What were you like in Primary/Elementary school?

[Deleted member 1424]

When I was young I would write in perfect mirror image My third grade teacher literally had to use a mirror. I'm not really sure why, but I remember not being able to discern the difference between normal writing and my own. Of course I learned how to write normally; but I wish I'd retained that ability (I can still do it to a much slighter degree).

I was socially awkward and I terribly arrogant pre-sixth grade. I was always told how intelligent I was by my parents, teachers, peers). Really looking back I was such a pretentious little brat. I went to sixth grade when I was nine (skipped 5th) and was stripped whatever pride and confidence I had. I went to a rough middle school literally minutes from Mexico, in an area you don't walk around, at night. I was one of probably 14 white kids out of 500. My utter lack of social skills, my age, and my tendencies to show off academically(I'd always been praised for it) ostracized me from everybody. I was bullied and heckled constantly and severely. I was new to town, had no friends(literally the whole year), and I was an easy pint-size target. One of my biggest tormentors was a six foot 16 year old male eighth grader(I wish I was kidding). Another one was, quite stereotypically, a cheerleader. Anyway I became extremely depressed. For a long while I felt like nobody noticed or cared about my existence. I had two highly theatrical E siblings in high school and a high strung E mother (both parents worked a lot as well). I was only ever acknowledged for my grades. I had no one. Don't get me wrong I don't blame my family, I made a point not to be noticed. I was ashamed of my problems. Whenever I was home I'd just isolate myself in my room.

I started faking illnesses to avoid going to school. I did it so much my mom started to ask questions (I usually had perfect attendance). When I wouldn't answer any of them and basically started sobbing incoherently, I guess she finally realized something was up. My mom had always praised me for academics, but never really took note of my emotional side. My mom is the type to act extremely quickly. When she saw how miserable I was she immediately used her connections (as a teacher) to move me (in the middle of the 4th semester) to a 5th grade class in a much better school. To her credit I guess she realized I wasn't the type to voice my problems (like Es often are). From then on she always kept close tabs on my mental state; often to my chagrin. I recovered gradually over the next few years; I would go in and out of depression frequently till my 10th year. I did develop a very gregarious mask for school after awhile; but I couldn't kept it up at home. That nightmare year stripped away my self esteem, made me fearful and instilled in me a fundamental pessimism. I am much more confident(not just as a mask), independent(I don't rely on others for approval), and I suppose grown up now. I look back now and think that at least it stopped me from becoming narcissistic.

It wasn't until my 10th, that I ever had any 'real' friends. I had surface friends I guess, but these were the first (and really only) people I'd ever trusted outside my family (which were really only my brother and father). Even so I must be a very hard person in that what they know about me is only what I let them know; ie. very little. Side note: Masks see to be very common with INTPs.

hmmm this post is fairly whiny........ Don't hold it against me

 

[Deleted member 1424]

@civillian
In 4th grade I 'went out' with a set of twins, because I liked them both and couldn't tell them apart readily. I'm surprised they were ok with it

 

[Reverse Transcriptase]

When I was young I would write in perfect mirror image My third grade teacher literally had to use a mirror. I'm not really sure why, but I remember not being able to discern the difference between normal writing and my own. Of course I learned how to write normally; but I wish I'd retained that ability (I can still do it to a much slighter degree).

Heh. In early elementary school my teacher gave us math problems in code, so we'd have to decipher them and then answer the problem. I answered the problem and then reciphered the answers. The teacher was annoyed for some reason; but I felt it was perfectly reasonable to make the teacher decipher something.

Also... jealous!

 

[FacetiousPersona]

Wow, everyone seems to enjoy bragging in this thread.

 

[Chronomar]

I used to write backward, example, if I were to write INTP, I would have started at the right end of the paper and written PTNI (in that order). So I read left to right, and wrote right to left, and had to come up with what I wanted to say, memorize it, spell it forward, flip it backward, and then write it. I have no idea why my pre-kindergarten self thought this was simpler...maybe it was just the way it was.

One of my worst school 'faults' is always coming up with a complex / difficult solution to a simple problem, and taking that route, without ever even recognizing the existence of a simple solution. An example is when at math club I read a word problem that could have been solved by simple listing and counting...and I tried to solve it by creating a system of equations. Ran out of time (I hated timed tests, but eventually mastered them).

 

[Chronomar]

Wow, everyone seems to enjoy bragging in this thread.

Yes. Bragging is an INTP talent. To the annoyance of my siblings.

 

[zxc]

Wow, everyone seems to enjoy bragging in this thread.

We should make a bragging thread. That would be fun.

 

[pussinboots]

i was made to learn how to make eye contact at 9 years old.
it was horrific.

now, it's either too much or too little and it's got nothing to do with being shy as i'm actually quite socially confident and perhaps, too rowdy for my own good.

 

[Kianara]

Kindergarten: I went to a private kindergarten (public school all after that unfortunatly). I actually remember my first 'intellectual' debate ever happened there. My best friend Kyle and I were at the top of the slide in the playground. We were arguing whether a 'few' was greater or less than a 'couple'. I was arguing that a couple was bigger than a few, citing my evidence of how other people used the words. He said a few was greater than a couple. After some more argument, we went down the slide to ask the teacher what it was. I was wrong but continuted to argut ever since.

About midway through kindergarten, my mother was called in for a parent/techer conference. No reason was given. So she went and the teacher asked her what my father did for a living. My mom proceeded to say that she was divorced, but that he was an architect. My teacher immediatly switched tracks and asked her what we talked about at home. My mom said that we talked about anything and everything really. Then she asked why the teacher had called this conference. She sighed and said that we'd been in a circle-time discussion the other day, talking about stuffed animals. She was asking the kids what was your favorite stuffed animal, etc. I raised my hand to add a jewel to the conversation.

"A taxidermist is a person who stuffs animals!"

... yeah. Apparently my teacher was scrambling to shut me up and keep the other kids from asking questions. This was kindergarten.

First - Thrid Grade, I wasn't really standout. I remember getting stuff right, being mostly unpopular, and being abandoned by my friends after first grade. I just remember that I throughly enjoyed the units we did on Ancient Rome (I still have my notes), China, Greece, and Egypt. I also read the Chronicles of Narnia about 1000 times.

Fourth Grade. New school, new county, new house. Seemingly all of a sudden (for me) I was the smartest in class. I made my first new friend who then proceeded to step on my back on her way to popularity. She moved after 4th grade and I was very happy. My teacher let us on the computers after we finished our assignments, and I wanted to play with Neopets, so I always finished first. I also started my love affair with the Redwall series. I became good friends with my school's librarians and my teacher adored me.

My eyes started deteriorating and I needed glasses. This resulted in teasing (smart kid, has glasses). I mostly ignored it and kept on a mask of amused distance.

