<p>That said, I wasn’t really a great friend-maker. Ironically enough, I had the most friends when I was little. We all read the same books (omg Deltora Quest lol!), had competitions to see who could give the best rides and spin best on the tire swings, who could sled down the hill the fastest, etc.</p>
<p>Oh, and then I turned 10, and the bowl-ish haircut stopped looking cute. Combined with moving down to the south where Asianness was not cool, self-esteem issues (loser, I know) followed and I got really introverted for several years.</p>
<p>I think I’m still trying to grow out of it, actually. It’s rather sad.</p>
<p>I was a pretty dorky little guy. I was obsessed with history and war. I loved to read about it. All the time. I did alright socially, but man I loved history. My upbringing (I’m the youngest by quite a few years) made me act a lot older than I was. I still relate to adults much better than other kids do, and my friends make fun of me for being the old man. there was a period in 8th and 9th grade when I hated most of the people in my friend group because I found them terribly immature and didn’t enjoy the same things. I didn’t develop many close relationships and I feel kind of left out sometimes, even though I like them more now. The kids I was friends with when I was little turned out to be very well adjusted socially, which is really the only reason I’m not a complete dork (I’m still a nerd inside). They’re also the reason I have a lot of friends who are considered “cool.” My bookish nature still makes me feel uncomfortable sometimes, especially around those I perceive to be higher on the social chain. </p>
<p>Wow, that was much more introspective than I expected.</p>
<p>I loved my childhood. When I was a kid, I didn’t like it because my parents would force me to spell, read tons of books, and do math. Looking back now, it wasn’t that bad, I made great friends, life was stress free, and things were so simple. I want that back.</p>
<p>^ I never got a decent elementary school experience. But that was my parents’ fault, not the school’s. My parents had the teacher’s assistant take me outside every day and do separate math from the rest of the grade. So I ended up being the “special” kid and having no friends.</p>
<p>After three years of this, my parents gave up and sent me to eighth grade. That came with its own problems. I ended up repeating eighth grade, then getting bumped down to sixth grade (twice), then going through eighth grade again. I really wish my parents had let me go through elementary school like a normal person. With all the grade-repeating and getting sent home on psychiatric leave, I ended up being with kids my age anyway.</p>
<p>It was alright, but not amazing. Personality wise, I was sensitive, a little touchy if people weren’t so nice and with a good imagination. I remember all the things I didn’t do right, all the people I didn’t have the right relationship with and everything. Nevertheless, I never had to worry about dark issues, and I feel blessed on that.</p>
<p>I moved numerous times and was shuffled between relatives occasionally (one of whom disowned me and kicked me out because I wasn’t Catholic). I went to a terrible Catholic school where I was routinely ostracized for not being Catholic and being bisexual. I spent plenty of time in hospitals because I had a crappy immune system. I went through a few things that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. When my life was just about perfect (as in, I was back with my parents, in a stable house, I hadn’t been hospitalized in over a year, etc) my dad got into a car accident that took all of his memories of my childhood away from him. I went to see him and he had no idea who my mother and I were, he thought he was still living in California, married to his ex-wife, and Ronald Reagen was the president. He still, to this day, is not really my “dad”. Yes, I have grown to love the man who now occupies my dad’s body, but it is not the same man who raised me for the first decade or so of life. My best friend since diapers became addicted to weed, coke, and pills and was arrested for the first time when he was 12. </p>
<p>Now, on the flip side, I played sports almost year round. I routinely got involved in community service projects. I had a great network of friends outside of school. I learned to be a completely independent person who was free to explore any area of life I wanted. I was surrounded by people who always taught me that happiness was the most important thing in life and that money and material possessions don’t follow you when you leave this earth. I had people that encouraged me to do well in anything I was passionate about, but never forced me to do anything. I was rarely told “no” even though my parents were very poor, but I learned to ask for very little that required money. </p>
<p>There is not a single thing about my childhood that I would change. I love who I am now and would not want myself to be any different.</p>
<p>It was okay I guess. I divide it into two parts… before my sister and after.</p>
<p>Before my sister… my family had relatively few financial problems, I got to travel the world, I didn’t really have to worry about medical stuff, my dad was in the military, the real-estate market hadn’t crashed… Yep.</p>
<p>After my sister… the real-estate market crashed, my dad got out of the military, we ran into a bazillion financial troubles, my sister was diagnosed with Autism among a multitude of other disorders, my dad had a heart attack, I haven’t traveled, and my grades kinda suck.</p>
<p>My sister was born when I was 10… so I guess the childhood part was pretty swell.</p>
<p>I was a geeky, hyperactive kid. I went through many phases as a kid. One week I’d be into archaeology. I would go to the library (conveniently on the way from my elementary/middle school to my house) and pick up every single book about archaeology I could find and read them. There was also the Supernatural phase which was a bit odd. I also enjoyed playing video games (RPG’s mostly) and playing with legos, puzzles, and spare electronics.</p>
<p>I enjoyed hanging out with my friends. However, I only had a few really close friends but boy were we tight. Then they all turned on me (I didn’t know why at the time but the only logical conclusion is because I was moving to a way bigger house than what was normal in that area at that time). One of the kids older brothers started picking on me (he was a few years older) so I, not being one to back down, fought back. I got the crap kicked out of me. Afterwords I turned completely antisocial.</p>
<p>I loved life when my Dad was working at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. We got to travel the world first or business class(upgrades from company), and it was really fun. Unfortunately, that was when I was 3-5. I don’t remember my trips to Germany, France, and Italy well at all.</p>
<p>Now, my Dad trades stocks at home. </p>
<p>We’re financially well off(especially since my sister got a full ride), but we don’t travel the world as much(I did get to go to Costa Rica 2 years ago and we’ll get to go to Spain this year because my sister was doing intern work and my Dad has tons of frequent flier miles from when he worked at PwC). </p>
<p>K-2nd grade was fun because academics weren’t demanding.</p>
<p>Other than the classic case of divorce, I think it’s been pretty good. The divorce thing obviously took a toll on me at first, but I kinda used to it after some time. I had a solid group of friends that I have been known for 10+ years, went to decent schools and had great teachers. </p>
<p>I probably get more nostalgic now for my childhood than ever, especially with the idea of college. It’s all happening too fast lol </p>
<p>And of course, there’s nothing like the feeling of falling in love with your best friend from childhood ;). I think that’s the best part of it all…</p>
<p>Was anyone else an epic ******bag when they were in, say, 4th Grade? I used to make fun of kids for being fat and call everyone stupid (but was somehow more popular than my more polite middle school self)</p>
It’s rather sad.</p>