What was I like as a Kid?
I was extremely inquisitive and pretty much a run-of-the-mill dork. Yeah, I said it and I’m still a dork. I was painfully shy. I was always the smallest kid in class.I probably read every sci-fi book in my little hometown library. I didn’t play dungeons and dragons but I loved to read (still do) One of my favorites is Dean Koontz. I love his sarcasm and the way his stories weave around and suck you in. I would check out at least 4 books at a time and preferred reading to watching TV. I played video games and computer games with my brothers, still do when they are visiting me.
I grew up poor and wore goodwill clothes and hand-me-downs from my mom and brothers. We didn’t have a lot but we always had food and a safe place to sleep. We moved a lot and I attribute that to my versatility, adaptability and the need to find a better way to do just about everything. I learned how to repair, fix, mend and build many things growing up. I was the child that was good with her hands and could take things apart and put them back together the next day, still working. I believe there is always room for improvement but it’s ok to be content with your present situation. Contentment is a commodity that I rarely feel. Yup, I’m a workaholic, overachiever, overly ambitious. When I was 5 years old, in kindergarten, the teacher asked all the children to draw what they wanted to be when we grew up. I froze, I couldn’t picture what I wanted to me because it was more of a concept than an actual person. All the other kids were drawing firemen, policemen, doctors, ect. The teacher noticed that I wasn’t drawing anything and she come over and asked me what was wrong. I told her that I didn’t know how to draw what I wanted to be. She looked puzzled and asked me to describe who. I immediately looked up at her, directly in her eyes,”I want to be the boss.” She asked of what…”Everything!” was my reply.
My average grade was a 3.8 and I was bored out of my mind. I really enjoyed biology because I able to dissect and actually see what I only read about. I was disappointed that the section on evolution could not be taught but we could read it. We weren’t even allowed to discuss it. Yup, bible-belt America. Land of the corn and as creepy as the movie at times. I was not religious but enjoyed learning about every religion. I was always attempting to learn the answers to all of life’s questions. I asked many many questions until right when someone was about to get annoyed then I stopped. Its was a pretty good system really:)
I was good at sports and liked to play basketball, volleyball, tennis, and floor hockey, but I never played for any teams. I loved floor hockey because I was small, fast and I could carry a big stick. I was pretty aggressive during games and I still love to watch ice hockey. My mom took us kids to games and we never had a favorite team. I also loved watching boxing. When I was 2 years old I learned how to curse at the TV like a champ while sitting on my grandpa’s knee. I never got into much trouble and was basically a good kid. I never went to jail or had to be driven home in a police car. Actually, I just never got caught but never you mind about that.
I was quiet most of the time, kinda mousy with long hair that fell in my face. I wore big over sized shirts with skulls on them and boy’s Levi jeans. Luckily, I was short so I didn’t have to worry about high-waters. I was pretty much a loner/outsider. I did not let people intimidate me though and would stand up to the biggest bully even though I wasn’t even 100 lbs until I was 19. Most of my friends were guys and I was one of the guys being such a tomboy. Moving every year made it difficult to make friends and keep them. Some became pen pals but we eventually grew apart after a few months.
I learned many great lessons from my upbringing in the “heartland” of America. I’ve also had to relearn a few things too:)
Posted in Uncategorized |