"I hoped that it would be possible to slide slowly from my public life back to the life of teaching and writing that I had always wanted. But things didn't work out that way"

Charles Van Doren's quote shows his desire to go back to the life of teaching and writing that he had actually constantly desired. He had hoped that he could transition from his public life back to his preferred life in a progressive way. Nevertheless, his expectations were not fulfilled as things did not work out as he had planned. This quote shows the difficulty of transitioning from one life to another, and the frustration that can include it. It likewise talks to the idea that life does not constantly go as planned, which in some cases we need to accept the unanticipated. Van Doren's quote is a tip that life is unpredictable and that we need to be prepared for the unexpected.