---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: During my last year in college I…"
description: "\"“During my last year in college I discovered that I was picking up the mannerisms of Akim Tamiroff, the only useful thing, in fact, that I learned in t..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/walker-percy-1958_last-year_during-my-last-year-in-college-i-discove_622786.png"
---

#  During my last year in college I discovered that I was…

![“During my last year in college I discovered that I was picking up the mannerisms of Akim Tamiroff, the only useful thing, in fact, that I learned in the entire four years.” quote by Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/walker-percy-1958_last-year_during-my-last-year-in-college-i-discove_622786.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/walker-percy-1958_last-year_during-my-last-year-in-college-i-discove_622786.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/walker-percy-1958_last-year_during-my-last-year-in-college-i-discove_622786.png)

> ““During my last year in college I discovered that I was picking up the mannerisms of Akim Tamiroff, the only useful thing, in fact, that I learned in the entire four years.””

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He realized he was imitating a famous actor’s traits, seeing it as the only valuable lesson from college.

**In simple terms:** He learned to copy a famous actor’s habits.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and question the habits you adopt.

Themes

self‑awareness identity learning

Mood

reflective wry

Type

observational humorous

When to use this quote

- college life
- career development
- creative work
- personal reflection

Key Concepts

imitation personal growth role models

Questions to Reflect On

- What habits have you adopted unconsciously?
- Do you value imitation over original thought?

A Different Perspective

The lesson may be too narrow, overlooking broader education.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[College Discovered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-discovered-2676265/) [Last year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-year/) [Mannerisms Akim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mannerisms-akim-5035458/) [Picking Mannerisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picking-mannerisms-5035460/) [Tamiroff Useful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tamiroff-useful-5035459/) [Year College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/year-college-683841/)

## Related quotes

> [I think everyone's intentions are to become a performer at first. But by the time I was in high school and college, I discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/i-think-everyone-s-intentions-are-to-become-a-performer-at-first-but/)

[Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/)

> [I was given an opportunity to do sports in college and get a degree because of it. I ran track for the University of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevante-rhodes/i-was-given-an-opportunity-to-do-sports-in-college-and-get-a-degree/)

[Trevante Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevante-rhodes/)

> [I actually got hurt in a steel factory in 1985 and so that changed my life. I went to a junior college and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corbett/i-actually-got-hurt-in-a-steel-factory-in-1985-and-so-that-changed-my/)

[John Corbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corbett/)

> [At Harvard College, I discovered political philosophy as a way of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cotton/at-harvard-college-i-discovered-political-philosophy-as-a-way-of-life/)

[Tom Cotton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cotton/)

> [When I got to college, I discovered how many incredible opportunities NASA offered students pursuing a career in the space industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-calandrelli/when-i-got-to-college-i-discovered-how-many-incredible-opportunities/)

[Emily Calandrelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-calandrelli/)

> [After I went back to college, I discovered that you could be around intelligent people who don't care if you're a woman. I decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-fuchs/after-i-went-back-to-college-i-discovered-that-you-could-be-around/)

[Jackie Fuchs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-fuchs/)

> [When I was young, I wanted to take a year off from college and come to India but never got a chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonobo/when-i-was-young-i-wanted-to-take-a-year-off-from-college-and-come-to/)

[Bonobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonobo/)

> [I went to one year of college. I only went to class twice a quarter to pass the tests. I thought it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-lindell/i-went-to-one-year-of-college-i-only-went-to-class-twice-a-quarter-to/)

[Mike Lindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-lindell/)

> [I really didn't know how to eat until I studied nutrition in my second year of college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-kim/i-really-didn-t-know-how-to-eat-until-i-studied-nutrition-in-my/)

[Gail Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-kim/)

> [You think you're going to be on TV a year out of college and you're not. Then you tell people and it's embarrassing. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-kroll/you-think-you-re-going-to-be-on-tv-a-year-out-of-college-and-you-re/)

[Nick Kroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-kroll/)

