--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By the time I reached high school my…" description: "\"By the time I reached high school my father's grocery store had made our life adequately comfortable and I was able to choose, without any practical en..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/sidney-altman-30183_able_by-the-time-i-reached-high-school-my-fat_2342241.jpg" --- # By the time I reached high school my father's grocery… ![“By the time I reached high school my father's grocery store had made our life adequately comfortable and I was able to choose, without any practical encumbrances, the subjects that I wanted to pursue in college.” quote by Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/sidney-altman-30183_able_by-the-time-i-reached-high-school-my-fat_2342241.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/sidney-altman-30183_able_by-the-time-i-reached-high-school-my-fat_2342241.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/sidney-altman-30183_able_by-the-time-i-reached-high-school-my-fat_2342241.jpg) > “By the time I reached high school my father's grocery store had made our life adequately comfortable and I was able to choose, without any practical encumbrances, the subjects that I wanted to pursue in college.” [Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-altman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reflects that his father's successful grocery store gave him financial security, allowing him to freely choose his college major without monetary pressure. **In simple terms:** Financial security let him pick his studies freely. Key Takeaway Use your resources to pursue true interests. Themes financial freedom education choice family support Mood grateful reflective Type personal reflective When to use this quote - college selection - career counseling - financial planning - family business decisions Key Concepts socioeconomic status autonomy career planning Questions to Reflect On - How does financial security shape your educational decisions? - What would you choose if money were not a factor? A Different Perspective If resources are limited, choices may still be constrained. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Grocery store](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grocery-store/) [Grocery stores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grocery-stores/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I moved to L.A. and really didn't dig living there until I found places like Koreatown and Little Tokyo. 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If I want to know something, I just go to the grocery store.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-meyer/i-tell-everyone-that-i-have-25-000-assistant-coaches-if-i-want-to/) [Don Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-meyer/) > [When I walk into a grocery store and look at all the products you can choose, I say, "My God!" No king ever had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/when-i-walk-into-a-grocery-store-and-look-at-all-the-products-you-can/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The local grocery store was a gathering, a community place. You knew the owner, if you didn't have any money they'd let you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-local-grocery-store-was-a-gathering-a-community-place-you-knew/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I think that if you haven't been to the grocery store in a really long time, it's really easy to get very out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zooey-deschanel/i-think-that-if-you-haven-t-been-to-the-grocery-store-in-a-really/) [Zooey Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zooey-deschanel/) > [I don't believe government should take over, you know, the grocery store down the street or own the means of production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-don-t-believe-government-should-take-over-you-know-the-grocery/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Once you've reached the point where you can pay rent, you can go to the vet and you can go to the grocery store,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-zellweger/once-you-ve-reached-the-point-where-you-can-pay-rent-you-can-go-to/) [Renee Zellweger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-zellweger/) > [Do you work at the grocery store? Then why are you checking me out?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisi-harrison/do-you-work-at-the-grocery-store-then-why-are-you-checking-me-out/) [Lisi Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisi-harrison/) > [Simon shook his head."Look,do you know what you want to eat,or do you just want me to keep pushing this cart up and down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/simon-shook-his-head-look-do-you-know-what-you-want-to-eat-or-do-you/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Don't send a man to the grocery store.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-robertson/don-t-send-a-man-to-the-grocery-store/) Jeanne Robertson > [You know, I lose patience really easily; I'd rather shop in the grocery store than in the department store. I can pick an apple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-simmons/you-know-i-lose-patience-really-easily-i-d-rather-shop-in-the-grocery/) [Gail Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-simmons/) > [Makes no matter if I'm performing in a grocery store, you're always gonna get 150%.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-griffin/makes-no-matter-if-i-m-performing-in-a-grocery-store-you-re-always/) [Eddie Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-griffin/) > [But come on, like she hadn't seen every aisle in his grocery store already?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/but-come-on-like-she-hadn-t-seen-every-aisle-in-his-grocery-store/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) ## More by Sidney Altman > [We are very fortunate to be recognized here in such an extraordinary manner for work that we enjoy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-altman/we-are-very-fortunate-to-be-recognized-here-in-such-an-extraordinary/) [Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-altman/) > [My intention was to enroll at McGill University but an unexpected series of events led me to study physics at the Massachusetts Institute of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-altman/my-intention-was-to-enroll-at-mcgill-university-but-an-unexpected/) [Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-altman/) > [Eight months later, having left Columbia, I was studying physics in a summer program and working in Colorado when I decided to enroll as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-altman/eight-months-later-having-left-columbia-i-was-studying-physics-in-a/) [Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-altman/) > [I was born in Montreal in 1939, the second son of poor immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-altman/i-was-born-in-montreal-in-1939-the-second-son-of-poor-immigrants/) [Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-altman/) > [For our immediate family and relatives, Canada was a land of opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-altman/for-our-immediate-family-and-relatives-canada-was-a-land-of/) [Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-altman/) > [We are united in the hope that every individual will someday enjoy at least the intellectual privileges we have had, if not always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-altman/we-are-united-in-the-hope-that-every-individual-will-someday-enjoy-at/) [Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-altman/) > [The mystique associated with the bomb, the role that scientists played in it, and its general importance could not fail to impress even a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-altman/the-mystique-associated-with-the-bomb-the-role-that-scientists-played/) [Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-altman/) > [I should mention that while I was growing up, Einstein was presented as a worthy role model for a young boy who was good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-altman/i-should-mention-that-while-i-was-growing-up-einstein-was-presented/) [Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-altman/) > [The RNA World referred to an hypothetical stage in the origin of life on Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-altman/the-rna-world-referred-to-an-hypothetical-stage-in-the-origin-of-life/) [Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-altman/) > [“All the people who do well work very hard. 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