Lee survived her college years because she learned early when and to whom it would be safe to speak from her heart, when to conceal her true thoughts, and how to avoid beatings or the excruciating pain of being brainwashed. "I was always nervous," she says, "not knowing when the Red Guards would find out my real feelings.
李天慧回想當時的心情，她說：「雖然我早就在一連串運動下學『乖』了，也早已學會什麼時候說真話，什麼時候說假話；更學會把真實的感情、思想隱藏起來。