I also made my best friend (for 4th and 5th anyway) at this time. His name was Ryan and I am almost certain he was an ENTP. We were the smartest in our class and had a friendly rivalry. We were obviously the smartest, but neither of us joined the 'gifted education' program. We also were both apart of the before/after school program. I would spend the entire time before and after school (about 5 or so hours) reading. I would sit against the wall and read. He would drop by several times and talk with me. He is still one of a small handful of people who have ever been able to interrupt me reading without me minding. We also had debates, which has since been a pattern in my best friends.

Fifth Grade: Same school, more bullies. I came home the first day and asked my mother what a ghetto whore meant. Because that's what I was called. I had a new, better teacher who didn't let us on the computers, but let me go to the library. She started Ryan and me on an advanced math program to keep us amused since, during her actual math lesson, I would finish the work and start making my own, more difficult problems.

I came to know the librarians on a first name basis. At my school, we had this reading program called the AR system. Basically, when you read a book (fiction or nonfiction) you could take a test. Each book was worth a certain amount of AR points (more for a bigger/harder book) and you got more points if you did better on the tests. I had fun with the AR system in 4th grade, but 5th grade I had much more fun. I tried to get as high as possible. Normally, getting 50 points in a quarter warrented those students a pizza party. I always got that, but the third quarter of school, I broke the all-time school record by getting 250-some points.

They also had us take reading-level tests at this time. I took it with my class and got a 12.4. That meant I was at 12th grade, 4 months in my reading level. Despite my teacher's backing, the administration thought that I'd cheated/gotten ridiculously lucky. They made me take it again. I got a 12.8 and they dropped the issue.

I also read the Book of Revelation during 5th grade and wrote my own interpretation. I'm still looking for that notebook. I had more debates with Ryan and we had very indepth discussions of what exactly our peers meant by the use of the words, "crush" and "like". Mostly because we thought that those words were silly since we 'liked' each other and never did any of that silly stuff.

I graduated 5th grade and they gave me the title of "Future Jeopardy Champion"

6th grade: I went to an IBMYP middle school and got to go to the advanced math class. It was the usual 8th grade level math. For the first time, I had a group of friends. They invited me to sit with them. We were all smart and in the Gifted Education Program (It was finally worth joining). I remember one day when one of my friends and I practically tag-teamed our history teacher. She'd been misspelling a word for over 50 years. We consulted 2 dictionaries.

Life was chipper until around March when I noticed that the boy who sat in the back of my history class and drew all the time didn't have any friends. He was in gifted and my math class too. My friends were always making fun of him, and that bothered me because he reminded me of how I used to be. I thought it was wrong how they made fun of him and started protesting their jokes. Then, one day around the end of March, I went up to him and introduced myself. It was the first time I can remember going up to somebody and introducing myself of my own free will with the intent of becoming their friend.

He became one of my very best friends and still is today. He's my favorite debate partner. His name is David and you know him as Wisp.

That's about it for my primary education. The rest of middle school I don't think counts as primary, and I've rambled from Kindergarten to 6th grade, which I think is probably more than anyone here wants to hear.

 

[Carnap]

In 5th grade (11 years old), we had to bring in a poem to read out loud. Everyone brought Roald Dahl. I brought some long winded William Blake. Everyone dressed like kids, I wore dresses with combat boots and started having actual taste in music.

My teacher hated me. She liked the pretty dimpled slow learning Leah. She would let Leah bring her desk up to hers to give her special help.

My mom had a conference with the teacher. She said, "[ "Carnap" ] doesn't think you like her". The woman's face turned bright red. Ha ! She didn't know I was catching on !

She pulled me aside in class one day "what should we do about our relationship. Let's just face it, you"re different from the others"

And I went out to the playground confused and a little teary eyed.

 

[Weliddryn]

My brother sneaked out of his kindergarten class, got into the janitor's closet and high jacked the vacuum cleaner.

 

[Tyria]

I was usually alone in school. I don't remember friends being a big part of my life at the time. My outlook was one of curious amusement. I knew I was going to leave soon so it didn't really matter what I did in school. I was right.

 

[bananaphallus]

*Lots of grammatical errors/stream-of-consciousness...it happens; more a recollection of events than an accurate indication of who I was/am as a person - I'll need to think about that.

Preschool - Was at a church, remember the cleanup song...not much else.

Kindergarten - Class bully [self-appointed/had troubles at home] gave me a small diamond (literally) then demanded it back at end of day; I refused, schoolyard scuffle involving me delivering near fatal [kidding] elbow thrust to his sternum. Teachers who witnessed the event sided with bully, but later came to senses and granted me clemency. Eureka moment, English language decides to quit being so unintelligible, read text on back of 'learn how to read' book while passing by Seaside cemetery on way home from AC Moore. Girl named Robin tells me she 'loves me' in morning, rescinds comment/sentiment at end of day.

First Grade: Would constantly ask friends if they'd brushed their teeth, teacher (Mrs. Keenan, is that you?) gets upset with my habit of finishing work 'too early'/in an unsatisfactory manner. During exercise in which we were asked to draw things we'd like to have and give reasons why, teacher takes issue with my reason for wanting speedboat: "because I said so". Teacher gets preggers/quits/explodes, very Italian/masculine substitute fills in for rest of year. Would receive invitation to class reunion beach party years later, refuses to go, and later comes to regret decision.

Second Grade: Honestly don't remember. Probably sucked.

Third Grade: Ms. Homan, former nun, very anal/overbearing/physically imposing. Introduced to multiplication/division, still remember not understanding it at first...it's weird to remember not understanding something you now consider second nature. Would frequently buy soft pretzels for people sitting at lunch table. Don't remember much else. Get blue Power Ranger doll for B-Day. Lose good friend after making insensitive comment about his deceased father during lunchroom argument, really regret this.

Fourth Grade: Mr. Guillespie, great man. Remember sitting in back of classroom with Emily and Zach, looking up naughty words in dictionary/chuckling. Teacher reads to us 'Danny, Champion of the World', and I love it. Teacher gets fed up with us not paying attention, moves me across room and seats me adjacent to Erin - blonde bombshell, who breaks the ice by saying, ' at least you don't talk much', but laughs in doing so, I nearly melt. Invites me over to sit with her in bleachers during class photos, suddenly thrust into love triangle when best friend Zach (fellow pinko/we thought communism was cool at the time) confides in me his affection for this very same Erin. Things come to a head at end of class field trip to Philadelphia Museum of Art, I let it slip to Erin that Zach likes her, Zach gets mad, hits me in front of teacher, argument ensues, friendship on ice. Generally speaking, things become awkward. Mama bear brings home B + W Alaskan Husky named 'Bandit' who would've been put down by pet store owner were it not for mama bear's decision to purchase said dog, develop strong bond with dog/love him. Weird end of year episode with Emily on field during class sojourn to the great outdoors, doesn't reciprocate professions of affection, distinctly remember saying 'what's my line?'...not sure why.

