--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My recent retirement from full-time…" description: "\"My recent retirement from full-time teaching to the status of research professor at University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) encouraged me to come..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_barbara_my-recent-retirement-from-full-time-teac_912782.png" --- # My recent retirement from full-time teaching to the status… ![“My recent retirement from full-time teaching to the status of research professor at University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) encouraged me to come out, so to speak.” quote by Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_barbara_my-recent-retirement-from-full-time-teac_912782.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_barbara_my-recent-retirement-from-full-time-teac_912782.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_barbara_my-recent-retirement-from-full-time-teac_912782.png) > “My recent retirement from full-time teaching to the status of research professor at University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) encouraged me to come out, so to speak.” [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Retirement from teaching opened space for research identity, encouraging openness about personal and professional evolution. **In simple terms:** Leaving teaching allowed me to focus on research and self‑expression. Key Takeaway Embrace career shifts as opportunities for growth. Themes career transition identity openness Mood hopeful introspective Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - academic conferences - publishing - mentoring - life planning Key Concepts research focus personal authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What new possibilities does your current role offer? - How can you maintain connections to your teaching roots? A Different Perspective Changing roles can feel risky and may involve loss of familiar community. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Barbara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbara/) [California](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Professor University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professor-university-1350285/) [Professors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professors/) [Recent Retirement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recent-retirement-1350284/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Research Professor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research-professor-1350286/) [Retirement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retirement/) [Santa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/santa/) [Santa barbara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/santa-barbara/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Teaching Status](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching-status-1350287/) [Ucsb Encouraged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ucsb-encouraged-1350283/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) ## Related quotes > [A few years ago I met an old professor at the University of Notre Dame. Looking back on his long life of teaching, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/a-few-years-ago-i-met-an-old-professor-at-the-university-of-notre/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [This distraction is what one wants, which is very, very bad for the muse, because the muse hates not being in the line of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/this-distraction-is-what-one-wants-which-is-very-very-bad-for-the/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [I stand with the Santa Barbara News-Press. How about you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-malkin/i-stand-with-the-santa-barbara-news-press-how-about-you/) [Michelle Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-malkin/) > [“Sam Temple was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Los Angeles, where there were specialists there in burn injuries. He wasn’t consulted: he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/sam-temple-was-taken-by-helicopter-to-a-hospital-in-los-angeles-where/) [Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/) > [My family was lower middle class, and my parents both worked, so we couldn't take proper vacations. We'd go for three days to Santa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-shearer/my-family-was-lower-middle-class-and-my-parents-both-worked-so-we/) [Harry Shearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-shearer/) > [My parents moved to American Samoa when I was three or four years old. My dad was principal of a high school there. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/my-parents-moved-to-american-samoa-when-i-was-three-or-four-years-old/) [Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/) > [Just as there are many more Californians now to be found in the temples of Kyoto or the villages of Bali or the mountains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/just-as-there-are-many-more-californians-now-to-be-found-in-the/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Thirty years ago, my sister, Gale (so named because a gale hit Boston Harbor the night she was born), some friends and I stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/thirty-years-ago-my-sister-gale-so-named-because-a-gale-hit-boston/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [I don't trust Santa Barbara as far as I can spit. I am afraid that if I went back there, it's possible that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-quaid/i-don-t-trust-santa-barbara-as-far-as-i-can-spit-i-am-afraid-that-if/) [Randy Quaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-quaid/) > [In 1995, I had been chosen to make a short presentation about the state of the TV business at a company retreat in Santa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-walden/in-1995-i-had-been-chosen-to-make-a-short-presentation-about-the/) [Dana Walden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-walden/) > [Santa Barbara is a paradise; Disneyland is a paradise; the U.S. is a paradise. Paradise is just paradise. Mournful, monotonous, and superficial though it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/santa-barbara-is-a-paradise-disneyland-is-a-paradise-the-u-s-is-a/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [When I was in college, I wanted to be editor of 'Reason' when I grew up. It was an impractical ambition, especially since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/when-i-was-in-college-i-wanted-to-be-editor-of-reason-when-i-grew-up/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [There's one Baldessari work I genuinely love and would like to own, maybe because of my Midwestern roots and love of driving alone. 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/there-s-one-baldessari-work-i-genuinely-love-and-would-like-to-own/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Work takes me away from my wife, Sue, and my life in Santa Barbara.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bridges/work-takes-me-away-from-my-wife-sue-and-my-life-in-santa-barbara/) [Jeff Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bridges/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) ## More by Shirley Geok-lin Lim > [Now that I'm more middle class, I have access to consumer goods. I do enjoy feminine frippery, feminine doo-da, stuff like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/now-that-i-m-more-middle-class-i-have-access-to-consumer-goods-i-do/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [The poem might come to you as you're preparing to teach a lecture, right? And when you say, "no" to that occasion, that poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/the-poem-might-come-to-you-as-you-re-preparing-to-teach-a-lecture/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Once you stop talking about the female body empowering itself vis-à-vis male forays or invasions or male demands or the necessity to respond to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/once-you-stop-talking-about-the-female-body-empowering-itself-vis-vis/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [I have a muse who's very powerful, but I'm still a hopeless deadbeat of a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-have-a-muse-who-s-very-powerful-but-i-m-still-a-hopeless-deadbeat/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Free verse is chained in sentence-to-sentence links and breaks free in line breaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/free-verse-is-chained-in-sentence-to-sentence-links-and-breaks-free/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [ I feel compassionate, because I know \[students\] all have to go down this road of suffering and it's going to be tough. