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Semi-Normal · 10-14-2003, 10:16 AM

Moving from a suburb to a small beach/rural settlement when I was 9 had a big effect on who I am today.

The schools and students were very different. Most of the students at my second school came from fairly poor families, and many had single parents. They were a lot rougher than the kids at my previous school, and most seemed to be having a much harder time with the education system - at my first school practically everyone in my class knew their multiplication tables up to 10, but at my new school, I was one of only 2 or 3 in my class who knew them. A couple of them could hardly read. I'd never thought of myself as being at all above average at my first school, but my new classmates quickly decided I was "brainy". This, combined with my computer gaming hobby, which had not been at all unusual at my first school, and my newfound quietness (a result of being in a new environment) got me quickly labelled a geek.

At my first school I had been quite loud, talkative, and occasionally mischievous. That all disappeared when I moved. Ever since then I've been a lot quieter, and sometimes a little uncomfortable in new situations/around new people. Only recently have I stgarted making an effort to be more outgoing again. I feel quite certain that had we never moved, I'd be a lot more talkative and confident today.

10-14-2003, 10:16 AM	#13 (permalink)
Semi-Normal Insane Location: Christchurch, New Zealand	Moving from a suburb to a small beach/rural settlement when I was 9 had a big effect on who I am today. The schools and students were very different. Most of the students at my second school came from fairly poor families, and many had single parents. They were a lot rougher than the kids at my previous school, and most seemed to be having a much harder time with the education system - at my first school practically everyone in my class knew their multiplication tables up to 10, but at my new school, I was one of only 2 or 3 in my class who knew them. A couple of them could hardly read. I'd never thought of myself as being at all above average at my first school, but my new classmates quickly decided I was "brainy". This, combined with my computer gaming hobby, which had not been at all unusual at my first school, and my newfound quietness (a result of being in a new environment) got me quickly labelled a geek. At my first school I had been quite loud, talkative, and occasionally mischievous. That all disappeared when I moved. Ever since then I've been a lot quieter, and sometimes a little uncomfortable in new situations/around new people. Only recently have I stgarted making an effort to be more outgoing again. I feel quite certain that had we never moved, I'd be a lot more talkative and confident today. __________________ I'm not lazy, I'm "motivationally challenged."