Fifth Grade: Mr. Jackson, 'nother great guy, very independent and interesting person. In class with Zach again, teacher would frequently ask us to put hands down and say 'I know you know'. Undefeated in multiplication worksheet races for the year; still proud of this. Class camping trips are great fun, close call with a*shole bear while sleeping. Campfire conversations with Erin are great fun. Start going to IMPACT, in-school creative problem solving class for [allegedly] gifted children.

Sixth Grade: Bleh. Stupid year. Involved in educational art video production with crazy art lady at bird observatory in Cape May, hilarious.

Seventh Grade: Forced to enter science fair as a test grade by science teacher, Mr. Welch, invents 'aquasave mop' - a water filled toy fire extinguisher affixed to mop with rudimentary trigger mechanism - or what would later come to be known as 'Swiffer WetJet', disqualified from science fair for getting water outside allotted area. Enters into 'Focus Art' program, artistic brilliance ensues. Go to 'STOKES' in Poconos, feel completely alone and isolated/hate the people I'm forced to surround myself with.

Eighth Grade: Realize during lunch that snack-line obscures view of beverage refrigerator, steal two snapple pink lemonades every day for nearly entire year, lunch aide's warning goes unheeded, gets caught, given choice between telling parents himself or allowing VP to do so, chooses former, is proud of himself. Feigns sickness on day of class ski trip. Attends his only school sponsored function, the 'Graduation dance', enjoys himself.

 

[Zero]

From day one, I begged my parents to home school me.

Every

Single

Day

I told them how much I hated school.

I was "sick" quite a lot. I went from a private school, to a public one, to the private school again, to a public middle school. I sort of made friends, or at least found groups to hang out with. I wasn't "shy", but very social inept and unaware. I didn't have friendships in the sense that I hung out with people outside of school. The only time I had done this was in elementary and due to my poor social skills and social understandings I lost all my friendships.

In seventh grade, I had a full blown breakdown. I had an anxiety attack and emotional breakdown in my music class.

My parents FINALLY decided to home school me after that.

My parents knew, when I started Kindergarten, that I had a learning disorder, as I couldn't identify letters, despite being taught them. The disorder I have makes socializing (and noise) extremely stressful. I actually (visually) remember the first Kindergarten. It was a private school and supposedly progressive and the teacher taught by rolling in a little TV set at the front of the class. I was extremely confused by the experience. I tried to copy the other kids, but I had no idea what we were doing. I went to several specialists who could identify my learning disorder. Ultimately, it would seem to me my parents when with an experimental "brain" therapy to help me with the disorder. What would've probably helped more, if the disorder had been more understood, would've been going to a variety of language therapists and a speech therapist.

The second kindergarten I went to was also at a private Christian school. The kids were horrible; my so-called "friends" were constantly creating drama and switching friends. None of which I was aware of/understood, it was just one day I was friends with someone and the next day I wasn't or they'd even be mad. The school was small and ignorant of my disorder, they had no idea how to cope with it.

Despite what felt like prolonged abuse, there was a point in which my parents took me out of school (in seventh grade). So I was home schooled for the remainder of middle school and for all of high school. Most of it was independent study. After all that, my mom said she wished she'd home schooled me from the start, like I begged my parents to for years.

I think it goes without saying that I didn't do very well in school. At times I did "ok", but otherwise an average to below average student. The public schools were better about understanding learning disorders.

There's no question as to where my passionate hate for schools came from. I liked going to community college. It is perhaps the sole example of a time I enjoyed school, but the classes were very small and I had direct contact with the professors. I hate the university.

I could write a book about how much I hate/d school.

*To their credit, I did have many nice, well meaning teachers along the way.

 

[Sugarpop]

^Nice one, banana.

 

[shoeless]

let's see...

kindergarten and first grade -- i don't remember too much. i was living in georgia and i think i was a fairly happy child. always very shy, very conscientious. teachers liked me because i was sweet and quiet (although i remember once my first grade teacher blew up on me because i addressed her improperly?) and i never caused a scene. not intentionally. i hated nap time. was already crushing on boys at this point, but i made the mistake of telling my family and caught shit for it. haven't mentioned my love life since then.

second through fourth grade -- we moved to germany, and things started getting more difficult. i was still awfully shy, and the people that made friends with me were all very bossy. i got in with a sort of bad crowd, you know, for elementary school. teachers still generally liked me though, because in class i was still very nice and sweet and quiet and never directly caused trouble. i was smart, you know, got good grades, actually knew how to spell, etc. i was very much a follower, though. i think i was terrified of being myself.

fifth grade -- i moved to south carolina, and made friends with other awkward shy kids. i don't remember the south carolina years very well. i don't really know why.

so yeah. in general... elementary school was hardly fantastic.

 

[snowqueen]

@banana

That was brilliant and hilarious - thanks for posting that!

 

[Cognisant]

In kindergarten my teachers thought I was mute & retarded because I was so quiet and inactive, waiting out the day like someone standing in an elevator, which surprised my parents because they couldn't get me to shut up, I was full of questions.

In early primary school I did the IQ tests like everybody else, overnight going from the hopeless child who cannot be taught, to the school's pride an joy prodigy
Everybody started treating me differently, expectations soared to ridiculous heights, and I just continued politely ignoring everyone, collecting distinctions until my truly prodigal laziness caught up with me.
Not that I cared, easy come, easy go.

From then on my report cards were reiterations of this:
1. <name> is a wonderfully polite, quiet student, a real pleasure to teach.
2. <name>'s grades would be so much better if he applied himself more (at all).

Of course as the years passed I got bullied more and more, partly for being so quiet, but mainly because I simply refused (oh so politely) to be friends with anyone, I treated them all as I wished to be treated, and I don't know if this offended them or if they just singled me out because I was easy, unbelievably easy.

Only by the last couple of years in highschool did my violent streak come.
So you broke the loner, here's your prise.

They left me alone.

 

[Zero]

This is always the area I think I mustn't be an INTP as I didn't do well in school. I was never smart and I wasn't arrogant (Not to my knowing, though I have no idea how I came off to other people). Sometimes I think people like me don't have personalities, we have disorders. But then, there's more to "personality".

 

[Geminii]

As reflected upthread, teachers tended to peg me as intelligent but not applying myself. This was mainly because I honestly couldn't see anything at school worth applying myself to. I got asked questions, I answered them. Mostly I got them right. But at that age, school (and life in general) was a vaguely confusing blur of things I had no control over and which just washed me along. Go here, walk there, stand over there, read this, recite that, give the answer to this problem. If there was any rhyme or reason behind it all, it never made itself known to me. I wasn't even aware that anything in life was supposed to have it a reason. Things just were.

So I drifted through primary school in a sort of vague fog, politely bemused by the whole process. I got good enough grades so that the teachers didn't feel they had to concentrate on me, and while there may have been those who helped me along the way, I didn't realise at the time that this was out of the ordinary (having nothing to compare it with), and can't recall it now.

