--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've lived on a military base and in a…" description: "\"I've lived on a military base and in a convent boarding school with dobermans at the bottom of front stairs to keep us in and intruders out, and in col..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/kit-reed-45378_academy_i-ve-lived-on-a-military-base-and-in-a-c_2615116.png" --- # I've lived on a military base and in a convent boarding… ![“I've lived on a military base and in a convent boarding school with dobermans at the bottom of front stairs to keep us in and intruders out, and in college I spent some time at the Naval Academy, where everything was run by the numbers.” quote by Kit Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/kit-reed-45378_academy_i-ve-lived-on-a-military-base-and-in-a-c_2615116.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/kit-reed-45378_academy_i-ve-lived-on-a-military-base-and-in-a-c_2615116.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/kit-reed-45378_academy_i-ve-lived-on-a-military-base-and-in-a-c_2615116.png) > “I've lived on a military base and in a convent boarding school with dobermans at the bottom of front stairs to keep us in and intruders out, and in college I spent some time at the Naval Academy, where everything was run by the numbers.” [Kit Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-reed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Military and religious institutions impose strict security and order, shaping daily life through controlled environments. **In simple terms:** Strict rules govern life in bases and schools. Key Takeaway Understand how environments affect behavior. Themes security discipline institutional life Mood analytical neutral Type descriptive observational When to use this quote - military base - convent school - naval academy Key Concepts control mechanisms hierarchical structures Questions to Reflect On - How does structure impact creativity? - What benefits arise from strict order? A Different Perspective May limit personal freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academy/) [Base](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/base/) [Boarding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boarding/) [Boarding school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boarding-school/) [Bottom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Convent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convent/) [Convent Boarding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convent-boarding-2061697/) [Everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everything/) [Front](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/front/) [Intruders College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intruders-college-2061698/) [Keep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keep/) [Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Naval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naval/) [Naval academy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naval-academy/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/run/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [School Dobermans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school-dobermans-2061696/) [Some](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/some/) [Spent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spent/) [Stairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stairs/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) [Where](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/where/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [“VJ had gone to the Naval Academy, where he competed as a powerlifter and developed a distaste for military customs such as short hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-fick/vj-had-gone-to-the-naval-academy-where-he-competed-as-a-powerlifter/) [Nathaniel Fick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-fick/) > [Without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/without-a-decisive-naval-force-we-can-do-nothing-definitive/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The POW camps of North Vietnam were packed with Air Force and Naval Academy graduates. 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I attended the Naval Academy because I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-l-phillips/i-never-made-a-career-decision-based-solely-on-my-desire-to-be-an/) [John L. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-l-phillips/) ## More by Kit Reed > [I should probably confess that I get bored easily, which explains my reluctance to work with formula, tropes, whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-reed/i-should-probably-confess-that-i-get-bored-easily-which-explains-my/) [Kit Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-reed/) > [I realized that both the military and religious orders depend on discipline to shape people - which routine does, in a lot of ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-reed/i-realized-that-both-the-military-and-religious-orders-depend-on/) [Kit Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-reed/) > [Beginning to write, you discover what you have to write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-reed/beginning-to-write-you-discover-what-you-have-to-write-about/) [Kit Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-reed/) > [“My novel is about the history of the world, told from the point of view of a column of stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-reed/my-novel-is-about-the-history-of-the-world-told-from-the-point-of/) [Kit Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-reed/) > [“Did you ever get exactly what you want and find out it's not what you wanted at all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-reed/did-you-ever-get-exactly-what-you-want-and-find-out-it-s-not-what-you/) [Kit Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-reed/) > [I dream in color; it's always a movie and sometimes I'm in it, as myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-reed/i-dream-in-color-it-s-always-a-movie-and-sometimes-i-m-in-it-as-myself/) [Kit Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-reed/) > [I have to believe everything I write is brand new and I'm writing in this way about these people in a completely new situation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-reed/i-have-to-believe-everything-i-write-is-brand-new-and-i-m-writing-in/) [Kit Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-reed/) > [Constant, indiscriminate approval devalues because it is so predictable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-reed/constant-indiscriminate-approval-devalues-because-it-is-so-predictable/) [Kit Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-reed/) [Explore all 9 Kit Reed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-reed/) ## More Academy quotes > [Professionally speaking, the proudest moment was when I booked the 'Human Stain.' 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