INTP shit you did as a child

[scorpiomover]

When I was a toddler my mother took me to the doctor because she feared that I was deaf. She said I would not respond to her as I was likely too deep in my own little thoughts to notice.

Wow! You just gave me a brainwave.

When I was 6 months old, my mother was carrying a metal tray full of metal. She dropped it. Made an almighty crash. All my siblings came running in, saying "Mummy, Mummy, what's wrong?" At the time, I had been sitting and playing with my back to my mother. I didn't move an inch. My mother thought I might be deaf. So she took me to hospital. The doctors thought I had an ear infection. So for the next year, I was on antibiotics. I believe that I was in hospital during most of that time. From what I've been told, the antibiotics didn't seem to clear up the infection quickly, as they are supposed to. The doctors just kept me on antibiotics, until the problem resolved itself.

However, on reflection, I did basically live inside my own head during that time. Until I was 8, I wasn't allowed to cross roads by myself, because I wouldn't look where I was going. It was a bit of a problem for me, because the park was literally just over the other side of the road from me, only a few minutes walk for my siblings, but for me I had to wait until one of them would take me across the road.

Revisiting that incident, suppose that I actually DID hear the tray crash, but I was just so inside my own head, that I didn't bother to notice? I might have been perfectly normal. Well, I might have been physically healthy, but just was being extremely INTP, or Aspergery, or both. So, instead of helping me to learn to be a more effective INTP, I got treated as if I had something physically wrong with me.

This could explain a LOT in my life.

 

[Col]

I once asked my mum how letterbox's are made when I was still in the pushchair haha.. My mum has always told me how much I asked questions even as a very small child.

I was ALWAYS late in school, and used to get in a fair bit of silly trouble, but was still one of the best achievers in the year. Teachers didnt know how to deal with me at all.

So far in my first 2 years at university I have had the lowest attendance of any passing student in my entire university (4th biggest in UK, 33,830 students), both years. Dispite this, I have had the highest grades on my course both years! Ahhh, the INTP life In my first year, most modules I never attended even once and the module I attended the most for I didnt go to more than 3 or 4 sessions. In my second year there are modules I never went to as well, and the module I went to the most I went for no more than 10 probably more like 6 or 7. Was meant to be 2 sessions per week per module.

I dont feel good about this, I feel bad, but at least now learning about MBTI I can understand why.

These are just an example from each stage, childhood, teenage years, and young adulthood. In reality my keyboard would wear out before I ran out of things!!

Its fasinating to read other peoples, I can really relate to almost all of them.

 

[Col]

Me too. I've been doing this for as long as I can remember. I got my first panic attacks somewhere between 5-7 because I was trying to imagine what being dead and non-existent was like, and it freaked me out so bad...

Oh and Lullaby, again... I recognize everything.

I'm starting to wonder if all INTP kids are the same.

Totaly.

I remember in my first house (so I was 4 or younger), getting out of bed and going downstairs to tell my parents I kept thinking of difficult questions and couldnt sleep.

One of the worst ones for me is trying to quantify the size of the universe. If it is infinite, then what is infinite; if it is not, then whats outside it... still hurts my head horrendously.

 

[Hadoblado]

It's when you start talking about bigger and smaller infinities that my head starts to go numb.


I started my own religion with a few friends with a trinity of Gods consisting of Quaziwatzit (the questioner), Nug (the instinct driven God of hedonism), and some other who's name eludes me right now but was basically the God of stupid rules.

I also completed a massive assignment in English about how stupidly complex and inconsistent English is, getting the only passing mark I had gotten in years (it was an A). Funny how you hang on to the little victories no?

 

[Frett]

I remember when I was 9 or 10 exploring the future expectations of financially being responsible for a family, it freaked me out to have such a comprehension. Insomnia is a frequent problem of mine, I wish I could just turn my brain off like others do and just crash.

 

[IfloatTHRUlife]

Spent my early childhood alone in my room doing whatever i damn well pleased.

Never talked to anyone except one girl in school until i was in middle school.

Sort of got in trouble all throughout middle and high school for not participating or doing homework to the point that the entire guidance office in both schools knew my name and had me come down pretty often so they could talk to me, it was always the same, something along the lines of, "You are so bright, your teachers tell us you get outstanding scores on all of the tests you take but you havent turned in a single piece of homework so far this year. If you keep this up you are going to fail." At which point i would tell them, ".. i like tests... i dont like homework... i do good on the tests... so why should i have to do the homework..."

They never gave me a good enough reason so.. i failed 6th grade, went to summer school where i got a 100% in all the classes i had to make up (they didnt have homework in summer school). 7th grade i failed again but in the words of the guidance councilor, i must have "slipped through the cracks" in the computer system because it had been recorded that i passed. Passed 8th grade barely, failed 9th grade, then im not even sure if i passed my second year of 9th grade, i never went back. I just went and got my GED, which was pretty cool. The guy grading the pre-test that you had to take to decide if you were ready to take the real test or if you needed to take some preliminary classes told me that i had received nearly the highest score he had seen in the 15 years he had been doing that job.

Kind of regret not just doing the work now of course, high school would have opened doors for me, but i still stand by my reasoning. It is not an effective method of grading and i wasn't going to pretend it was, a test is a test.. if you pass every test, you should pass.. Busywork shouldn't account for more of your grade than a test.

 

[Bobble]

• I started reading when I was 3. To prove it to herself that I was reading my mom would cover the picture and I would wait the word. They were simple baby books but I was reading them.

• When I was 5 my grandma was hospitalized for a surgery she had to have on her foot. So in school I drew for a get well soon card. It included her in bed with her foot wrapped, me standing there crying and a detailed hospital room full of equipment. My teacher told my parents that she was amazed at how well my memory of the room was. But we hadn't visited her yet and I have never been in a hospital room before that.

• In third grade I stole a math book from school and taught myself third grade math. I was always a few chapters ahead of the rest of my class. I taught myself multiplication and division.

• I hated school, I dropped out early, I found it to be boring, I never did homework and I aced almost every one of my test. I first dropped out in seventh grade then started back in 10th. Hed no problem understanding the work but got bored and dropped out again.

I've never struggled to learn anything. I lived inside of my head. For the first 7 years of my life I rarely had said more than 2 words to anybody and I had never had a full conversation with anyone. I remember having deja vu on a regular basis. I was almost invisible. I would have days where I would sit down somewhere and not move for the whole day. Family would come and go in and out. They would sit right next to me and have a full conversations with each other and the whole day would pass Without one person acknowledging that I wish I was there.

At 13 I discovered girls. I came out of my shell and never looked back. I have no problem socializing with people but I dread it most of the time.

As a teenager I would also on occasions get up real early catch the bus and hang out by myself all day a different parks and libraries. And now that I'm thinking back on it I'm realizing that till this day no one has ever asked me where I would go. You are the first people besides me to know what I would do when I would leave. Strange.