When I was asked if I wanted to go do some advanced study at another school one day a week, I shrugged and said "Okay?"

When I was asked if I wanted to go to a different primary school for sixth and seventh grade because they had an advanced-student program, I shrugged and said "Okay?"

When I was put into the not-closest high school because they too had an advanced-student program, I didn't even consider that there might have been other options. It was The Way Things Were.

It's even had a psychological carryover to adulthood. I tend to subconsciously wait for things to come to me, rather than going out and getting them.

 

[Xel]

In Elementary school I would describe my self as very earnest, very gullible, and very impulsive. I took on different personas that I saw in media because I wanted a world that made sense like those worlds (even if those worlds didn't make sense, at least they were consistent). I wasn't very reflective, I just sort of "did" things. I said what I thought when asked without censorship, I insulted people if they annoyed me. I was later told that I became more withdrawn after I first started going to school. I have no idea if this is the case though. My goal was to have fun. I had fun. It was pretty good. My friends were just people I fell in with and we fought a lot. Impulsive. I had trouble learning to read and write. I found math confusing. I was, and still am, completely disorganized. There was about one year, a summer in fact, where I was completely selfish and bratty. But it was at a point to where I was self-conscious of it. Throughout my childhood religion was always there. It was the elephant standing in the room. But I wasn't questioning it. I'm unsure as to how I really felt about people in general. I never really understood what exactly friendship meant until middle school other than "the people you play with". I don't think I became myself until age 12 really.

 

[LAM]

Well, I had an interesting start. Before I started elementary school, I already learned how to read, and had bad ear infections that affected my speech development. So in school I was always academically bored, and I hardly ever talked unless I was talked to. I read to my kindergarten class, and was often correcting my classmates' spelling mistakes. I once got really frustrated when someone was spelling "three" as "there". I was an extreme bookworm. I also developed a very modest timid demeanor I'm still trying to outgrow. I was a teacher's dream, being both quiet and intelligent.

I was quiet, intelligent and I never made a fuss like you . And I was always friends with everyone from grade 3. Except when I moved to Australia and went to year 6 there for a month. I mean the london kids I had known for year 5 and 6 were all friendly but a bit "off" so I fit right in. Year 3 and 4 I was in some genius school so it was all good there too.

But in australia... Wow. Every single one of them seemed to be completely focused on extraverted activities. I only knew one smart guy there and he wasn't introverted. If I was asked I would have said they were all loud and brash.

In fact out of 100 people in year 10 now, I only found about 6-10 smart people who were good at academics... I think its the school I am in though, so I am moving to a more academic one .

 

[Cavallier]

I was really very independent and hated any teacher that tried to infringe upon my personal freedom. That caused a lot of problems.

Hmmm...I'll try to dredge up some interesting stories:

Kindergarten: Befriended a foster girl named Bambi who painted nothing but black. At the time I felt bad for her and the other kids bullied her. Thus began my crime fighting life of being a bullying avenger. Looking back I think she was abused. Other than that I was bored, read picture books, and pretty much avoided the other kids. I almost failed that year because I refused to tie my shoes for an overbearing old witch of a woman who only spoke in a high pitched whine.

1st Grade: I was scared to death of the math teacher. Thus began my hatred of math.

2nd Grade: The teacher was really nice but I made her cry. She pissed me off in some way I don't remember and I stomped out of the classroom and hid until it was time to go home on the bus. When I got home, she had tearfully called my father hoping I hadn't been abducted.

3rd Grade: I was in a split class (half 2nd Grade, half 3rd Grade). The teacher only taught 2nd grade math. I did not learn my multiplication tables until I was in the 5th grade.

4th Grade: The teacher discovered that I didn't know multiplication. She taught me division instead. Actually had a few friends.

5th Grade: Moved to Alabama and started Public School there. Cried every day for 6 weeks until my parents pulled me out of school and home schooled me. One of my teachers would ramble off in the middle of a lecture and then stand there silently staring off into space for the rest of the class time...it was creepy. My parents finally pulled me out because when my mother complained to the principal about the poor teaching quality the principal told her not to worry. "She's only a girl after all." My mother taught me for the rest of the year and I finally learned my multiplication tables!

6th Grade: I went to Private Christian School # 1. Wonderful teacher. Pretty good classmates. Then the Bat Shit Insane Principal (preacher's wife) fired her and everything went down hill from there. I learned that Satan planted the dinosaur bones around the world to mislead us.

7th Grade: I went to a Private Christian School # 2. Self taught/paced with workbooks and cubicles. Finished early most days and spent the afternoon reading. On Wednesdays, after suffering through a church worship service, got off at Noon. I once overheard the principal (preacher/principal of the school) announce that he didn't want niggers in his school.

8th Grade: Read above.

9th Grade: Moved to a small town in Oregon. Graduated 4 years later with the largest graduating class of 56 students. Hated. Every. Minute. Bashed a guy in the head with a bottle because he was sexually aggressive toward me. Established myself as the smart girl you didn't mess with. Otherwise I kept to myself and didn't interact much. I had many math teachers who were never a good fit for me. Algebra: Hated and feared my teacher. Geometry: The teacher told me I needed to read the text book to understand the concepts. If I told her I had read the book but still had problems she told me to read the book again and again until it made sense. I had some people I got along with well enough but I dropped them almost immediately after graduating and haven't kept in touch.

One thing that never failed me was reading. I avidly read everything and still do. Which explains the literature major and philosophy minor.

Then glorious, beautiful, delicious college/university! I studied what I wanted. Independence was prized and rewarded. I had found my mecca. I did wonderfully in almost everything I studied.

 

[Devercia]

B + W Alaskan Husky named 'Bandit'

My B+W Husky was named Bandit.

 

[LAM]

Wow. Most of you guys had/have it so much harder than me in school. Well after/during year 2 anyways. I was an almost perfect student in a top french Belgian school with heaps of friends from year 2 to year 4. Then I went to year 5-6in an average London school in which I made friends with basically everyone again and was a good but not perfect student.
Then I moved to my current HS here in Sydney in year 7. (although I was in an australian primary school for last month of year. I made my ESTP friend there and we still hang out every couple of weeks even now Definitely one of my best friends.) In the HS I met a couple of really cool friends but they all mostly left for more academic schools. I stayed in year 8 until basically all of my intelligent but non-jerwad friends left. Then I tried to move schools in year 9 but problems with the visa I have meant it got delayed until term 1 in year 10 now (I am so pissed off by this. It was basically a complete waste of a year and I yearn to get out of here as soon as possible.)

I did not expect to have such completely different experiences from most of you here. Maybe I am not an INTP (yeah, I am one of those guys who seem to never get if he is an ENTP or an INTP.)

