“When I grew up I always wanted to act. Also, I wanted to be either a lawyer or a doctor. However, when I got to college and realized what those occupations entailed, I changed my mind real quick.” MindRealWantedChangedCollegeGrewGrew UpDoctorsLawyerOccupation Author:Tia Mowry
“I grew up in Glen Ellyn, which is about 20 miles west of Chicago. I attended Glenbard South High School and University of Illinois. I didn't study acting until I moved to Los Angeles after college, but the fact that I was raised in the Chicago area set the stage for all of my comedic and acting sensibilities.” FactsSchoolActingStudyStageCollegeGrewGrew UpHigh SchoolAreasMovedWestSouthRaisedUniversityMilesLos AngelesChicagoSensibilityComedicIllinois Author:Ryan McPartlin
“I grew up thinking that because I couldn't read, I was stupid and would never amount to anything. I worked my way through college as a waitress and thought I wasn't capable of doing anything else. My grades in English were horrible, and I barely got through.” ThinkingWayStupidCollegeGrewAmountGrew UpCapableHorribleMy WayGradesWaitressI Was Stupid Author:Suze Orman
“I grew up in a small town where you know everyone, .. I've been told all my life that I come from too small a town to compete with some of the guys that competed in a higher level growing up. And that kind of drove me through college and drove me in the minor leagues, because I got to face all those big 5- A [school district] guys in the minors.” KnowsKindBigsSchoolFacesGuyLevelsGrowing UpGrowingCollegeGrewHigherGrew UpTownsLeagueMinorsSmall TownHigher LevelSchool Districts Author:Roy Oswalt
“I grew up with no money. No money. I always struggled and had the sense that there was this other class of people who went to college - this was when I was younger.” PeopleClassCollegeGrewGrew UpNo Money Author:Frank Grillo
“Well, it looks like John Boehner will be the new Speaker of the House. He is the son of a bartender, one of 12 children. He grew up in a two room home with just one bathroom, worked his way through school, became the first person in his family to graduate from college. And, sadly, fell in with the wrong crowd and wound up in Congress.” WayFirstsWellsLooksChildrenPersonsTwoHomeSchoolHouseRoomsCollegeSonGrewGrew UpCongressCrowdsWoundsJust OneGraduatesSpeakersBathroomFirst PersonBartenderWrong Crowd Author:Jay Leno
“I'm born in Alaska, grew up in Colorado, went to college in Colorado, went to Colorado State, and I actually finished my degree.” StatesBornCollegeGrewDegreesGrew UpFinishedAlaskaColorado Author:Derek Theler
“I went to college at Harvard, then did three years of graduate school at Yale. At both places I studied comparative literature. People find it odd that I went to both Harvard and Yale, and I guess it is odd, but that's just what people did where I grew up.” PeopleYearsSchoolThreeLiteratureCollegeGrewGrew UpOddThree YearsGraduatesHarvardYaleGraduate SchoolComparative Literature Author:Lev Grossman
“I grew up dancing, and for a while in college, I was a gym rat. I finally realized... I'm going to create a little more balance in my life and make exercise something that I enjoy doing. So I went back to dance when I started doing more musical theatre, and I've just found that it's the best thing that works for my body.” LittlesBodyFoundEnjoyCollegeGrewBalanceExerciseGrew UpDancingMusicalTheatreBest ThingsGymRatsMusical TheatreGym Rats Author:Christine Lakin
“I never grew up thinking the goal in life was to be a millionaire. All the way through college, I had a part-time job. I worked hard to get the things that you need at that age.” ThinkingWayNeedsHardAgeJobsGoalCollegeGrewGrew UpMillionaireLife GoalPart TimePart Time Jobs Author:Cecelia Ahern
“I was born black, I attended all Negro schools including college, I grew up in the segregated South during Jim Crow. If anybody knows a racist, I do. Pat Buchanan ain't no racist.” IfsKnowsSchoolBlackBornCollegeGrewGrew UpSouthIncludingScaryRacistCrowJim Crow Author:Ezola B. Foster