 

[scorpiomover]

• I started reading when I was 3. To prove it to herself that I was reading my mom would cover the picture and I would wait the word. They were simple baby books but I was reading them.

I remember learning to write, in primary school, aged 5. I do not remember learning to read. I just know that at that age, it was already a given for me. I did enjoy reading the simple books, mainly because I love simplistic stories. To be honest, I still enjoyed reading those books, even when I was 15.

• In third grade I stole a math book from school and taught myself third grade math. I was always a few chapters ahead of the rest of my class. I taught myself multiplication and division.

When I was 10, and my older brother was 12-13, and 2 years ahead of me, he was struggling with his math. I think I offered to help. I know that I did his maths homework for a while, and I don't resent it, so I think it was by choice. What I do know, was that in 6th grade, I was doing 8th grade maths homework, easily. My own homework wasn't nearly as interesting.

I've never struggled to learn anything. I lived inside of my head. For the first 7 years of my life I rarely had said more than 2 words to anybody and I had never had a full conversation with anyone. I remember having deja vu on a regular basis. I was almost invisible. I would have days where I would sit down somewhere and not move for the whole day. Family would come and go in and out. They would sit right next to me and have a full conversations with each other and the whole day would pass Without one person acknowledging that I wish I was there.

I wouldn't talk in school. Used to just sit in class, and day-dream the whole day away. Teachers would ask me the answer to a question, and I hadn't even heard the question. Eventually, I got sent to a psychiatrist, because they thought I might be autistic.

As a teenager I would also on occasions get up real early catch the bus and hang out by myself all day a different parks and libraries.

I know that somewhere between 5 and 10, I started going to the library, and staying there till it closed, at 8pm a night, on 2-4 nights a week, and then walk home in the dark. Basically, I lived at the library. I even became a librarian, in school twice, and then in college.

And now that I'm thinking back on it I'm realizing that till this day no one has ever asked me where I would go. You are the first people besides me to know what I would do when I would leave. Strange.

From age 10, I'd also go walking for hours, and come back home maybe 10pm, or 10:30 at night. Then when I was 16, I would go and visit friends that no-one else knew about, and I would go to places that no-one knew about as well. They still don't.

 

[Stigmata]

Systematically pitted everyone in my 2nd grade classroom against each other. Also, when everyone was outside during recess, I would ask to go to the restroom which provided the necessary opportunity to go back into the classroom and steal everyone's fruit roll-ups out of their backpacks.

It was truly the perfect crime.

 

[Col]

When I was in nursary at age 3 (of which I have vivid vivid memories), the teachers were amazed at how I could write. I remember one time we were learning how to write our names (lol?) Everyone else was struggling to form letters while I was writing sentences. They made a massive deal out of it :/

A few weeks later we had to make cut out zebras and colour them in. The teacher had made one to demonstrate. Mine was literally perfect. I couldnt understand how these other kids couldnt keep inside the lines... Again, the teachers made a massive deal about how my zebra was better than the teachers and phoned my parents to come look at it and everything. I swear that school worshipped me or something..

In year 1 (so I was either 4 or 5), we had a sand trough and a water trough (for learning I guess?). The teacher was teaching us about how we cant pick up water with our hands. I took MASSIVE issue to this. I insisted that if you were to position your hands in a way so that there were no gaps, you would be able to hold water. She said that I was wrong, I said that I was right. She told me to show her. I did it, and she said she could see drips coming off the bottom of my hands. I am still angry about this 17 years later haha.

That same year they made a huge deal about how I had written the numbers from 0 - 100 out on a piece of paper :/

 

[Bobble]

I had friends to that no one else knew about! Huh? That's funny that you said that.

I wonder what happened to those guys? I would never see them anywhere outside of where I would hang out at. I consider them friends but I don't know anything about them absolutely nothing. Hmm

 

[Bobble]

I had friends to that no one else knew about! Huh? That's funny that you said that.

I wonder what happened to those guys? I would never see them anywhere outside of where I would hang out at. I consider them friends but I don't know anything about them absolutely nothing. Hmm

 

[Linsejko]

Col, you are so thoroughly British that you couldn't hide it if your life depended on it, haha. I can hear your accent through your writing.

Also, a lot of this thread is definitely just people shamelessly bragging back and forth.

Guess I'll join in!

I, like many other INTPs apparently, have just always read. I never noticed this until my mom one time pointed out that she doesn't know how I began reading, I just always knew how to read seemingly as long as I knew how to talk.

I remember being in my own mind throughout first grade--I would get an assignment, finish it quickly ignoring the teacher, and then go back to my mind.

I never did any homework. I had phenomenal test scores. The principals always knew my name. My mom was told in Kindergarten that I could skip two grades, but she was afraid I wasn't emotionally mature enough for it (and even though I agree, I wasn't, I am still pissed about how shitty my whole schooling experience was and what a waste the whole thing was, and how it might have been a bit better if I had done that).

Remember my first "B". Then I stopped caring about school altogether.

Remember being the only 3rd grader selected for the entire school for the new experimental gifted and talented program. They brought us once a week to skip school to another building to learn what I now realize was a watered down version of HTML. I was always jumping ahead.

Making my teacher cry in 4th grade.

Getting 14 0's per six weeks in Chemistry class for the 14 pieces of homework, and then nearly perfect scores on the tests, balancing out the 0's for 70, 71, and 72 for that semester.

Getting one of the only 4 perfect scores on the state-standardized tests in English for my essay in 10th grade, and telling my teacher that I got a perfect score before the test came back. (I still wish it had been returned to me, I loved that essay. I stayed after school an extra hour writing it because I was enjoying it so much--and I was a slow writer).

Getting 99, 99, 99, 98, and 95 on my 5 GED tests when I got out a year and a half early.

Having taught myself Esperanto on the side and seeing myself as lazy, while others see me as disciplined. Always thinking of myself as average, until I started realizing a couple years ago that rather than most being below average, I actually am unusually gifted.

I used to write papers in my spare time in high school that were polemics against the institution of public school and its poor implementation. I also used to write philosophical discourses for my Debate class in my spare time. Becoming the Debate captain because the teacher realized I was better than her, even though I did no work in that class. (I remember with great pride Vrecknidj one time complimenting a philosophy piece I had written as a 16 year old.) Starting a film project on my own at 17 once I had left high school.

I was writing poetry in my closet back in elementary school. I remember as a 14 year old having a long walk with a friend who finally told me that I intimidated them by the way I talked because I sounded so smart. (An epiphany.) All the mispronounced words of my childhood due to having read them but never having heard them used out loud.

Accidentally getting 1st place in the second division of the Israeli Go tournament while rusty--even though I never have memorized a single Joseki. (It was the 6kyu and under division, and I thought I didn't have a chance having last been formally ranked at 9kyu online a year before... But I just read deeply and used my time well, and beat almost every single player. The one game I lost was a silly mistake we both missed until the end of the game, when he realized he could pull something off that was huge and just barely won him the game.)