 

[White Rabbit]

It was a pretty chaotic period, I must say. I had no actual friends throughout the whole period, up until grade 9. Pretty isolated most of the time, although at school I would hang out with peeps and standard shit like that. I had absolutely no social skill for a very long time, nor I was interested in learning them. I would spend my free time reading about Taoism and Buddhism and failing to find anyone to discuss it with. Refused to go out at all, do the girly talk and all that girly shit. It was just weird. And then in high school, my Ne started blooming and I transformed into a beautiful swan that I am today.

 

[LAM]

It was a pretty chaotic period, I must say. I had no actual friends throughout the whole period, up until grade 9. Pretty isolated most of the time, although at school I would hang out with peeps and standard shit like that. I had absolutely no social skill for a very long time, nor I was interested in learning them. I would spend my free time reading about Taoism and Buddhism and failing to find anyone to discuss it with. Refused to go out at all, do the girly talk and all that girly shit. It was just weird. And then in high school, my Ne started blooming and I transformed into a beautiful swan that I am today.

Psychologically beautiful, intelligent beautiful, physically beautiful, emotionally beautiful? (I am saying it all wrong, I know, but you probably get my point.)

 

[Maniceureka]

I've been called a thinker by most of my teachers. I was a daydreaming kid and i was a lazy mother funker (still am).
I was also quite kind and polite, though that kinda changed as im quite bitter these days.
I used to be a happy kid but now im a pessimist and a cynic.

 

[Luminates]

Lets just say that I hold the record of most after school detentions in my elementary school in one year. I recorded obtaining at least 40 Det's in one year. Surprising enough, the teachers were amazed at my academic abilities. In Science and Math, I was doing classwork that the class as a whole would do three or four days later, basically i was ahead of the class. I still caused chaotic mayhem
I wasn't really outgoing, only to my friends and such, I knew that by doing certain things, i could get into trouble, but nothing that would affect me later on or would send me to the office. But 40 or so detentions did take me to the principles office a few times

Of course now I behave. In all 4 years of high school, (so far) I have yet to be sent to any office for rule-breaking/ or just being disruptive etc.

On of the main reasons I was sent to detention was for arguing with my teachers, i'm sure you can understand why

 

[White Rabbit]

Psychologically beautiful, intelligent beautiful, physically beautiful, emotionally beautiful? (I am saying it all wrong, I know, but you probably get my point.)

The swan just represented the growth from a chaotic state of mind to a more complex, but more defined one. And yeah, I'd say all of those above.
Just because it's a pretty world and the world is your mirror.

 

[Chronomar]

I was not very concretely intelligent...just ridiculously happy. I did well in school, but had problems with focusing too much on whatever the current topic was. If we were working on art, then I was expecting to work on art for the entire day. If it was science, then I was going to do science for the entire day. I did not like all the switching, but the other kids seemed to be unable to sit still.

When I look back at any memory past age 10 or so, everything seems like it is through a rose-tinted prism, because even though people were rude to me, and I was not friends with anybody, to me at the time everyone was my friend, even inanimate objects.

I remember more about the worlds that were inside my head than anything else.

After that, everything became more concrete, yet less real. I was, for once, working for the ultimate "goal" of good grades, a career, college...but that just made very thing seem like a silly game to me and I had trouble adjusting.
In the end, I did very well in school even though I feel like I have permanently severed myself from what now seems a very distant past. I gave up my passion in life to have a chance at life.

To be specific, I now no longer think whimsically about much and tend to be deadpan serious about everything. I was trained to wall off and leave the "la-la-land" my young mind lived in (seriously, my first grade through seventh grade teachers referred to my state of mind in those terms).

Now, I feel happy about my future, and now know so much more, but when compared to me at age 4 to 10, everything is just, less.

That said, Knowledge is more important than happiness.

 

[NothingTodo]

Every teacher " He does not live up to his potential" and "has very sloppy hand writing"

 

[pjoa09]

dreamy and disorganized all the way.

 

[kantor1003]

I have a very early memory, probably around age 6, where I remember sitting in a tree entertaining the idea of becoming a philosopher. The problem was that I didn't have the faintest idea of what I should be thinking about, so I think I ended up reflecting over what I actually should be spending time thinking about, while looking out on the garden looking as contemplative as I could

In elementary school I tried out several roles, and I was very conscious, I believe, of the social hierarchy. I remember wanting to become a leader at one point in early elementary (age 7 or so), a gang leader of sorts being inspired hearing tales from my big brothers youth. I managed to keep it going for one day before it all fell apart. Overall though, I spent much time alone and perhaps especially so in later elementary. I really liked to just be alone. It's hard to really say how I was back then though, in that I don't know to what extent my current being color the way I look at my past. I was an eccentric, I believe, and I think that, on several occasions, people (mostly the teachers) was worried perceiving me to be too distant from other people. Which I was, but it didn't bother me too much. I didn't have too many friends (perhaps one). I didn't like school at all, and I had average results with the exception of one or two subjects which I excelled in.

 

[Cheeseumpuffs]

The first word I can think of to describe my childhood is "sheltered." I lived in Orange County, California (which is essentially the elitist, white area between LA and San Diego). And if that wasn't enough, I was placed in the GATE (advanced) program around 1st grade which only increased the sheltering. I always had a couple friends but no one that I was extremely close with. I was, and still kind of am, the "forgettable" person. I never felt that intelligent in comparison to the other members of the class but neither was I stupid (although, it generally seems that everyone then and now that I deem(ed) my equals look(ed) down on me). I never tried however, unlike most people, I never got the "doesn't achieve potential" comments because I still managed decent grades. I ALWAYS asked questions about stuff. Origins of common phrases, how things worked, why things or people did the stuff they did, etc. I was also one of those hyperactive, ADD-type-kids which made me incredibly oblivious to how strange I actually was.

(Arbitrary paragraph break!)

I was kind of a weirdo. Just earlier I remembered this weird habit I had of NEVER tying my shoes. I wouldn't even tuck the laces into the shoes. Hell, I only recently stopped that because of an unusual and inordinate uptake in the gum that'd get stuck to them. I had tons of other habits like that that aren't very important. Around 3rd grade was when I began transitioning from an average-height, chubby kid into a slightly-taller-than-average, incredibly skinny kid. 5th/6th grade was when I found a real group of friends. They still weren't THAT close and of the four of us, I was the lowest. Towards the end of 6th grade I took the test to place into Algebra 1 in 7th grade and passed (which not many people in my class did. SUCK IT SUPERIOR ASSHOLES). However, summer between 6th and 7th grade threw a major wrench in my happy, oblivious life.

That summer we moved.

New place, new people. new "culture." I was fucking miserable. Moved in about a week before school started back up and because the American school system is a piece of shit, I had to retake the placement test. Didn't pass. This left me shocked and not too confident in myself (also contributed to the general "I'm better than you" idea that people have, at least in those that were in Algebra). But this place was totally new and different. No GATE program, no sheltering. I was thrown from a beautiful world full of sunshine and rainbows where everyone still believed in "girl cooties" into a dark, depressing hole of idiocy where the vast majority of people had already had sex and were perpetually stoned out of their minds. I can say with almost complete certainty that this was the worst part of my life. I had few friends, resented my parents for taking me here, felt socially incapable and naive, etc. I lost all motivation to do anything and fell into an existential crisis (if that's possible in 12 year-olds). This is really where I developed into the bitter, spite-filled teenager I am with a disdain for society.