“Where I grew up, I could be a punk rocker and a jock. But in college, it became apparent that those two worlds didn't mix. When I brought my guitar back to school after Thanksgiving break, a friend handed me his bass and said, 'Listen to the Ramones.'” WorldSaidTwoSchoolBreakCollegeGrewGrew UpGuitarPunkBassPunk RockTwo WorldsJocksRockersRamones Author:Jeff Ament
“Baseball is like cricket, and I grew up in a country where they had cricket. So I understand cricket, soccer and basketball. I played basketball at the club level and a little bit in college, so thats why Im a basketball fanatic.” LittlesCountryBitsLevelsCollegeGrewBasketballLittle BitGrew UpBaseballClubsSoccerCricketFanatics Author:Patrick Soon-Shiong
“My goal was to reach this literary crowd, but I didn't want to alienate my core fan base. I grew up speaking that language, this isn't put on. I can go back and forth; it's almost like being bilingual. But I'm not college educated; I don't know rules of grammar.” KnowsWantI CanLanguageGoalFansCollegeGrewGrew UpCrowdsCoreEducatedGrammarBack And Forth Author:Rude Jude
“I grew up with white parents and until after college, it was a lot of confusion, especially because I grew up in an all-white area. So I never looked around and saw anyone who looked like me.” ParentWhiteSawsCollegeGrewGrew UpAreasLike MeConfusion Author:Gina Prince-Bythewood
“In fact, I was welcomed. There were movie stars and rock stars. I became a pot star. I glorified in that. And of course as time wore on the business began to expand and grow. It went from more or less a college fun thing to a serious business. As the money grew, the power grew.” FactsCoursesFunStarsGrowsRocksCollegeSeriousGrewPotMovie StarRock StarFun ThingsSerious Business Author:George Jung
“Baltimore's often called the most northern Southern town. It has a distinct essence. It's definitely post-industrial, definitely Rust Belt, very working-class. I grew up outside of Washington, and I felt I was moving to a completely different place when I moved 30 miles north out of college.” DifferentMovingFeltClassCollegeGrewGrew UpEssenceTownsMovedMilesPostsSouthernWorking ClassBeltsDifferent PlaceRustBaltimore Author:David Simon
“As a kid, I was fortunate that we grew up near a children's theater, with all different classes and things; so as a kid I took classes there and as I got into high school I did all the community theater stuff. Then I came to college here in New York, going to Marymount Manhattan, and studied acting there. But most of the training I got was from working. Working with really great people.” PeopleChildrenDifferentKidsSchoolStuffCommunityActingClassNew YorkCollegeGrewGrew UpTrainingHigh SchoolTheaterFortunateReally GreatGreat People Author:Andrew Rannells
“I have a very broad demographic, from the 8-year-old who knows every word to 'Ice Ice Baby' and the college kid who grew up on 'Ninja Rap' to the soccer mom and grandparent.” KnowsYearsKidsCollegeBabyGrewMomGrew UpRapIceSoccerBroadsGrandparentDemographicsNinjaSoccer Mom Author:Vanilla Ice
“My dad was an immigrant kid and a Democrat and a Jew, and we didn't know any Republicans in our group. So I grew up Democratic. My dad was a labor lawyer - a very hardworking guy, a one-horse labor lawyer - and then I went to hippie college and lived in the bubble.” KnowsKidsGuyGroupsCollegeGrewDadRepublicanGrew UpLaborHorseDemocraticDemocratMy DadJewLawyerImmigrantsBubblesHippieHardworking Author:David Mamet
“My own father held down two jobs, barely affording the little rented house I grew up in. My dad worked hard, lifted heavy things, and got his hands dirty. The only soap we had at my house was Lava. Heck, I was in college before I found out it wasn't supposed to hurt to take a shower.” LittlesTwoHardHandsJobsFoundFatherHouseHurtMy OwnCollegeGrewDadGrew UpMy DadHeavyDirtyShowersSoapLavaTwo JobsAffordingHeavy Things Author:Mike Huckabee
