--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My dream, I remember, when I went to…" description: "\"My dream, I remember, when I went to boarding school, was to have a study all my own, a little nook someplace where nobody could get at me - nobody, li..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/harry-mathews-19208_boarding-school_my-dream-i-remember-when-i-went-to-board_194902.jpg" --- # My dream, I remember, when I went to boarding school, was… ![“My dream, I remember, when I went to boarding school, was to have a study all my own, a little nook someplace where nobody could get at me - nobody, like the football coach.” quote by Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/harry-mathews-19208_boarding-school_my-dream-i-remember-when-i-went-to-board_194902.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/harry-mathews-19208_boarding-school_my-dream-i-remember-when-i-went-to-board_194902.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/harry-mathews-19208_boarding-school_my-dream-i-remember-when-i-went-to-board_194902.jpg) > “My dream, I remember, when I went to boarding school, was to have a study all my own, a little nook someplace where nobody could get at me - nobody, like the football coach.” [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The desire for a private, safe space to think and create away from intrusive authority. **In simple terms:** Wanting a personal sanctuary away from others. Key Takeaway Create a private nook for focus. Themes privacy creativity authority solitude Mood contemplative determined Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - studying - writing - reflection - escape from overbearing figures Key Concepts personal space psychological safety Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance privacy with collaboration? - What boundaries protect your creative space? A Different Perspective May still feel isolated or disconnected from community. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boarding school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boarding-school/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Football coach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football-coach/) [Remember when](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-when/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) ## Related quotes > [“When you dream, sometimes you remember. When you wake, you always forget.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/when-you-dream-sometimes-you-remember-when-you-wake-you-always-forget/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I'm a war baby: I was brought up with rationing, and my parents always had to struggle. I remember when I was sent to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-mackintosh/i-m-a-war-baby-i-was-brought-up-with-rationing-and-my-parents-always/) [Cameron Mackintosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-mackintosh/) > [Education never really interested me, to be fair. I mean, education does interest me, but academic school study is a different thing. I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-speleers/education-never-really-interested-me-to-be-fair-i-mean-education-does/) [Ed Speleers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-speleers/) > [I had gone to school to study marine biology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skeet-ulrich/i-had-gone-to-school-to-study-marine-biology/) [Skeet Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skeet-ulrich/) > [What is the biggest benefit of having a Girlfriend or Boyfriend in the same school where you study? - '100 PERCENT ATTENDANCE'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/what-is-the-biggest-benefit-of-having-a-girlfriend-or-boyfriend-in/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“Problem was, all this is new. In English at school we study a grammar book by a man named Ronald Rideout, read Cider with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/problem-was-all-this-is-new-in-english-at-school-we-study-a-grammar/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Whether I went to school or not, I would always study.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rza/whether-i-went-to-school-or-not-i-would-always-study/) [RZA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rza/) > [“Whether I went to school or not, I would always study.” —RZA”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/whether-i-went-to-school-or-not-i-would-always-study-rza/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [I mean can you walk to school on your own? Can you study science? Can you study math? Can you go to a normal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/i-mean-can-you-walk-to-school-on-your-own-can-you-study-science-can/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [As a football coach, everything in your life comes after your football schedule. I just could not make that commitment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-namath/as-a-football-coach-everything-in-your-life-comes-after-your-football/) [Joe Namath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-namath/) > [God, as some cynic has said, is always on the side which has the best football coach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heywood-broun/god-as-some-cynic-has-said-is-always-on-the-side-which-has-the-best/) [Heywood Broun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heywood-broun/) > [Snoop Dog is the Phil Jackson of youth football coaches. He ain't going to accept nothing but a winner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/snoop-dog-is-the-phil-jackson-of-youth-football-coaches-he-ain-t/) [Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/) > [The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don't want to do, in order to achieve what they've always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-landry/the-job-of-a-football-coach-is-to-make-men-do-what-they-don-t-want-to/) [Tom Landry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-landry/) > [When you direct the dialogue you can be precise, but with a song as a director you're more like a football coach. You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maren-ade/when-you-direct-the-dialogue-you-can-be-precise-but-with-a-song-as-a/) [Maren Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maren-ade/) > [I'm no genius, but I'm a damn good football coach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-bryant/i-m-no-genius-but-i-m-a-damn-good-football-coach/) [Bear Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-bryant/) ## More by Harry Mathews > [My Life in CIA is the first time that I've ever written a story in my own name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/my-life-in-cia-is-the-first-time-that-i-ve-ever-written-a-story-in-my/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [And then, when I left Princeton in the middle of my sophomore year, I went into the navy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/and-then-when-i-left-princeton-in-the-middle-of-my-sophomore-year-i/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [There are many things I’ve written that I didn’t really understand until a long time later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/there-are-many-things-i-ve-written-that-i-didn-t-really-understand/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [My mother could never understand why I didn't write a thriller, which I've finally done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/my-mother-could-never-understand-why-i-didn-t-write-a-thriller-which/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [I'd been brought up on the Upper East Side in a WASP society, which was death on crutches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/i-d-been-brought-up-on-the-upper-east-side-in-a-wasp-society-which/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [My idea was to go to Vienna to study conducting and perhaps play in an orchestra first, so I thought before I got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/my-idea-was-to-go-to-vienna-to-study-conducting-and-perhaps-play-in/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [Well, the great thing for me about poetry is that in good poems the dislocation of words, that is to say, the distance between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/well-the-great-thing-for-me-about-poetry-is-that-in-good-poems-the/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [Well, I had this little notion - I started writing when I was eleven, writing poetry. I was passionately