> [If it weren’t for my horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/if-it-weren-t-for-my-horse-i-wouldn-t-have-spent-that-year-in-college/)

[Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/)

> [I studied classical piano from the time I was 4 through my first year of college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lari-white/i-studied-classical-piano-from-the-time-i-was-4-through-my-first-year/)

[Lari White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lari-white/)

> [Behind me, I heard a young woman of 25 say, "If it weren’t for my horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/behind-me-i-heard-a-young-woman-of-25-say-if-it-weren-t-for-my-horse/)

[Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/)

> [I made better friends in a year at college than I did in four during high school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-made-better-friends-in-a-year-at-college-than-i-did-in-four-during/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I did one year of college, so I was only in Lexington for one year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bledsoe/i-did-one-year-of-college-so-i-was-only-in-lexington-for-one-year/)

[Eric Bledsoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bledsoe/)

## More by Walker Percy

> [“Do you know what he told me after lying under a cliff for thirty six hours with two inches of his femur sticking out?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/do-you-know-what-he-told-me-after-lying-under-a-cliff-for-thirty-six/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [Americans are the nicest, most generous, and sentimental people on earth. Yet Americans have killed more unborn children than any nation in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/americans-are-the-nicest-most-generous-and-sentimental-people-on/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [“The real wonder is not that the Cosmos is now seen as wonderful but that it is not. Despite its inconceivable vastness, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/the-real-wonder-is-not-that-the-cosmos-is-now-seen-as-wonderful-but/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [“Ours is the only civilization in history which has enshrined mediocrity as its national ideal. Others have been corrupt, but leave it to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/ours-is-the-only-civilization-in-history-which-has-enshrined/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [ \[In art\] you are telling the reader or the listener or the viewer something he already knows but which he doesn't quite know that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/in-art-you-are-telling-the-reader-or-the-listener-or-the-viewer/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [“People usually told him the same joke two or three times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/people-usually-told-him-the-same-joke-two-or-three-times/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [For the world is broken, sundered, busted down the middle, self ripped from self and man pasted back together as mythical monster, half angel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/for-the-world-is-broken-sundered-busted-down-the-middle-self-ripped/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [Nobody but a Southerner knows the wrenching rinsing sadness of the cities of the North.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/nobody-but-a-southerner-knows-the-wrenching-rinsing-sadness-of-the/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [“For me, all signifiers fit me, one as well as another. I am rascal, hero, craven, brave, treacherous, loyal, at once the secret hero…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/for-me-all-signifiers-fit-me-one-as-well-as-another-i-am-rascal-hero/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [“But the expectation of the self, to be informed in its nothingness--if only I can get out of this old place and into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/but-the-expectation-of-the-self-to-be-informed-in-its-nothingness-if/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [Nothing remains but desire, and desire comes howling down Elysian Fields like a mistral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/nothing-remains-but-desire-and-desire-comes-howling-down-elysian/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [“A variant of the amnesic-plot device is the inadvertent return of the amnesiac to home territory, where he is welcomed by a lovely woman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/a-variant-of-the-amnesic-plot-device-is-the-inadvertent-return-of-the/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [A novel is what you call something that won't sell if you call it poems or short stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/a-novel-is-what-you-call-something-that-won-t-sell-if-you-call-it/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [The search is what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everydayness of his own life. To become aware of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/the-search-is-what-anyone-would-undertake-if-he-were-not-sunk-in-the/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [“Am I, in my search, a hundred miles ahead of my fellow Americans or a hundred miles behind them? That is to say: Have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/am-i-in-my-search-a-hundred-miles-ahead-of-my-fellow-americans-or-a/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

[Explore all 194 Walker Percy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

## More Last year quotes

> [I'd be very controversial if I said why, and I don't do controversial anymore. That's too passé. So last year. Being controversial is boring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-d-be-very-controversial-if-i-said-why-and-i-don-t-do-controversial/)

[M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/)