“I grew up with a single mom who was a waitress. We were on food stamps. My mom then got Pell Grants, put herself through college to get a degree to get a better job. Because we were broke, I then had to go to a state school. I went to Temple University, and had to get loans. So I grew up in a world where I saw the government helping individuals pull themselves up, and saw it work very successfully.” WorldStatesHelpingGovernmentSchoolJobsIndividualSawsCollegeGrewMomDegreesGrew UpUniversityMy MomBrokeTemplesGrantsStampsLoanSingle MomBetter JobsWaitressFood StampsPell Grants Author:Adam McKay
“I grew up in such a small area that there really weren't any acting classes. So I had to wait till I got to college.” WaitingActingClassCollegeGrewGrew UpAreasActing Classes Author:Mariana Klaveno
“I grew up with rock and pop music from the 70s and 80s. I had to play guitar in school - it was a music college and we had to take instrument classes there - so I think guitar playing and guitar sounds have always been an influence.” ThinkingPlaySchoolSoundClassInfluenceRocksCollegeGrewGrew UpInstrumentsGuitarPops80sPop MusicGuitar PlayingGuitar Sound Author:Christian Fennesz
“When it came time for college, I told my parents I was going to major in acting. And they were so removed from anything to do with show business - my dad built our house and my mom grew our food.” ShowsHouseParentActingCollegeGrewMomDadMajorsBuiltMy DadMy MomShow Business Author:Geena Davis
“Spirit is love, spirit is connection, inclusive, and that's what I'm interested in, and that's what moved me. That's what I got more and more into as I grew up and as I was in college in the 60's with consciousness raising and other kind of things, gestalt psychology etc.” KindSpiritConsciousnessPsychologyCollegeGrewGrew UpConnectionsMovedEtcGestalt Author:Surya Das
“I grew up definitely a feminist, but I didn't call myself a feminist until I took my first women's studies class in college.” FirstsClassStudyCollegeGrewGrew UpFeminist Author:Jessica Valenti
“The generation I grew up in was the beginning of "stand up for yourself," whether being a singer-songwriter or a feminist. In my college years, the feminist movement was really coming to fore, so we wouldn't have put up with guys treating us less than equal.” YearsGuyGenerationsMovementCollegeGrewEqualGrew UpFeministSingersSongwritersSinger SongwritersFeminist MovementStand Up For YourselfCollege Years Author:Bonnie Raitt
“I grew up in such a small area that there really weren't any acting classes. So I had to wait till I got to college, at the University of Washington. I was a theater major there and got my training. Then after college, I packed up my Honda Civic and kind of fulfilled the cliché of driving down to Los Angeles, and literally, brick by brick - you know, the slow and painful way - I built my career.” KnowsWayKindWaitingActingClassCareersCollegeGrewMajorsGrew UpTrainingBuiltAreasTheaterUniversityPainfulDrivingLos AngelesFulfilledBricksCivicsActing ClassesHonda Author:Mariana Klaveno
“My parents grew up in poor families where little English was spoken, they both went to college and became teachers. They believed that anything was possible with hard work, and they particularly stressed the importance of education. They instilled that same belief in my sister and me.” LittlesHardBeliefParentPoorTeacherCollegeHard WorkGrewGrew UpImportanceMy SisterStressedImportance Of EducationPoor Family Author:Samuel Alito
“My father was brought to this country as an infant. He lost his mother as a teenager. He grew up in poverty.Although he graduated at the top of his high school class, he had no money for college. And he was set to work in a factory but, at the last minute, a kind person in the Trenton area arranged for him to receive a $50 scholarship and that was enough in those days for him to pay the tuition at a local college and buy one used suit. And that made the difference between his working in a factory and going to college.” KindPersonsMadeCountryEnoughSchoolLastsUsedMotherFatherLostDifferencesPayClassPovertyMinutesCollegeGrewGrew UpHigh SchoolAreasLocalsSuitsTeenagerFactoriesInfantScholarshipNo MoneyLast MinuteTuitionGoing To CollegeKind PersonHigh School Class Author:Samuel Alito
