If there's hell below, we're all gonna go.
Curtis MayfieldRead
My teacher told me I'd never amount to anything. I left high school at 15, after one year. But my real teachers were all the people around me. And I was a good listener.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Formal education is not the only source of learning; real-life experiences and interactions can teach us valuable lessons.
In this quote, Curtis Mayfield reflects on his early experiences in education, where he felt underestimated by traditional schooling. He emphasizes the importance of informal learning through observation and listening to those around him, suggesting that valuable life lessons often come from our interactions with others rather than from formal educational settings.
Themes
EducationLearningObservationExperienceListening
In practice
Example use cases
During a graduation speech to inspire students to seek knowledge beyond the classroom.
More from Curtis Mayfield
All quotes →How many 54-year-old quadriplegics are putting albums out? You just have to deal with what you got, try to sustain yourself as best you can, and look to the things that you can do.
Curtis MayfieldRead
Reading the script, I started feeling very deeply bad for Freddie. Between his friends, his partners, and his woman, he was catching a hard time. 'Freddie's Dead' came to me immediately.
Curtis MayfieldRead
I was a very observant child. Almost anything could become a song to me.
Curtis MayfieldRead
I don't like to appoint myself to nothing, knowing I'm no better than anybody else. But it always makes me feel good to know I try to do the best I can, and those who might observe say, 'Hey, I can take a little something from that person.'
Curtis MayfieldRead
Everything was a song. Every conversation, every personal hurt, every observance of people in stress, happiness and love... if you could feel it, I could feel it. And I could write a song about it.
Curtis MayfieldRead
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