addicted to it; it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/well-i-had-this-little-notion-i-started-writing-when-i-was-eleven/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [“She was disgusted with herself...and the disgust permanently cured her of suicide. Her piddling life did not deserve dramatic remedies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/she-was-disgusted-with-herself-and-the-disgust-permanently-cured-her/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [I also had this mistaken dream, fantasy really - perhaps because I'm good at languages - of being able in both Italy and France…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/i-also-had-this-mistaken-dream-fantasy-really-perhaps-because-i-m/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [I graduated in 1952 and went to Europe, with Niki and our first child Laura, who was then a year old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/i-graduated-in-1952-and-went-to-europe-with-niki-and-our-first-child/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [What I said about John was that he liberated me from my anxieties about writing in a correct, acceptable way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/what-i-said-about-john-was-that-he-liberated-me-from-my-anxieties/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [“Lewis, anything but dull, suffered from an excess of misguided cleverness: he could disparage himself brilliantly in a matter of seconds. He knew literature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/lewis-anything-but-dull-suffered-from-an-excess-of-misguided/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [I thought Cheever was magnificent and that if I could write like him that would be the best I could do. And then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/i-thought-cheever-was-magnificent-and-that-if-i-could-write-like-him/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [It has always been something I could do, and it may seem odd that in my case I seem to create an interesting narrative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/it-has-always-been-something-i-could-do-and-it-may-seem-odd-that-in/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) [Explore all 33 Harry Mathews quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) ## More Boarding school quotes > [“From the opening sentence, it is clear that we are in the presence of a writer with a distinctive voice and uncanny ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-doust/from-the-opening-sentence-it-is-clear-that-we-are-in-the-presence-of/) Jon Doust > [At age 10 or 12 he's going to boarding school in the Isle of Wight. The Isle of Wight is, of course, down at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-irons/at-age-10-or-12-he-s-going-to-boarding-school-in-the-isle-of-wight/) [Jeremy Irons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-irons/) > [I was a boarding school product from the age of eight, and I hated it. Though I do have a theory that boarding school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mawer/i-was-a-boarding-school-product-from-the-age-of-eight-and-i-hated-it/) [Simon Mawer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mawer/) > [I went to a boarding school when I was 13, and it was a very arty school, so there was an opportunity for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-thompson/i-went-to-a-boarding-school-when-i-was-13-and-it-was-a-very-arty/) [Teddy Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-thompson/) > [I'm the first to admit I've had a sheltered life. I grew up in the country and went to a boarding school. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rickitt/i-m-the-first-to-admit-i-ve-had-a-sheltered-life-i-grew-up-in-the/) [Adam Rickitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rickitt/) > [“Inside, a mother superior, ethereal, delicate, who took me under her wing. She caressed me with her slender, soft hands, she sat next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fleur-jaeggy/inside-a-mother-superior-ethereal-delicate-who-took-me-under-her-wing/) Fleur Jaeggy > [My parents sent me from Venezuela to the Convent of Our Lady, a boarding school in Hastings, which was horrible - like Harry Potter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-busquets/my-parents-sent-me-from-venezuela-to-the-convent-of-our-lady-a/) [Carmen Busquets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-busquets/) > [You know I went to the Hunt Schools, a boarding school in Princeton, and I've heard so many Rhodes scholars have gone to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myron-rolle/you-know-i-went-to-the-hunt-schools-a-boarding-school-in-princeton/) [Myron Rolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myron-rolle/) > [I was a fat little boy when I was 10 years old! My mother, who didn't speak any English at all, said, 'I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-sharif/i-was-a-fat-little-boy-when-i-was-10-years-old-my-mother-who-didn-t/) [Omar Sharif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-sharif/) > [I went to boarding school at seven and cried and cried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-everett/i-went-to-boarding-school-at-seven-and-cried-and-cried/) [Rupert Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-everett/) > [When I was 10 I went to the Drakensberg Boys Choir School, which is this idyllic Harry Potter-esque music boarding school in the mountains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/when-i-was-10-i-went-to-the-drakensberg-boys-choir-school-which-is/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [It was tough going to boarding school. It was very hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-guinness/it-was-tough-going-to-boarding-school-it-was-very-hard-work/) [Jasmine Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-guinness/) > [I went to boarding school Southern, religious, and straight, and I left boarding school not being at all religious and not being straight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hughes/i-went-to-boarding-school-southern-religious-and-straight-and-i-left/) [Chris Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hughes/) > [I had been kind of quite porky and happy at boarding school and not self-conscious at all; then, suddenly, I found myself in auditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-had-been-kind-of-quite-porky-and-happy-at-boarding-school-and-not/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Besides, I think that when one has been through a boarding school, especially then, you have some resistance, because it was both fine comradeship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-jacobsen/besides-i-think-that-when-one-has-been-through-a-boarding-school/) [Arne Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-jacobsen/) [Browse all 141 Boarding school quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boarding-school/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My dream, I remember, when I went to boarding school, was to have a study all my own, a little nook someplace where nobody could get at me - nobody, like the football coach.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harry Mathews" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/my-dream-i-remember-when-i-went-to-boarding-school-was-to-have-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boarding school" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/my-dream-i-remember-when-i-went-to-boarding-school-was-to-have-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/harry-mathews-19208_boarding-school_my-dream-i-remember-when-i-went-to-board_194902.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/harry-mathews-19208_boarding-school_my-dream-i-remember-when-i-went-to-board_194902.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/harry-mathews-19208_boarding-school_my-dream-i-remember-when-i-went-to-board_194902.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My dream, I remember, when I went to boarding school, was to have a study all my own, a little nook…” — Harry Mathews", "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": "Harry Mathews", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My dream, I remember, when I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/my-dream-i-remember-when-i-went-to-boarding-school-was-to-have-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/my-dream-i-remember-when-i-went-to-boarding-school-was-to-have-a/#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 } } ] } ```