“All the kids that I grew up with, in an almost idyllic environment - I've got to tell you, it was so wonderful - they've gone on and they're doctors and Ph.D.'s and everybody has a four-year college degree. None of our parents, I think, had a four-year degree.” ThinkingYearsKidsParentGoneEnvironmentFourWonderfulCollegeGrewDegreesGrew UpDoctorsFour YearsCollege DegreeIdyllic Author:Jeff Sessions
“I grew up doing theater when I was very young - always enjoyed it. Studied it in college, got my degree in it, and never really had the guts to do it professionally. But one summer, a friend of mine was with an extras agency and asked me if I wanted to be an extra with him in a movie, and I was, like, "Sure." At lunch, the writer came up to me and asked me to audition for a role. I got it, and it sort of snowballed from there.” IfsWantedYoungRolesMinesCollegeGrewDegreesSummerGrew UpTheaterEnjoyedAgencyExtrasGutsLunchAuditions Author:Italia Ricci
“I was born in Norfolk, Virginia. I began school there, the first year of public school. When I was 7, the family shifted back to North Carolina. I grew up in North Carolina; had my schooling through the college level in North Carolina.” YearsFirstsSchoolBornLevelsCollegeGrewGrew UpPublic SchoolVirginiaSchoolingCarolinaNorth CarolinaNorfolk Author:Ella Baker
“It was actually pretty cool to be in Pittsburgh for those four years. I moved into the dorms and had a pretty normal college experience, even though it was in my hometown. I really thrived there. I feel like it really suited me and served me well in terms of how I grew up there.” FeelsYearsWellsTermFourCollegeGrewNormalGrew UpMovedFour YearsHometownPittsburghDormsCollege Experience Author:Zachary Quinto
“I grew up on the bus, or riding my bike, or catching the subway, I've never had a car. In college, any girl I ever dated had a car, too.” GirlCarCollegeGrewGrew UpBusRidingBikeCatchingSubway Author:G-Eazy
“That competition grew through high school and you step outside more and it grew through college. Then you had regional style speak volumes through college. As you get older, and begin to travel and see more, that was the progression of style for me.” SchoolSpeakStepsStyleCollegeGrewHigh SchoolCompetitionVolumeProgression Author:Pusha T
“In the Great Depression in which I grew up and remember vividly, unemployment was over 25 percent, and over 35 percent where I lived. A grown man would work all day, 16 hours, for a dollar. I remember hundreds of people walking by, people who had come down from the North just to get warm. They would come to our house as beggars even though they might have a college education. People didn't have money. They bartered; they'd trade eggs or pigs. It was just completely different.” PeopleMenDifferentMightRememberHouseHoursCollegeGrewWalkingGrew UpPercentTradeDollarsWarmEggsPigsUnemploymentBeggarGreat DepressionCollege EducationGrown Man Author:Jimmy Carter
“I'm a Tennessee boy. I grew up in East Tennessee most of my life, then came up to Philly to go to college and fell in love with this city, and particularly, my neighborhood on the north side of Philadelphia.” SidesCitiesBoysCollegeGrewGrew UpEastNeighborhoodPhiladelphiaTennesseeEast Tennessee Author:Shane Claiborne
“We've now got a group of young people in this country who for all practical purposes are American. They grew up here. They've gone to school here. They don't know anything other than being American kids. But their parents may have brought them here without all the proper paperwork - might have brought them here when they were three, might have brought them here when they were five. And so, lo and behold, by the time they finish school, and they're ready to go to college, they find out they can't go to college and, in fact, their status as Americans are threatened.” PeopleKnowsMayCountryFactsMightKidsSchoolYoungPurposeThreeParentGoneFiveGroupsCollegeReadyGrewGrew UpPracticalsThreatenedPaperwork Author:Barack Obama