Teaching myself the ancient Hebrew alphabet and answering my Hebrew class assignments in that instead of the standard alphabet.

Reading books on wine and chocolate production and categorization at 15. (I started developing a taste for wine at 14, odd for an American.) I used to keep a bottle of wine in my room by 16, with my mom's full permission. I didn't have my first beer until 19--just never interested me. I've never been an alcoholic in any respect, anyways. I remember the moment I realized I wanted to buy a bottle of wine in a store, and that I couldn't! All of a sudden the ridiculous 21-limit came full force and was personal.

Causing a normal, good grades high school student an emotional melt down on accident when I explained to him why I didn't care about high school.

Being frequently mistaken for a foreigner in my home town.

Being frequently mistaken for a European in Israel (though I was born and raised in Texas my whole life). Every single time hearing the question, "where's your Texan accent? Why don't you even sound American?" (I have a neutral accent that isn't quite from anywhere... sort of in-between British and American and South African somehow. I just speak very clearly. :\)

Never learning the multiplication tables because I could calculate them fast enough that it wasn't necessary to memorize them.

Having mostly adult friends as a home schooled 12-14 year old, since my primary social circle was an indoor rock climbing gym I became addicted to. Remember a 22 year old girl explaining her inability to find free video porn the night before for about 10 minutes before a pause of silence, whereupon it re-occurred to her that she was talking to a 13 year old.

Getting an entire forum obsessed with my identity--debating with 10,000 word posts back and forth on theological issues as a 14 year old on other forums at the same age.

I can't do this anymore, I feel like I'm just bragging and bragging and bragging, and it's not a good feeling. This is probably why I've learned to just listen and not talk about myself much in life.

 

[areilla10]

Nearly bombed my English class in high school because I thought the assignments were stupid and I already knew this shit. WTF do I need to prove it to anyone else for? What's the point of the educational system anyway? Isn't it supposed to educate us? It apparently didn't matter that I knew the material; the most important thing was that they could MEASURE how much I knew. I just didn't care. If I already knew it then take my word for it and quit trying to measure my brain. I also discovered that I could just refuse to do anything in Phys. Ed. and my teacher didn't push me. I hated (and continue to hate) competitive team sports. I also discovered that by not making an effort I earned myself a D. But while I didn't like the blemish on my report card, it still wasn't enough to change my mind about the value of competitive team sports.

I used to drive my BF crazy with 6-syllable-long words that she didn't know. Oh, and I used to fantasize that maybe I was the butt of some cosmic joke and that everyone else in the world was actually just an emotionless robot trying to soothe me into thinking that they cared or that "everything is juuuust fiiiine." I thought that was a pretty unique view until The Truman Show came out. I guess I'm not as uniquely weird as I thought.

 

[Smooch]

my mom said when I was about 4 years old I one day came out from the bathroom with a very serious look on my face saying something along the lines of
"It's funny how it goes in one hole and comes out another hole"
:P

 

[Chimera]

I was writing poetry in my closet back in elementary school.

I wasn't writing poetry, but I started a "novel" in 3rd grade, and 64 pages in (typed, mind you, and none of that huge font nonsense) I decided to bring it to the school librarian to edit. One of the characters was a girl from an abusive household...apparently it was believable enough to get the librarian worried, so I got interrogated by the faculty about my home life. ^^
​

All the mispronounced words of my childhood due to having read them but never having heard them used out loud.

Pretty much the story of my life. (What do you mean "coalesce" isn't pronounced "co-ah-lesk"?!)
​

Causing a normal, good grades high school student an emotional melt down on accident when I explained to him why I didn't care about high school.

I almost did this, though change high school to middle school. I managed to catch myself before the look of horror engraved itself on her face though... If you don't mind my asking, what did you tell the poor kid?
​

Being frequently mistaken for a European in Israel (though I was born and raised in Texas my whole life). Every single time hearing the question, "where's your Texan accent? Why don't you even sound American?" (I have a neutral accent that isn't quite from anywhere... sort of in-between British and American and South African somehow. I just speak very clearly. :\)

This...this I'm extremely curious about. I suppose I can't ask you to explain your voice any better than you already have, but I'm terribly intrigued now.
​

Remember a 22 year old girl explaining her inability to find free video porn the night before for about 10 minutes before a pause of silence, whereupon it re-occurred to her that she was talking to a 13 year old.

Wait, were you talking in person? Christ, that probably beats any age-transcending memory I have. Though it's amazing how people can easily forget such boundaries, and then be so embarrassed about crossing them afterwards...it never ceases to amuse me. It's like, okay, you just proved that you already see me as an equal, why do you have to ruin it by getting all flustered about time spent on earth ?
​

Getting an entire forum obsessed with my identity--debating with 10,000 word posts back and forth on theological issues as a 14 year old on other forums at the same age.

If I'd met you at the same age, I would have hated you. I could never stand having competition when I was trying to be the smartest young person on a forum. ;P
​

I can't do this anymore, I feel like I'm just bragging and bragging and bragging, and it's not a good feeling. This is probably why I've learned to just listen and not talk about myself much in life.

Well someone has to talk so the rest of us can listen!
​

 

[xbox]

I made forts. Lots n lots of forts. I lived in them, and hunted to provide myself with sustenance of the "rice crispy" type, but no..only for them to be destroyed by the one and only evil dark things called mommy and daddy.

*sigh*

 

[Silent Fury]

I did many things. Idk if they're INTP things though.
I killed insects all the time and even now I destroy every ant hill thinking "Ha! They can work all day." Our first pet was a Dalmatian when got her when I was like 4. I tried to ride her once hehe. Our Other pet small puppy I'd smack her around when she did small bad things. Last pet (dog) I'd just tease him smack him and yell REALLY lound at him (when no one was around) telling him he did something bad. And he would cuddle my leg in fear and I pushed him away saying " pshh I'm mad at u get outta here"
I liked tripping them. Umm in Kindergarten I became very introverted. I had never really been exposed to others my age or kids at all. I didn't like it and I didn't think anyone could be so ignorant. It's like a 13 yr old in a class of 5 yr olds. I started late so they would finger paint or use play dough kids often came to ask how I did this or that. School: highest readin lvl. I learned to read at 4. (i'm bilingual. Spanish and English. I learned English through TV shows as a kid. Spanish was a home language and no one else spoke it much or very well. I learned to read and write Spanish without my parents teaching me at all.) very good at math though I didn't like it. Middle school was a new skool for me cuz we moved. I wasn't the new kid since kindergarten so it wasn't good. I only ever got "time outs" for not dong homework or the occasional "bad word" and I remember I convinced someone to take a different route home and in the winter the river by there was frozen, we went down there and played some ( this was all my plan) then I said ok bye i gtg then walked up the steep hill he cried cuz he couldn't get outthen I stuck out my hand to help him nd let go half way then left home hehehe.
There was a cat on our backyard one day unfortunately for him I dont like cats and I grabbed I'm and threw him over our fence into a neighbors backyard ivegotten many paper certificate awards from my classes of " creative, mathematician, etc" causing my ISFJ sis to bawl in happiness lol. I never got into a full out fight fight but I remember this kid who had gotten on my nerves more than everyone else ( I developed a good tolerance cuz I had my ass beaten if I did something bad ) I was walking home and he was teasing me and picking on me and stuff then he grabbed my backpack as I was wearing it and spun me once before I took it off and kicked him in the stomach. I got my stuff told him to fuck off laughed and left. Other time with same kid, I was at a friends house ( friends cuz he was game consoles and I never did) he came and teased again and he bragged about "kicking my ass" I loled reminding him that that never happen and what really happened. I didn't findthe need to argue so I sat down and continued the game we were playing. After a while I was so close to breaking somehibg that wasn't mine on this kids head. So my "friend" and his brother were encouraging us to "fight" I was annoyed and didn't have time for it I decided to leave and as I was walking away he pushed me down which is when I punched him hard and he fell leaving "friend" and bro stunned in awe looking as I left. But I guess in my case they forced me to do it hehehe.