I cared even less about school but still got great grades. Everyone who lived here was either a "bad" person, an idiot, or a douchebag. I managed to make some friends (still no "deep" connections) and suffered through the next year and a half.

Then I got to high school. Starting here, my apathetic nature towards school caught up with me. My grades slipped some which gave rise to the "think about your future" discussions. This gave my mind (which was constantly asking "why should I care?") a new outlet to pursue. Why should I get good grades to go to college to get a job to eventually (hopefully) retire and then die? That doesn't sound like very much fun.

At the end of freshman year I had found a large group of friends (still, no one close). They amused me somewhat and, more importantly, provided me with the "right" to be viewed as a functional member of society and they thought I was a fun little ball of awkward.

Sophomore year was somewhat of a regression in this respect. I managed to alienate this group of friends by the rather unskilled manner which I ended my one and only relationship (with a girl who happened to be in the same group). However, I gained a new, smaller group of friends who I felt closer with (if you want to bring typology into this, three of them are similar to INTPs [by similar I mean one letter off]).

And here we are. Part way through junior year. I'm still a bitter, angsty teenager with no love for the society I live in, a tentative plan of becoming a full-time student, and... yeah....

Also, I'm a fucking genius here, by comparison. Besides a few people, it seems like everyone here is retarded.

tl;dr --
Naive, sheltered kid moves to new place. Eyes are opened and bitterness ensues.

 

[Jelly Rev]

l Elementary school l Middle School l high school l college l
inclass behavior:l quiet norm--->l class clown l---> Class troll l
grades: l perfectionist -->l dependent on interest of class l
socially: l quiet norm -->l awkward ----->l drunken troll/life of party-->l meh l

similar story to OP.

In high school nominated for:
class slacker
class complainer
head in clouds
most likely to be president

Very found memories of trolling my teachers.

History teacher: Name something about the middle ages?
me: raise hand* "Stones!!!"

me: Animal cruelty? would you object to killing an ant? especially with a magnifying class?
English teacher: an ant isn't an animal
me: Really?!?!? and your the one teaching me.

 

[Doodle]

how did you behave, what did teachers say about you. what friends did you make, what was your outlook.

I was reading old school reports. up until about six i was a standard child. then i started acting like my self. questioning the teachers and students constantly and unable to accept the wrongful views of my peers. most teachers commented on my 'fantastic sense of humour', i don't recall this.

and every teacher said i was very inteligent and bright but i never achieved what i should have done, there was never any real effort going into it. this annoyed them
one teacher in my last year before High, said i was a complete mystery. i had two sides, one where i was polite and well mannered and if elaborated on i would 'achieve'. and another side in which i was arrogant and stubborn, a side which if i elaborated on she feared for my high school years.

but from age six i was who i am now, i had an identity. i always thought listening to punk from an early age helped, i believe pop music is the first step into fitting in and being the same as everyone else. but maybe it was my INTPness all along

Sounds alot like my school reports, my mum told me there was one teacher who truely got me when i was 5-6 (cant remember, year 2 UK). The school report mentioned my sense of humour, questioning authority, asking questions that i may well know the answer to for the debate and that i found most of the work too easy and became bored with it so i didnt bother. Which id imagine applies to alot of INTPs seeing as 'more than capable but doesnt apply themselves' seems to pop up alot. People have been telling me that all my life lol

 

[Peeps999]

I think my childhood is a little different from the above posters. I was repressed by my controlling dad, placed in very strict catholic school, and I didn't resist authority. I was very quite and shy, didn't cause any trouble, and I always tried very hard. In 1st grade I became friends with a kid who countered my introversion with his extreme extroversion, and he still remains my closest friend(the only person I can say who truly knows me). 2nd and 3rd grade lacked much development for me. Then came 4th grade. It was there that my ego started growing, because I finally realized I was smarter than almost everyone in my grade. I decided I didn't need to try so my grades started declining to scores in the low 90's(that was low for me). I was then switched to public school for 6th grade because my parents decided the sheltering from catholic school was harmful.

In 6th grade, now that I was surrounded by new people, and since it was an honors program, I falsely assumed everyone was smarter than me and my ego subsided again, and I socially isolated myself and had about 3 friends throughout that whole year. 7th grade was where I socially evolved and started establishing what would become my current group of friends. Nothing else happened that year. 8th grade was where my ego finally reappeared and I started to shift towards my current self. Always thinking about everything and questioning everyone. My boring sheltered life was finally falling apart and I was becoming the weird thing that is me today although most of my change occurred in 9th grade, but that isn't exactly elementary scool.

Looking back at this makes me unsure if i truly am an INTP, because my current personality was actually a very recent development in my life.

 

[HDINTP]

Well when i started elementary school i was relatively noisy, active, considered by teachers as very intelligent and polite then i had also two sides of mine was in hospital for 3 months. What i can remember is i didn´t do any work in or to school which is the same even now and it probably will be until university so maybe last year at high school i will do just enough to be at least best from our school it will be funny if anything else. When i came back from hospital my old self was gone. After i have changed my attitude to bullies other students were afraid of me. I started to be alone more and more and lost almost all the emotions but i have to say that first 5 years i had a lot of emotions in myself but no one knows what happened then it was really huge change and it still goes with me. And so in last 3 years i was considered as highly arrogant, sarcastic but still intelligent weird student who just passed and got exactly where needed but i think it was caused by that i didn´t know what to do yet and i am not sure even now. I can´t choose between medicine,b philosophy, psychology, computer science and science so maybe you can tell what could be best option in your opinion.

 

[Loraella]

In the school I usually had no problems and it didn't take me effort to get good grades. My best subjects have always been languages and literature. I loved reading and I always had stocks of books to read from the library. I was shy and imaginative (imaginary friends, being in my own fantasy worlds created by me etc.) and I used to write stories and cartoons. I loved Star Trek and stories about vampires. During my childhood I attended various free time activities but those that became my most loved ones and I stuck with them for many years were gymnastics, ballet and clarinet.

 

[Zionoxis]

I got A's and B's (just the same as now) though I could have done...much better. As for personality, I was either EXTREMELY hyperactive and irritating/bullying other kids weaker than me, or I was in the corner saying nothing with a book. An odd contrast, I know. As I got older, I began designing blueprints for video games I wanted to make (I had no idea how to program), but I had a good plot, characters, skills, leveling up system, etc.

