--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was raised as an upper-class WASP in…" description: "\"I was raised as an upper-class WASP in New England, and there was this old tradition there that everyone would simply be guided into the right way afte..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/spalding-gray-16991_after_i-was-raised-as-an-upper-class-wasp-in-n_2814869.jpg" --- # I was raised as an upper-class WASP in New England, and… ![“I was raised as an upper-class WASP in New England, and there was this old tradition there that everyone would simply be guided into the right way after Ivy League college and onward and upward. And it rejected me, I rejected it, and I ended up as a kind of refugee, really.” quote by Spalding Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/spalding-gray-16991_after_i-was-raised-as-an-upper-class-wasp-in-n_2814869.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/spalding-gray-16991_after_i-was-raised-as-an-upper-class-wasp-in-n_2814869.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/spalding-gray-16991_after_i-was-raised-as-an-upper-class-wasp-in-n_2814869.jpg) > “I was raised as an upper-class WASP in New England, and there was this old tradition there that everyone would simply be guided into the right way after Ivy League college and onward and upward. And it rejected me, I rejected it, and I ended up as a kind of refugee, really.” [Spalding Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spalding-gray/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator felt alienated from privileged expectations, choosing an unconventional path. **In simple terms:** He rejected elite expectations and became a societal outsider. Key Takeaway Embrace authentic self over imposed routes. Themes identity class rebellion Mood reflective melancholic Type autobiographical philosophical When to use this quote - career choice - family expectations - social mobility - self‑discovery Key Concepts social norms personal freedom cultural expectations Questions to Reflect On - What defines success for you? - How can you honor your roots while forging a new path? A Different Perspective Societal pressure can limit personal growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) [Ivy league](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ivy-league/) [New england](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-england/) [Onward and upward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/onward-and-upward/) [Refugee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refugee/) [Right way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-way/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Upper class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upper-class/) [Wasp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasp/) ## Related quotes > [It is certainly good to have fans but I am always focusing on the next thing and continuing to do good work. Onward and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-magaro/it-is-certainly-good-to-have-fans-but-i-am-always-focusing-on-the/) John Magaro > [Onward and Upward! To Narnia and the North!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/onward-and-upward-to-narnia-and-the-north/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Onward and upward has been replaced by forward and toward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-winkle-giulioni/onward-and-upward-has-been-replaced-by-forward-and-toward/) [Julie Winkle Giulioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-winkle-giulioni/) > [“Judaism, again, was rejected when it rejected the Messiah.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henry-newman/judaism-again-was-rejected-when-it-rejected-the-messiah/) [John Henry Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henry-newman/) > [The next time you feel rejection's sting, remember God's words to Samuel: "It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/the-next-time-you-feel-rejection-s-sting-remember-god-s-words-to/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I get mad at people who talk about traumatic job interviews, about going on one and getting rejected. 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He was once more, just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/excelsior-gansey-said-bleakly-blue-asked-what-does-that-even-mean/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [Those who think of freedom in this country as one long, broad path leading ever onward and upward are dead damned wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/those-who-think-of-freedom-in-this-country-as-one-long-broad-path/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) ## More by Spalding Gray > [When Mom had her first nervous breakdown, she said she had a vision of Christ coming to her in the living room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spalding-gray/when-mom-had-her-first-nervous-breakdown-she-said-she-had-a-vision-of/) [Spalding Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spalding-gray/) > [“It could drive you mad to wake up to the fact that your whole life has been about chasing some false goal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spalding-gray/it-could-drive-you-mad-to-wake-up-to-the-fact-that-your-whole-life/) [Spalding Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spalding-gray/) > [“And in this role (the Stage Manager) I could speak from my heart, you know!…provided I can memorize the lines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spalding-gray/and-in-this-role-the-stage-manager-i-could-speak-from-my-heart-you/) [Spalding Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spalding-gray/) > [How theraputic it is to surrond yourself with people stranger than yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spalding-gray/how-theraputic-it-is-to-surrond-yourself-with-people-stranger-than/) [Spalding Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spalding-gray/) > [I was darkly convinced that at age 52 I would kill myself because my mother committed suicide at that age. 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Don't set your heart on anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses/no-lusting-after-your-neighbor-s-house-or-wife-or-servant-or-maid-or/) [Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses/) > [After I finished college, I got a job on Wall Street as a derivatives trader, but after a couple years of it, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/after-i-finished-college-i-got-a-job-on-wall-street-as-a-derivatives/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [Markets are designed to allow individuals to look after their private needs and to pursue profit. It's really a great invention and I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/markets-are-designed-to-allow-individuals-to-look-after-their-private/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [I have a lot of success and make a good living, but after while, you start going 'Why? Why are you doing all this?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyra-banks/i-have-a-lot-of-success-and-make-a-good-living-but-after-while-you/) [Tyra Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyra-banks/) > [See to do good, and you will find that happiness will run after you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-freeman-clarke/see-to-do-good-and-you-will-find-that-happiness-will-run-after-you/) [James Freeman Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-freeman-clarke/) > [I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. 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