> [There were times last year when people looked at the scoreboard and thought my batting average was the temperature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-martinez/there-were-times-last-year-when-people-looked-at-the-scoreboard-and/)

[Buck Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-martinez/)

> [I never really look at it past one year. I look at last year and my whole goal is to be a better player…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-williams/i-never-really-look-at-it-past-one-year-i-look-at-last-year-and-my/)

[Trent Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-williams/)

> [Memories seem to surface in no particular order, with no time attached. Yesterday can seem as distant as last year. My life now consists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/memories-seem-to-surface-in-no-particular-order-with-no-time-attached/)

[Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/)

> [So, in the last year, the whole cast sued for release from our contracts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-rettig/so-in-the-last-year-the-whole-cast-sued-for-release-from-our-contracts/)

[Tommy Rettig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-rettig/)

> [ \[Fighting for equality for women\] that's what my mission has been for the last years. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-broadwell/fighting-for-equality-for-women-that-s-what-my-mission-has-been-for/)

[Paula Broadwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-broadwell/)

> [We have reached the point where we can lose a game or two and not drop out of sight in the rankings. I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lavell-edwards/we-have-reached-the-point-where-we-can-lose-a-game-or-two-and-not/)

[LaVell Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lavell-edwards/)

> [Well, as you know, General Motors does not make hybrids. Ford only made 4,000 hybrids last year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-markey/well-as-you-know-general-motors-does-not-make-hybrids-ford-only-made/)

[Ed Markey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-markey/)

> [“The arbutus is now open everywhere in the woods and groves. How pleasant it is to meet the same flowers year after year! If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-fenimore-cooper/the-arbutus-is-now-open-everywhere-in-the-woods-and-groves-how/)

[Susan Fenimore Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-fenimore-cooper/)

> [Astrology is knocking at the gates of our universities: A Tübingen professor has switched over to astrology and a course on astrology was given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/astrology-is-knocking-at-the-gates-of-our-universities-a-t-bingen/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

> [The terrorists who committed the 2003 Istanbul attacks were locals, that is, Turks. And when filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered in the Netherlands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-schily/the-terrorists-who-committed-the-2003-istanbul-attacks-were-locals/)

[Otto Schily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-schily/)

> [“Leonardo believed his research had the potential to convert millions to a more spiritual life. Last year he categorically proved the existence of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/leonardo-believed-his-research-had-the-potential-to-convert-millions/)

[Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/)

> [As our initial click fraud research study showed last year, there is an obvious problem in the online advertising world. The challenge is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flint-mcglaughlin/as-our-initial-click-fraud-research-study-showed-last-year-there-is/)

[Flint McGlaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flint-mcglaughlin/)

> [From '86 until the summer of last year, wherever I went, people would say, You would have made a great James Bond! Weren't you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/from-86-until-the-summer-of-last-year-wherever-i-went-people-would/)

[Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/)

> [With the absence of a flu vaccination last year, I did not take a flu shot; but there is still some immunity that carries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-the-absence-of-a-flu-vaccination-last-year-i-did-not-take-a-flu/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

[Browse all 1,393 Last year quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-year/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“During my last year in college I discovered that I was picking up the mannerisms of Akim Tamiroff, the only useful thing, in fact, that I learned in the entire four years.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Walker Percy"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/during-my-last-year-in-college-i-discovered-that-i-was-picking-up-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Last year"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/during-my-last-year-in-college-i-discovered-that-i-was-picking-up-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/walker-percy-1958_last-year_during-my-last-year-in-college-i-discove_622786.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/walker-percy-1958_last-year_during-my-last-year-in-college-i-discove_622786.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/walker-percy-1958_last-year_during-my-last-year-in-college-i-discove_622786.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“During my last year in college I discovered that I was picking up the mannerisms of Akim Tamiroff, the only…” — Walker Percy",
                "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": "Walker Percy",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“During my last year in college...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/during-my-last-year-in-college-i-discovered-that-i-was-picking-up-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/during-my-last-year-in-college-i-discovered-that-i-was-picking-up-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