 

[Late2theParty]

I was pretty surprised to see how rebellious as a child a lot of people were in this thread. I was totally the opposite . I always did what I was told and hated to have an authority figure be mad at me. In elementary school I was incredibly shy quiet and sensitive. The real world seemed so dull and boring and I was constantly lost inside my own head. I really wanted to be somewhere else, even though my life wasn't really troubled or anything. I was obsessed with super hero's and fantasy inspired media. I desperately wanted to go on an adventure or just exist in some other fantasy world. I taught myself to draw in the third grade and was started drawing all the time in school, creating characters and worlds. At home I was obsessed with toys. I would get so excited about them, especially action figures. I would play all day long with them.

Around people I was really shy. It was really hard for me to get up the courage to talk to people, and it was terrifying. People would always say "Oh you're so quiet" But that never made much sense to me, I always thought I was saying exactly how much was appropriate. I only had a few friends here and there, but they were more like acquaintances. Just enough to get by. It always seemed like I was chasing them. So many kids were interested in sports and things in the everyday world... and I just sucked at them. I was so much more entertained by fantasy and art and the stuff in my head etc. This led to a lot of problems fitting in. And I actually did want to talk to people and have friends. I was always starved for friendship and company so much so that I think I never really got the chance to experience the need to be recharged by being alone till much later in life. That was very confusing later on. I thought there was something wrong with me for not wanting to be around people 24/7 when I actually had the opportunity to later in life. I always felt like the kid that's tacked on in the group just because they let me, and not because they really wanted me to be there.

I was also really sensitive. I was really lucky my parents stayed together and there was no drama at home because little things would send me into an emotional wreck. That kind of evaporated by middle / high school, but I think my F is stronger than the average INTP. I remember in kindergarten a teacher wrote my name on the board for talking when we were waiting in line about to leave...(I hadn't been paying attn and didn't hear her threatening everyone to be quiet) I started crying, and I cried all the way home on the bus. The first day of school was also really terrifying. I would have such an incredible sense of doom and fear in having to meet new people... having a new environment. I think in first grade I actually started crying on the first day. I felt like cat that hides under the bed for weeks after you move it to a new house.

I was also really obsessed by the concept of love. I really wanted to be in true love from when I was really little. I actually thought I had been in love with somebody in a past life or another dimension or something. I would think about it a lot and I wanted a girlfriend badly....lol...even though who really has a real girlfriend in elementary school? Regardless, it was something I just couldn't stop thinking about and it bothered me a lot up until high school.

Like a lot of INTP's though, it was easy to get good grades. I just had to show up and take tests and never took notes or had to really work for anything. This contributed to a lot of problems down the road for me in college and the real world because I don't think I really learned how to actually study for things and break problems down into smaller pieces. I'm still learning to do that now.
It also made me feel smarter and more special than everyone else, which contributed to ego problems later on. I was really just a big fish in a small pond early in life, and I also think the schools I was in were actually easier than other ones in the country. People I met later in life said they were doing book reports and projects in elementary school as everyday things that I didn't do till I was in middle and high school.

One thing I definitely remember as being very INTP at that age was that I was obsessed with concepts but hated the execution. This made me pretty bad at most technical related things. I hated studying, practicing, or having to work for anything. When I would draw, I would leave things looking sketchy... I hated finishing the drawings because it just seemed like busywork. People would always say "oh that looks good but why isn't it finished?" I reached a point where I got pretty good at drawing and if I wanted to get better I had start practicing things I was bad at, like shading using different pencils etc. I had a bunch of books on it, but i just liked reading them for the concepts and not doing any of the exercises. Looking back I had so many opportunities to become really great at things, but I had no follow through. My dad had me make some drawings for a t-shirt company he worked for and they wanted to make some shirts based off it. But I refused to do revisions on it. After I made the drawing the first time the inspiration was gone... making it again would have just been drudgery. That made no sense to my dad.

 

[Spirit]

Cliffs:

Extreme curiosity, I read encyclopedias at 5.

Elementary school, quiet but very observant. Recognized Girls had breasts in 3rd grade. Did not like homework and was known for doing 15 of 30 problems and saying "Mom, I did enough homework". I had a great mask of extrovertedness but, not enough to be the popular kid. I was always "that guys" friend. I was compared to "Spock" by uncle as a preteen (Logic was creeping out in a strong way). My "elementary teacher said "I wouldn't Graduate College" Bitch


Teen years, I was called a "deep thinker". I pretty much gave up on homework. Although I passed tests my Senior year, my teacher failed me in English. Math, I didn't do the homework because I was not interested in it. Especially, when my teachers wouldn't allow me to do it another way besides the way they taught it. I decided to spend most of my teen years understanding analysis of every aspect of playing basketball and radio controlled cars. I told my Aunt, "Knowledge is power, she told me "understanding was more important".

GED

For me, knowledge is power, understanding is a continual collection of knowledge as long as I am interested in the subject.

Result...
I went to 5 different Universities. Finally, after leaving the military, graduated from University with a degree in Applied Anthropology and a Degree in Nutrition.

I am a Project Manager/Analyst

 

[Jennywocky]

In elementary school, I was very obedient, always listened to the teacher and behaved myself, and got the best grades in the class. (Yeah, sickening. *wry*) I always did my homework. I liked being seen as smart. I hated the thought of getting in trouble. There was one teacher who would play games during class with everyone in a circle, and those who got wrong answers got a gentle tap with the paddle, and it freaked me out. (Needless to say, some other parents than mine had issues with it too.)

I liked all subjects, including music and art, and got sent ahead grades for advanced reading. I was a voracious reader (understatement) and read everything in the library I could find. I think my favorites were the great big books on cultural mythology (like the Greeks and the Nords), or the science/astronomy books. I also was a total dinosaur nut; I knew many dinosaurs by name. (My favorite is still Triceratops.)

I wasn't very good at gym class, but I was a fast runner and could climb higher in trees than most would dare.

I was a terrible dresser; my mother picked out all my clothes; I look back now and shudder.

In second grade, I had to attend speech therapy because I could not say my R's correctly. (I would say "caw" instead of "car," for example.) I resolved that issue for most words, but I still have problems on occasion with things running together where there's a word with a few R's in the middle of it (like "ferrari").

I tended to be a picky eater, and wouldn't eat one group of food on my plate if it was touching/running together with another group. I also hated ketchup (and still do not really eat it, if I get a choice). That changed over time; nowadays, I actually try a lot of new foods and like a varied texture / mixed foods.

I did tend to be passive, though, rather than take charge. In fourth grade, because I was very smart, I got to be the "editor" of the class paper that was put out every month, but I didn't realize that I was expected to initiate putting out the paper every month, I thought the teacher would tell me, so when an ESFP boy in my class complained, I got demoted. I still don't like initiating group activities and assigning things to people. (My teacher was an ESTP, I think.)

I didn't have many close friends, but I did not really have enemies either. My personal school hell did not start until 6th grade; I never would want to go through middle school ever again.

I got glasses in fifth grade and hated them. Braces were still a year or two away, and I hated them too.