I've done other thig but I can't remember

 

[Silent Fury]

I did many things. Idk if they're INTP things though.
I killed insects all the time and even now I destroy every ant hill thinking "Ha! They can work all day." Our first pet was a Dalmatian when got her when I was like 4. I tried to ride her once hehe. Our Other pet small puppy I'd smack her around when she did small bad things. Last pet (dog) I'd just tease him smack him and yell REALLY lound at him (when no one was around) telling him he did something bad. And he would cuddle my leg in fear and I pushed him away saying " pshh I'm mad at u get outta here"
I liked tripping them. Umm in Kindergarten I became very introverted. I had never really been exposed to others my age or kids at all. I didn't like it and I didn't think anyone could be so ignorant. It's like a 13 yr old in a class of 5 yr olds. I started late so they would finger paint or use play dough kids often came to ask how I did this or that. School: highest readin lvl. I learned to read at 4. (i'm bilingual. Spanish and English. I learned English through TV shows as a kid. Spanish was a home language and no one else spoke it much or very well. I learned to read and write Spanish without my parents teaching me at all.) very good at math though I didn't like it. Middle school was a new skool for me cuz we moved. I wasn't the new kid since kindergarten so it wasn't good. I only ever got "time outs" for not dong homework or the occasional "bad word" and I remember I convinced someone to take a different route home and in the winter the river by there was frozen, we went down there and played some ( this was all my plan) then I said ok bye i gtg then walked up the steep hill he cried cuz he couldn't get outthen I stuck out my hand to help him nd let go half way then left home hehehe.
There was a cat on our backyard one day unfortunately for him I dont like cats and I grabbed I'm and threw him over our fence into a neighbors backyard ivegotten many paper certificate awards from my classes of " creative, mathematician, etc" causing my ISFJ sis to bawl in happiness lol. I never got into a full out fight fight but I remember this kid who had gotten on my nerves more than everyone else ( I developed a good tolerance cuz I had my ass beaten if I did something bad ) I was walking home and he was teasing me and picking on me and stuff then he grabbed my backpack as I was wearing it and spun me once before I took it off and kicked him in the stomach. I got my stuff told him to fuck off laughed and left. Other time with same kid, I was at a friends house ( friends cuz he was game consoles and I never did) he came and teased again and he bragged about "kicking my ass" I loled reminding him that that never happen and what really happened. I didn't findthe need to argue so I sat down and continued the game we were playing. After a while I was so close to breaking somehibg that wasn't mine on this kids head. So my "friend" and his brother were encouraging us to "fight" I was annoyed and didn't have time for it I decided to leave and as I was walking away he pushed me down which is when I punched him hard and he fell leaving "friend" and bro stunned in awe looking as I left. But I guess in my case they forced me to do it hehehe.


I've done other thig but I can't remember

 

[Linsejko]

WOT

Can't read without paragraph breaks. I will die.

(+double post)

------

melancholy isn't pronounced mel-an-kol-y?! The way you're saying it sounds like a disease affecting tropical plants!

I told the kid that you can shape your life however you want to, and that's the beauty of freedom. Public school, however, pushes a very specific plan for life onto people--it's often known as the American Dream. You are told to get good grades, so you can get accepted into a good college. You then get good grades again, so you can get into a good grad school--at every stage, some drop out and enter the work force for lower amounts, and are lower on the chain. The longer you're in, the higher on the chain you get when you get out.

Then you get a career. You work your way up a corporate ladder, but only so high. You buy more and more stuff. You get in debt, and work to pay off the debt. You get bigger and bigger houses, nicer and nicer cars. A good looking wife. 2 dogs. You watch your kids grow up. Encourage them to repeat. You retire. You get old. And you die.

And that's life, in the American dream. And honestly, I don't want any part in that.

I didn't realize what an impact it had on the kid until he walked up to me out of nowhere a week later and told me he'd decided to pretend he'd never heard what I said. It took me a minute to see his eyes and realize he'd been thinking about this nonstop all week.

He never talked to me again.

--

Someone--an American, I was at a friend's wedding here tonight--just asked me this evening why I didn't have a Texan drawl. In high school, on the wrestling team, my nickname was 'brit' because they thought I had a British accent. (While I can do an excellent imitation, I definitely don't have a British accent). I just pronounce everything very clearly. I am an auditory learner/thinker, a musician, and a reader... I have a good sense of etymology, and the system of English makes sense to me at an intuitive level. I don't speak slowly, though--while foreigners who don't speak English well often tell me I am much easier to understand than others, I have heard a couple times that I speak quite fast (when I have a lot to say, I like to get it out as quickly and efficiently as possible). I'm known for long pauses in my speech occasionally. When people hear me sing, they say it doesn't correspond to how they think I would sound.

I have a thing for imitation and accents, as well, so I wonder if it's just me finding a perfect neutral ground. I can do a Texan accent if I feel like it, but it's not naturally there. Dunno. That's about as much as I can explain. You could skype with me if you really wanted to hear.

I have been told that my voice is soothing and calming before, now that I think about it.

---

Yes, that was in person. Though, in all honesty, I was pretty flustered myself, so I didn't blame her. I still wish we kept in touch. She told me her email before she moved to another country--franccesca fury @ [secret!].com--but I must not know how to spell her name correctly, because I tried every permutation and couldn't ever get an email through. (that was almost ten years ago--I can't believe I still remember that). C'est la vie.

She was hot, too. Ex-ballerina. And super cool. Great climbing partner. One of the few people I knew more flexible than I.

---

You would have either hated me or loved me. It often works that way. The only enemy I've ever had was an INTP; my closest friend is also an INTP.

 

[Tangent]

Repeatedly kicked out of Jewish studies class for arguing with my teacher about evolution.

