play-blues-old-timey-style/) [Pinetop Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pinetop-perkins/) [Explore all 8 Pinetop Perkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pinetop-perkins/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What I learned I learned on my own. I didn't have much school. Three years.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pinetop Perkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinetop-perkins/what-i-learned-i-learned-on-my-own-i-didn-t-have-much-school-three/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinetop-perkins/what-i-learned-i-learned-on-my-own-i-didn-t-have-much-school-three/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/pinetop-perkins-48585_education_what-i-learned-i-learned-on-my-own-i-did_168833.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/pinetop-perkins-48585_education_what-i-learned-i-learned-on-my-own-i-did_168833.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/pinetop-perkins-48585_education_what-i-learned-i-learned-on-my-own-i-did_168833.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What I learned I learned on my own. I didn't have much school. Three years.” — Pinetop Perkins", "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": "Pinetop Perkins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pinetop-perkins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What I learned I learned on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinetop-perkins/what-i-learned-i-learned-on-my-own-i-didn-t-have-much-school-three/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinetop-perkins/what-i-learned-i-learned-on-my-own-i-didn-t-have-much-school-three/#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 } } ] } ```