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-feel-compassionate-because-i-know-students-all-have-to-go-down-this/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Even after the mothering dropped because my son grew up, the writing - the muse - was always the third wheel, the lowest on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/even-after-the-mothering-dropped-because-my-son-grew-up-the-writing/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [If you've been in a symbolic struggle long enough, even when the struggle is over, you don't know it's over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/if-you-ve-been-in-a-symbolic-struggle-long-enough-even-when-the/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > ["I want to be always happy," Maxine Hong Kingston announces . But, as this interview makes clear, for me, it was the desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-want-to-be-always-happy-maxine-hong-kingston-announces-but-as-this/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [I'm in my 60s, and a cancer scare just makes you more aware of mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-m-in-my-60s-and-a-cancer-scare-just-makes-you-more-aware-of/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Crows appear in many of my new unpublished poems. In these walks, they take on a symbolic life apart from their irritating, undeniable, interruptive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/crows-appear-in-many-of-my-new-unpublished-poems-in-these-walks-they/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [People called me a tomboy. That was the term used then. I was very much someone who was comfortable in male clothing, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/people-called-me-a-tomboy-that-was-the-term-used-then-i-was-very-much/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [I'm much more comfortable in pants and shirts, running around. There was a typical construction about womanhood when I was growing up that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-m-much-more-comfortable-in-pants-and-shirts-running-around-there/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [I have some weak poems in that new collection, which is why I'm not ready to send the collection out yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-have-some-weak-poems-in-that-new-collection-which-is-why-i-m-not/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [If I could write a novel while I'm walking, I probably would.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/if-i-could-write-a-novel-while-i-m-walking-i-probably-would/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) [Explore all 137 Shirley Geok-lin Lim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) ## More Barbara quotes > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Work takes me away from my wife, Sue, and my life in Santa Barbara.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bridges/work-takes-me-away-from-my-wife-sue-and-my-life-in-santa-barbara/) [Jeff Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bridges/) > [I admire the Elsie Tanners and Barbara Windsors of the world: people who have crawled back from the abyss. I'm quite camp in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-eclair/i-admire-the-elsie-tanners-and-barbara-windsors-of-the-world-people/) [Jenny Eclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-eclair/) > [I had never done a Director's Cut narration on Beaches so I did in time for the release of the DVD. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-marshall/i-had-never-done-a-director-s-cut-narration-on-beaches-so-i-did-in/) [Garry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-marshall/) > [I like to use the hyaluronic acid by Dr. Barbara Sturm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-rowe/i-like-to-use-the-hyaluronic-acid-by-dr-barbara-sturm/) [Camille Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-rowe/) > [As Barbara Streisand discovered, adopting a militaristic posture against a tech-savvy mob of civil libertarians is not going to be of much help: Many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/as-barbara-streisand-discovered-adopting-a-militaristic-posture/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [The postmodern reply to the modern consists of recognizing that the past, since it cannot really be destroyed, because its destruction leads to silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-postmodern-reply-to-the-modern-consists-of-recognizing-that-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There's one Baldessari work I genuinely love and would like to own, maybe because of my Midwestern roots and love of driving alone. 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/there-s-one-baldessari-work-i-genuinely-love-and-would-like-to-own/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [I know I'm going to have to get beyond being George H.W. Bush's son and Barbara's son -- for which I'm really proud. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/i-know-i-m-going-to-have-to-get-beyond-being-george-h-w-bush-s-son/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [Throughout her career, Ana Barbara has cultivated endless hits; each of her albums was a true musical surprise... this is why today she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-barbara/throughout-her-career-ana-barbara-has-cultivated-endless-hits-each-of/) [Ana Barbara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-barbara/) > [I mean, the actors that I admired were Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, an actress named Barbara Harris. And Greta Garbo. They were great actors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-de-niro/i-mean-the-actors-that-i-admired-were-marlon-brando-montgomery-clift/) [Robert De Niro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-de-niro/) > [I've published many biographies over the years and enjoyed working with writers on their research, discussing it, thinking about it and how it revealed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-wilson/i-ve-published-many-biographies-over-the-years-and-enjoyed-working/) [Victoria Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-wilson/) > [When I was in college, I wanted to be editor of 'Reason' when I grew up. It was an impractical ambition, especially since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/when-i-was-in-college-i-wanted-to-be-editor-of-reason-when-i-grew-up/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [I was lucky enough to make four pictures with Barbara. In the first I turned her in, in the second I killed her, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-macmurray/i-was-lucky-enough-to-make-four-pictures-with-barbara-in-the-first-i/) [Fred MacMurray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-macmurray/) > [Barbara Parkins was so rude and petty all of the time. I just found her behavior to be so silly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-wood/barbara-parkins-was-so-rude-and-petty-all-of-the-time-i-just-found/) [Lana Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-wood/) [Browse all 176 Barbara quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbara/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My recent retirement from full-time teaching to the status of research professor at University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) encouraged me to come out, so to speak.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shirley Geok-lin Lim" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/my-recent-retirement-from-full-time-teaching-to-the-status-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Barbara" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/my-recent-retirement-from-full-time-teaching-to-the-status-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_barbara_my-recent-retirement-from-full-time-teac_912782.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_barbara_my-recent-retirement-from-full-time-teac_912782.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_barbara_my-recent-retirement-from-full-time-teac_912782.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My recent retirement from full-time teaching to the status of research professor at University of…” — Shirley Geok-lin Lim", "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": "Shirley Geok-lin Lim", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My recent retirement from full-time teaching...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/my-recent-retirement-from-full-time-teaching-to-the-status-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/my-recent-retirement-from-full-time-teaching-to-the-status-of/#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 } } ] } ```