Being my father's least favorite child from about 9 onwards because I would ask "why" and then be infuriated by/completely nonresponsive to his "when I say jump you say how high!" response

Eating the herbs in my garden because I was hungry and had once again lost/forgotten my house keys

Setting traps to catch the "tooth fairy" so that I could prove to my mother that I knew it was her so that she would stop telling me such ridiculous lies.

Burning ants with microscopes.

At 5 or 6 years old, having my parents called into the school because in an identifying emotions activity (involving finishing sentences beginning with things such as "I feel angry when" and drawing pictures depicting such) I had "I feel scared when my dad shaves me" with a corrosponding picture of a giant angry man holding something and chasing a tiny girl who was screaming. What I was trying to get across was that in the morning my dad would ritualistically chase me playfully with a handful of shaving cream and try and smear it on my face to gross me out. I wasn't actually scared in this type of scenario but I remember thinking that there was no way I was going to tell these strange people what I was actually scared of or what actually made me sad etc.

 

[Tangent]

Oh and when I was angry at my parents (usually for telling me to clean my room) I would "punish" them by putting an "I've run away" note on my door, taking a backpack, filling it with stuff, hiding under my bed and listening to the ensuing chaos. I told my neighbor to do this once when she was angry at her mum but she fell asleep in a cupboard so didn't emerge for a long time and the police were called. I knew what was happening but felt no obligation to tell anyone.

 

[Linsejko]

Nice punishment.

Sounds like a bleak childhood. Were you an angry child?

 

[Tangent]

Nice punishment.

Sounds like a bleak childhood. Were you an angry child?

No. I just really didn't understand what was appropriate and what wasn't. The running away scenario was always very heavily reinforced by my mother who would be so relieved when I reemerged that I would be showered with attention and she would totally forget about getting me to clean my messy room. And when I didn't tell anyone that my neighbor was just hiding it was because we were the best of friends and there was no way I was going to betray her and let her mean mother who criticized her for being overweight win.

I did have to put up with very EXXX parents who would never let me chill by myself (they considered me socializing to be my leisure time)... And attending a snobby religious school for 13 years wasn't the best fit for me either, especially since they had me in remedial classes until I was like 12 when they realized I was weird and bored not slow and promptly placed me in extension and "gifted" classes. I didn't make friends easily because I was shy, clumsy and weird. But other than that, ideal childhood I guess: grew up in a good area, given all educational opportunities, had heaps of family doting on me (except my EXTJ dad who to this day can't deal with my disorganization and self-isolation but now is more fond of me because he likes my job title and that my boyfriend is apparently paradable on paper). And it's funny how much easier it is to make friends once you grow out of a skinny awkward stage. People are pretty shallow and will approach you to be friends no matter how weird you are if they consider you visually appealing.

I do kind of have an experimental streak which may make me come off as if i were an angry child because I tend to think about how a situation will play out for so long in my head that I have to see if it will really happen that way. For example, my mum (a nurturing ENFP) was quite overprotective so when she first let me take baths without her in the room (I knew she was often sitting on the other side of the door) I'd splash around loudly for a while then suddenly stop so that she'd rush in, thinking I had drowned. It was simply a bit of fun and my method of finding out how often she was supervising me.

I had heaps of fun with my brother though (climbing stuff, building things, cooking, the usual) and my other older siblings all liked dragging me around. Through school I made a couple of nice friends- mostly intelligent but only in specific areas. One in particular was in most of my classes through school and I'd try and help her along because she was dyslexic and such. Some teachers have surprisingly fragile egos and DO NOT like that one of their students can explain something better to another student than they can.

The scary drawing... Haha well I just don't think my artistic abilities were very refined!

My gosh that was quite a post! I really didn't intend to talk for so long but I guess i really wanted to get across that I wasnt an angry kid, just a skinny, clumsy weird kid with ADD who had a pretty fun childhood with a bit of difficulty with organization and social skills.

 

[Tangent]

Holy c**p! It's even longer than I realized before I clicked post. Seriously, don't feel obligated to read it. That's why my display name is Tangent....

 

[Linsejko]

Well, went ahead and read it anyways.

That's why this is called intpforum..... Haha.

 

[areilla10]

Noticing a pattern here: there seems to be a kind of subconscious loathing for ants among INTPs. Perhaps something to do with their colonial habits. Follow the leader, don't step out of your role, cogs in the machine, a life of working from birth through death and not questioning it because "that's the way it's always been done" and the idea of wanting anything more is "crazy". I would imagine any ant that strayed from its intended purpose would be killed outright as it would determined to be defective and a waste of precious resources. Lucky that I'm not an ant.

Yes, we all do seem to have that weird experimental streak, don't we? I think I'll even view my own death with a sort of objectivity. I'll probably be gasping my last, feeling panicked and the pain of drowning in my own lung fluid and at the same time...strangely detached and thinking to myself, "Huh. So this is what death is like. I wonder what will happen next? Oh look at that, I've lost control of my bladder." This odd gift of objectivity, where even one's own life is part of the grand experiment, is sort of a dark thing isn't it? I'm a little disturbed by it. It's almost reptilian in its coldness. No doubt it's useful, but it certainly isn't designed to give anyone a warm, fuzzy feeling.

 

[areilla10]

I used to spend a lot of time outdoors as a teenager. I would spend hours walking late at night, talking to myself. I still carry on full hypothetical conversations with myself whenever I find myself alone, which is why I like it if I need to drive somewhere alone. As a teen I developed a real love (not really a big enough word) for nature. It was where I could be myself and never be questioned for it. Animals and plants don't judge. You are what you are and so are they. It is accepted with a figurative shrug and life goes on. When was the last time your dog cared that you were weird? It's a nice day outside, he just wants to go for a walk, "so grab my leash weirdo, and get your ass off the couch." I love that. No judgment, but no tolerance for self-pity either. Keeps you square and grounded.

Did anyone else "find" themselves in the nature as a kid? When you go to your happy place, is it usually accompanied by some of the remembered sensual pleasures of the great outdoors? Fresh wild raspberries? The scent of sun-warmed pine needles in the middle of summer? The sound of the wind in the pines or the quaking aspens, the sound of loons calling on the lake or the way music echoes across the water at night? The warmth of a campfire and the cold night air at your back. Hot gravel under your bare feet. New snow glittering under the morning sun on a gorgeous crisp January day. The smell of rotting maple leaves in the fall. The sound of a chainsaw, the smell of sawdust and sweat and pipe tobacco (it's how I best remember my grandfather). The smell of milkweed in bloom or lilacs. Lying in the soft grass of an old abandoned hay field. I don't know...Is this INTP or does this sound more like the ravings of an INFP? They blur sometimes, and I can't tell the difference.

 

[Dimensional Transition]

I have been thinking about my transition from kid to teen lately. I'm really ashamed of all the shit I did... It's like I went through most things of puberty at age 11 or something.