 

[Otherside]

In elementary school, I was very obedient, always listened to the teacher and behaved myself, and got the best grades in the class. (Yeah, sickening. *wry*) I always did my homework. I liked being seen as smart. I hated the thought of getting in trouble. There was one teacher who would play games during class with everyone in a circle, and those who got wrong answers got a gentle tap with the paddle, and it freaked me out. (Needless to say, some other parents than mine had issues with it too.)

I liked all subjects, including music and art, and got sent ahead grades for advanced reading. I was a voracious reader (understatement) and read everything in the library I could find. I think my favorites were the great big books on cultural mythology (like the Greeks and the Nords), or the science/astronomy books. I also was a total dinosaur nut; I knew many dinosaurs by name. (My favorite is still Triceratops.)

I wasn't very good at gym class, but I was a fast runner and could climb higher in trees than most would dare.

I was a terrible dresser; my mother picked out all my clothes; I look back now and shudder.

In second grade, I had to attend speech therapy because I could not say my R's correctly. (I would say "caw" instead of "car," for example.) I resolved that issue for most words, but I still have problems on occasion with things running together where there's a word with a few R's in the middle of it (like "ferrari").

I tended to be a picky eater, and wouldn't eat one group of food on my plate if it was touching/running together with another group. I also hated ketchup (and still do not really eat it, if I get a choice). That changed over time; nowadays, I actually try a lot of new foods and like a varied texture / mixed foods.

I did tend to be passive, though, rather than take charge. In fourth grade, because I was very smart, I got to be the "editor" of the class paper that was put out every month, but I didn't realize that I was expected to initiate putting out the paper every month, I thought the teacher would tell me, so when an ESFP boy in my class complained, I got demoted. I still don't like initiating group activities and assigning things to people. (My teacher was an ESTP, I think.)

I didn't have many close friends, but I did not really have enemies either. My personal school hell did not start until 6th grade; I never would want to go through middle school ever again.

I got glasses in fifth grade and hated them. Braces were still a year or two away, and I hated them too.

I was the "class clown" in an INTP sort of way. It was the outlet for my extroverted intuition. Somehow I was "popular" in high school, partly for the same reason and partly because it seemed that I was considered to be attractive. Never played sports, but I was also a fast runner.

 

[lucky12]

I was the "class clown" in an INTP sort of way. It was the outlet for my extroverted intuition. Somehow I was "popular" in high school, partly for the same reason and partly because it seemed that I was considered to be attractive. Never played sports, but I was also a fast runner.

Summed me up pretty good. Although I wasn't that popular, we had 400 in my class and most preppy girls weren't into the guys who didn't play for the school. I was out mountain biking and dirt biking, I hate catching balls because they scare me sometimes. I had a few encounters with some sought after girls though.. No idea how..

I got into a few fights in elementary school/high school. A few for fun and a few because I was being picked on. In elementary school I was a fat kid that nobody could beat, in grade 4 the grade 5's wouldn't dare talk smack to my group because I beat a few of them up when they tried to pick on a very short friend of mine. It's hard to be in a fighting mood now.

I'm still friends with a troublesome group of guys accumulated from elementary school and high school. I'm not exactly sure how we get along.

 

[Nocturne]

Hm. I was rather conceited and deceived. I managed to believe that everyone thought the same way as me. >.< Hehe. That didn't work out too well. Bullying others into submittion was the norm for me.
Of course aside from that, I was rather narcissistic.

 

[Katie]

I started insanely shy, and slowly "came out of my shell". Always great in school but lazy, I was a misfit that dressed strange but I didn't care. During recess I would always sit on the swings with my two best guy friends. Then I hit my preteens and decided I wanted to act more like an sf so I dumbed myself down, still pretty shy, became very girly. Then I eventually discovered the Internet and became a dark little teenager scene/emo kid. thankfully I had passed though that. I'm just now discovering who I am, still being decently young/slowly dipping my toe into the pool of adulthood (hahaha)

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Nerdy, cool, happy...

It was actually cool to be a nerd back then. I was acknowledged school-wide for a creative writing I did on the story of "Balto". I was in the gifted program for awhile but felt out of place because I was an underachiever at heart. In 2nd grade, I was upgraded to a 3rd grade class for being "gifted", and I made friends with people who were older than me. That was pretty awesome, and I stayed friends with a few of them up til 9th grade (I switched cities/schools early on during highschool). I also had my original friends, though the switch did create some distance. I had a crush on several girls, lol, it was so dumb. From 2nd-5th grade I crushed on one girl and finally got her signature in my yearbook at the end of school. Nothing else happened but I was grateful for that. I was among the top math and reading/writing nerds, I got good grades always. One day I accidentally brought a lighter to school(I had forgotten it was in my pocket), I gave it to one of my friends and we went to the boys' bathroom and he lit something on fire. A teacher or something smelt the fire/smoke and caught us, I was busted for bringing the lighter even though I didn't do anything. I was suspended for some days and had to write an essay on firefighting. I was also suspended for flipping someone off, which I actually didn't do. I was imitating a friend who showed me a trick to fake like you are giving the middle finger. I loved running just as much then as I do now, and even then was being encouraged to get into football(which I tried for awhile but realized it wasn't for me). I busted my shin open while riding a scooter at a skatepark, and showed off my stitches to everyone. I remember squeezing behind my 5th grade teacher just close enough to spoon her lol, everyone thought she was hot. There was a rumor going around that two fourth grade teachers were having sex with each other, I swear one day I saw the female teacher come back in the classroom with her hair all messy and biting her lip. My sister was friends with a girl who had a cool older brother, we didn't hang out much but I got to chill out in his room a couple times and I remember seeing the box for an N64 South Park game and if I remember correctly I got to play Beavis and Butthead on the gameboy.

I wasn't the most popular kid but I was well-known and well liked. I was still kind of a loner back then but it was mostly because of my personality, I had people all over the schoolyard I could walk over and talk to. Definitely the class clown.

 

[Taniwha]

Lol, as I'm writing this as I'm looking at an old school report of mine.

I was pretty much like any other kid with Aspergers, ADD and Dyslexia (unfortunately, I had no idea I had these syndromes until I was 19). I was highly focused in some areas. For me it was the visual arts, theater and athletics, but I had difficulty grasping other subjects such as maths, spelling and reading (everything dyslexic related).

I didn't have the most joyful experience at school, I was often picked on by other students and teachers because of my disabilities. This often, well, resulted in allot of fist fights and blood baths as well as detentions and periods of facing the wall as time out. I was pulled out of school at age 9 due to my grades deteriorating and was home schooled until the age of 17.

As far as my teachers were concerned I was the little hori (derogatory term for a Maori which has many meanings such as poor, filthy, underclass, rugged etc.) from the tribal family of 10 kids.

Probably true though... lets put it this way, I wasn't the smart ass of the class room or that kid who was always ahead of her grades (ever).