I found this old box from 5th/6th grade or so, with all my elementary school stuff in it. Besides finding 15 euros in it which I can probably put to good use now, I found a booklet with little stories me and my classmates made, and while everybody came up with pretty clever and cute stories about cats and deer and magic and stuff, I HAD to write a story about 'Frost the penguin', living in Antarctica, where there was "a Nightclub, a bar, a skislope, and much much more'. When suddenly they were all attacked by polar bears, just after he went to a concert of 'Antarctica Atlantica'(Some penguin black metal band I guess). He made ice-guns, and slaughtered all the Polar Bears. And then all of a sudden he had a bullet-free vest or something... It's a really incohesive story haha.

I also grew long hair thinking I looked really cool, while in reality I looked like a really ugly girl. I really don't know what I was thinking around that age...
Does anybody have similar experiences from around that age?(10-13)

What I also find interesting is that I found a little booklet in which the teacher had to describe personality. I was a lot more extroverted, according to this thing... It's kind of worrying that every category (is open and spontaneous, is hyperactive, is calm...) seems to vary dramatically every semester.

 

[Causeless]

As a junior is high school I was taking this really EASY science class, as I didn't really want to do any work. The class was a breeze for me, and very few things were taught that I didn't already know or assume. Yet... the other kids in this class actually needed to be here, and somehow found a way to constantly struggle. The material was an absolute breeze, and I was completely boggled at this age how some people could be so incredibly stupid. I assumed they either weren't trying (Moreso than I wasn't) or hadn't effectively learned how to read.


Anyway, we had these standardized benchmark tests that were somehow easier than the watered-down tests our teacher made. You could seriously take these tests knowing none of the material. The right answer practically waved at you while sitting amongst the other completely retarded choices for each answer. Half the time, even though I still did, you could probably pick the right answer without even reading the question.

Nearly everyone failed. Most students in the class had a score of around 50, and the few who passed didn't get over 75. I had a 98. The question I missed was impossible to get right unless you had guessed, as the correct answer was counted incorrect by the machine. (I wanted to argue a perfect score, but felt I would look like an ass if I did...) The class did SO badly that a "Test taking coach" was called in to lecture the class. Seemed like a good time to read a book for me!

The "Coach", however, didn't agree, and thought I was ignoring her... She asked,


"And what did you get on this question, Ryan?"

"I answered B, I got it right."

"Perhaps you should pay attention in case we go over one of the ones you missed?"

"I got them all right."

"Perhaps you have some study tips for your classmates then? How long did you take to study?"

"I didn't."


I went back to reading my book. She shut up pretty quick.

 

[Linsejko]

<3

So assholish. But such a great moment. I would have done the same.

Yeah, that was basically elementary school...

 

[Dimensional Transition]

That's awesome, Clueless.

<3

 

[Causeless]

That's awesome, Clueless.

Pfffahaa, thanks.

 

[Cerul]

Dunno if these are INTP things but

I used to question my own existence when I was about 4. I remember I used to wonder whether reality was all just a dream and asked my brother who would pinch me and say "did that hurt?", "yeah", "then you're not dreaming". I also questioned why my conscience was in my body and not someone else's and tried to imagine what it would be like in someone else's mind.

In my boredom I used to explore every nook and cranny in the house and go through any reading material we had. Also borrowed books from the school library on our weekly library borrowing session and would usually finish them well before the week was due (I pretty much never read books now though. Thank you internet)

Didn't have any friends till year 4. I used to think that people had friends by default when they started school and that I just didn't get assigned any. Beginning of high school was the same though I made a friend about half way through the first year cause I would just hang around whoever I could.

Memorised everyone's first and last names in primary school and wrote it down cause the graduation photo didn't have names.

During early high school I thought that everybody in the stream 1 class was hella smart, and was reluctant to go in. When I eventually did I was among (if not the) top of the class.

For some reason I can't really remember anything before about 4 years old.

I did a lot of things as a kid but I'm not so sure if they're a result of being in a dysfunctional family or being INTP. Although I'm a strong I my NTP areas are rather weak.

 

[Dimensional Transition]

Pfffahaa, thanks.

Damn it. Sorry

@Cerul:
I definitely recognize the life/death/reality thinking at a young age. I still think about those kind of things a lot. I remember finding it very hard to sleep because I always had a racing heart of all the scary thoughts about death and such. I was so afraid of death and unreality.

 

[thelithiumcat]

I was never really a trouble maker. In fact, for many years until perhaps year 8 or 9 in grammar school I was really quite naive. However, while I usually go along with what they want me to do because it's not worth making a fuss, I highly disapprove of some decisions my school has made and I don't respect teachers without reason. While I do have a strange obsession with hierarchy and sometimes use it to define how I act around people, it does not extend to teachers and I see them as rather on the same level as myself. Of course I know that this is not actually how it is but it's how I think about them. I relate to them.

In grammar school I think I got into a habit of not doing homework because a lot of it would be related to having to find it on the computer and I would decide that I was going to get distracted and that I wasn't going to do it before I even left the classroom. However, in class (when my fatigue allowed for it) I was a very solitary but very attentive learner. I still am but I'm slightly more dependent if I have friends because I tend to require them to confirm my theory of what I am expected to do. When I'm particularly tired I'll listen to everything the teacher says and not be able to recall a word. My mum says that primary school was always too easy for me. In fact, it was strange when I started to find things difficult. I was one of three people who almost always got 97% or more on a test so I have very high expectations of myself but my realistic nature means that I don't think I'll actually achieve them.

I know I used to read a lot. I don't know why but my dad took me to the library from time to time and I used to try and buy as many books as I could from the local bookshop which I would read within the week (my record so far was 10). I know that I had been reading independently for a long time when my sister was learning to read. My favourite book which I read frequently was my red Concise Science Encyclopaedia and my favourite section was section 9, Space. I also read quite a few classics such as Robinson Crusoe and Oliver Twist but, because I have a habit of ending up visualising as I read, I found that upon returning to Robinson Crusoe (for example) that much of what I thought I'd read wasn't actually what happened.

I spent a lot of time watching documentaries. I still do from time to time but no longer have the dedicated television channel and the ones I see just repeat information that was in the ones I used to watch. I particularly liked ones on space and natural disasters.

I know that I always had exactly one best friend. I used to consider myself friends with people including teachers, the lunch supervisors, lunch ladies and suchlike. I used to (and still do to a lesser extent) find being invited to someone's house something which was a very rare occurrence and a huge event. As I've got older I've noticed increasingly that when socialising tires me out or I don't intend to interact I will go and find a dark, out of the way place where I can absorb myself with my ipod, a book and my phone.

I've always been a tomboy and I remember that it's because when I was little and climbing the tree in our garden I decided that skirts and dresses would be entirely impractical for such activities and so decided to avoid everything 'girly' from then on. I'm still extremely uncomfortable wearing such things nowadays, partially because I feel they hinder my independence and I see no need to wear such impractical things. I'll stop while I'm still vaguely on topic =)

 

[Xayna]

Wow. There are some of you that describe me perfectly, and some of you that I'm just like ...No. lol

I wasn't a troublemaker. Never have been, probably never will be. I dislike the idea of causing a stir, although I've been known to just say no to things that go against my beliefs.

I don't know how much of this is dysfunction and how much is INTP, but I did some odd things as a child.

I was never one to go with the flow. I enjoy standing out from my peers, and that's always been the case. I've made it a point from a very early age to think for myself, because the kids that didn't were imbeciles and couldn't answer the question "Why?"

I can remember being five or six and laying in bed. I would stare at the colon of my clock and consider religion. I would contemplate what I'd been taught (I went to a private Christian school and was forced into church every week since I was old enough to be indoctrinated) and wonder if it were real. I mean, if God really existed, why didn't he prove it?

I was constantly asking the question "Why?" My mom would tell me something, and my first response would be "Why?" It bugged the shit out of the people around me because I could never just take an answer and be satisfied.

I've always loved music. I would immerse myself in music for hours and hours and hours. I taught myself to play several instruments. In fact, I've only had lessons on piano. Everything else I learned on my own. (Piano, guitar, flute, bassoon, and saxophone)

I used to read and read and read and read and read. I'd read during class and not pay attention to what the teacher was saying. I'd still get the highest grades in the class. I would read books far above my grade level and comprehend them perfectly. I would be so focused in my reading that mom and dad would call my name multiple times and I wouldn't hear them. I read more slowly than some people because I take time to visualize everything and I think slowly. I take time to process all the information I'm given, and sometimes go on random thought threads that are incredibly distracting.

Umm. Yeah. I never tortured animals. I've always gotten fabulous grades. I've always strived to be a free-thinker, even when I was a very small child.

 

[Linsejko]

*also never tortured animals. wtf, btw?

I speed read at a ridiculous pace, sometimes catching myself very nearly skipping whole paragraphs based on scanning key words down the middle... A bit disconcerting, actually.

 

[Dimensional Transition]

I was constantly asking the question "Why?" My mom would tell me something, and my first response would be "Why?" It bugged the shit out of the people around me because I could never just take an answer and be satisfied.

I still do that. Pisses all my teachers off. But really, how are you supposed to comprehend something fully when you don't understand WHY it is as it is? I really hate just 'learning', without figuring out the big structure that little piece of information belongs in. I have to see the big cohesion of things. I don't mind the little details too much. (Which is why I always get lower grades than I should get.)

 

[Joz_helloworld]

I'm not at all sure I was INTP when I was in school, not 100% sure now (INxP). I always enjoyed school, something that is a distinct no-no it seems for an INTP. EDIT: I just read Xanya's post... maybe not?

However, teachers were always complaining about me being vague and daydreamy. I absolutely hated doing fancy borders and such stuff, I didn't see any value in it. This was a constant source of difficulty, for some reason it was a big deal in my primary school. I didn't like things like times tables and they thought I was shit at maths. Until they did an algebra introduction, and I was coming back to the teacher for more problems while the others were still unable to understand. Because I was interested.

In high school I didn't do much that was INTP, except chose my boyfriends by how strange they were, because I wanted to see what made them tick.

 

[Linsejko]

In high school I didn't do much that was INTP, except chose my boyfriends by how strange they were, because I wanted to see what made them tick.

Super interesting. See, that's something a girl can do that a guy just can't pull off so easily.

 

[natg989]

Pretty sure I was always INTP, my mom was obsessive with the baby pictures and you can see the tortured look in my eyes even as a 1 year old crawling on the floor. I would stare directly into the camera and look especially intense and stoic, rarely smiled. I was an extremely curious kid, always exploring around the house and outside, loved nature and tree climbing. Would try to build tree houses but failed miserably due to a lack of male support in the family. But I compensated by making forts/tents inside the house. My INFJ cousin loved helping me with that kind of thing, he was my partner in crime when he came to visit. I know I asked "why" all the time because it drove my family insane, but I stopped when I realized it annoyed them so much. They are SJ types and were a complete hindrance to cultivating my intellect, they believe everyone should learn what they're "supposed" to learn in school. My upbringing was a tragedy and hugely affected how well I did in school, how I made my friends, how I spent my time. I never thought I was smart because I felt stupid for asking "why", never had my questions answered, was told I was wrong constantly, never felt like anything I did was good enough. SJs... curse them. Thankfully that's over with and I can focus on my life, but I'm still bitter and angry with the way I grew up. So much wasted time where I could have been learning, instead I was miserable and depressed.

I saw a video recording of me at the beach when I was two. I was a cute kid. Very rambunctious, running around and ridiculously happy to be near the water. I loved water/the ocean/swimming pools/taking baths, I learned to swim very early and was on swim team every summer for 4 years. Eventually I got sick of it, too competitive and I wasn't fast enough to enjoy the competition. I was very competitive too, I remember crying when I would lose at card games or any kind of game, really. I remember feeling publicly humiliated and would involuntarily burst into tears and feel horrible and have to go hide. My dad used to comment that he worried about me because I would always cheat at card games if I could get away with it. I wanted to win that badly.

I had an extensive collection of bath toys, when it was time for a bath I would demand to have all of my toys (like 20) next to the tub. I remember I used to bite the hell out of them, Ariel's flipper was particularly damaged. I have no recollection of this, but my family tells me when we'd go to the beach I would walk up to the water and start singing to the ocean like Ariel in The Little Mermaid. I was seriously obsessed with that movie, I named my dog Sebastian and my cat Flounder. In the video my dad called me to the camera, and as I came up I punched a dog that was in my way, not Sebastian but this big labrador. I have never liked big dogs so I found that funny. I put my face extremely close to the camera, blinked twice, and then ignored my dad and ran away when he asked me something, heh.

I don't remember doing this either, but apparently when I was really little I straight up asked my 15 year old obese cousin "why" she was fat in front of the entire family. Looking back I laugh, because I really wanted her to explain the scientific underpinnings of obesity. But as always, no one could help me with my questions. One more thing, I did have a really strong lisp as a kid, I had to attend speech class during P.E. to correct it and I was always ashamed of it. My cousins thought it was hilarious because I would get so frustrated when they couldn't understand me. They say when I was around 2-3 they asked me on a road trip what my favorite song was and I responded "the bidge". They thought I said "the bitch" and laughed, asking me to clarify. Apparently I got really frustrated with them and huffed "You know! london bidges falling down!". They still get a kick out of that one.

 

[Chris11]

Kindergarten: I didn't have any friends *except for those my parents made me befriend* always played alone with puzzles or tried to start conversation with the teacher *or what do they call them?*.
School: Reading books the whole day about animals and the human body even at home I wouldn't stop reading. And when lights were turned of because it is time to go to sleep I would use a little secret light to continue reading until I fall asleep.
My old friend from the first grade even told me that when the bell rang to announce the end of the break I was saying "yippie ich werde etwas neues lernen koennen" or " yippie finally I can learn something new".When my teacher calls my name I would respond after calling me three or four times she thought I was making fun of her,actually I just don't notice when someone calls my name when I am thinking.

Lol. I would do that as well (the secret light)! I once got yelled at and told to sit in a corner at a Friends house when I was in grade 3 because I argued against my friend's parent's arguments for the belief in god (what I now know as the watch maker, and Pascal Wager's arguments). Then, I would worry about things like nuclear holocasts, large asteroid collisions, and so on, to the point where I wasn't able to sleep for days. I was worried that my parents would have thought that I was insane; due to the amount of anxiety I had felt, I felt insane...

I would also learn about math and science on my own, and argue with teachers. I remember in grade 5 that I once asked my teacher about evolution. She stated that it is "gradual change over time." I found this to be unsatisfactory. It was supposed to be the most important scientific breakthrough of all time, and THAT'S all you have to tell me about it! I had to take an IQ test. I scored at the 99+ %ile apperently, but the teacher didn't think that I was gifted because I wouldn't do the assignments she gave us. I thought: "Yeah, I can write sentences, let's get on to the next thing"; and, "yes, I understand basic arithmetic to the point where I can add/multiply/divide/subtract anything to/by anything, this repition is a waste of time." They would also take me to go play chess with grade 7 students when I was in grade 3,4,5, and I would pwn them.

Overall, however, my growing up was mostly a negative thing; those anxieties I told you about were an anxiety disorder that reached great heghts in high school... But, it has, I think, given me something of a unique perspective upon things.

 

[ObliviousGenius]

I'm going to go ahead and wake up this thread. My childhood is strange. I remember in kindergarten I use to hate drinking milk. They told me if I don't drink it they would shove it down my throat, and I believed them. I was always the kid to question everything. My grades were excellent up until high school, I was always the smartest kid in my class. I won the !st through 5th grade spelling bee as a 2nd grader. I was also the most bullied. I think it was because the other guys were jealous of the fact all the girls had crushes on me (not to brag but yeah) but I was oblivious to those girls. I remember me and my best friends Kevin and Christopher would come to school and talk about DragonBallZ EVERYDAY. At recess we would pretend to have super powers and play dragonballz games, but all we were doing was playing tag. We all had our "special abilities" to make us run faster. Kevin's was Hydro Pump, which he stole from Pokemon. Mine was "Hayloluyah" which spawned from I don't where. And Chris didn't have one as he was never "it". The day after My 13th birthday when my voice changed from a sqeaky kid to Barry White (literally in one night my voice is deeper than my dad's) I got 50 bucks from my parents and 10 from an aunt. I didn't want to spend the money so I decided to steal a pack of yu-gi-oh cards from walmart and of course I got caught and they took back all 60 bucks despite my effort to keep the 10 from my aunt. My first 3 years of high school were actually pretty cool besides my laziness with school work. Senior year...sigh I had to move from a white high school to a black one (I am black) but used to white people. Worst year of my life I got jumped on the first day of school for no reason at all and I didnt have any friends. I sat a lunch table (After weeks by myself or not eating at all) with a guy from my English class even though we really weren't true friends. I was painfully quiet from culture shock and girls looked at me like I was crazy for not hitting back on there advances. College is a completely different story I love it and the girls and weed where I experienced both for the first time.
Btw I'm 20

 

[Smithers10030]

when i was about...nah nevermind the age, can't remember. when i was about _ i cut my bangs because i couldn't see a thing. my sister saw that i did a good job so she asked me to cut hers.

bad idea for my sis. hers looked terrible.
___________
At school, i was the loner/weird type. Most people avoided me and during a(n) fire/earthquake drill, i was reading a book and when the alarm went off, everyone was all running and shit, but i kept my cool and continued reading. i didn't notice my classmates leave so was one of the last ones to get out. i had a cranky expression and was mumbling that "The damn drill disturbed my reading time..."
___________
During my 7th grade, teachers allowed me to read/draw during class provided that i could answer their questions. i was constantly doodling one of my characters that was a bit sadistic and a pedophile. He was holding a weapon and deciding what to do with the 'younger' character whom he captured.

 

[Litawyn]

I remember when I was about 12 years old growing up in Ohio, I told my friend Tim that it was time to build a tunnel and that he was going to help me do it. I sat down with a legal pad, pencil and ruler and designed an elaborate labyrinth that probably went on for about a mile underground, weaving in many directions before finally ending at a wooden door to a little rectangular box of a room that I envisioned would be about 6' x 6' x 10'. The door would also have a lock, just in case I wanted the extra privacy. This cool, humid little space would be comprised of solidly-packed dirt walls, ceiling and floor, and would contain nothing more than a single bare light bulb (probably not more than a 30 watter) hanging from the ceiling above a little wooden chair. The room would contain nothing else. That's where I wanted to go hang out---by myself. But I'd enlisted the help of my crazy, energetic, extroverted friend Tim to help me dig.

One hot Summer afternoon, we got a couple of shovels and finally broke ground about 50 feet away from his house. After digging a hole large enough to plant a very small tree, we decided to go eat pizza instead.

I now live on an island 16 miles off the coast of Maine where I've lived for nearly 17 years. This place has in many ways served as that private, secret room deep in the ground that I'd once hoped to build as my ultimate getaway. I now have an orchard and dig holes on a regular basis for little trees. One of these days I just might get around to digging a hole deep enough to realize that dream I had as a kid.

Being a P though, it's not very likely. . .



Litawyn

 

[Question Authority]

When I was a kid, though I didn't realize it myself, I'd get by without doing most of my HW. For me it was optional, at least in my mind, since if I didn't do them, I'd still get high grades. I never even realized that most people did all or most of their homework, since I got the same grades as them, I assumed that homework was just a guideline, more or less. It hit me hard when I went to Middle and High school.

Also, I'd read during any class, where I knew the information. I'd never take notes, and I'd barely pay attention, but I'd still out perform everyone on tests. And since standardized tests were gaining more importance, when I was younger, I'd get positive reinforcement, by the fact that I'd simply do well on those standardized tests, without studying, so my underachieving attitude continued.

 

[xbox]

I too was taken to the doctor several times as a child because of my lack of responsiveness, or possible depression which I didn't have.

 

[ItsRelative]

I created imaginary worlds that i then turned in to games with rules, then i would draw outlines of it on paper and play I was very young. I still have almost all those papers and it's fun to just browse trough them Some of them i can't even understand anymore.

 

[Wittgenstein]

In the fifth grade, I built a small drill using a hobby motor from Radioshack, a 9-volt, and some crap I dug out of my step dad's toolbox. I wrapped a wire around the shaft to create a drill bit. Looking back, I can't believe I didn't get in any trouble for it. Maybe it was because the only adult that saw the drill was the science teacher, whose reaction was less "OMG U R VIOLENT" and more "Ooh, a gadget! Can I try it!?"