Karen Foley
Lynn Raye Harris
Ellen Hartman
Diana Holquist
Samantha Hunter
Shirley Jump
Dee Tenorio
Jeannie Watt
The Wonder Years and Aftermath
I’m a pretty normal person, although my Aunt Ruth always said I was a character. Back in the 1960’s that was code talk for “that kid has ADHD” (attention deficit hyperactive disorder--though I don't like the term disorder) which I did, although I didn’t figure that out until I started teaching and was suddenly confronted with many of my own kind. I try to convince my own kind to use their special powers for good rather than evil while they are in my class, and I have about a 50-50 success rate. But since I know my own kind, I also have a lot of success dealing with them. Things that send a regular person over the edge, I brush off because I remember doing the same thing myself once upon a time.
I grew up in a university town in north Idaho—Moscow (which is pronounced Moss Coe with a long “o”that rhymes with toe—there is no Cow in Moscow. My dad works in Moscow, Russia. I asked him how the locals pronounced it. Moskova (mahs-kuh-VAH). Apparently there’s no Moss Cow there either. Good. I don’t like the sound of that word.) My elementary school was pioneering cooperative/group learning back in the 1960’s when I was but a tot. I can see now that we were probably guinea pigs for one of the education professors who was researching group learning, since cooperative and group learning didn’t come into educational vogue until the 1980’s. My third grade class was arranged into groups. Five groups. And me. I didn’t get to be in a group. I was my own group. Group Six. I stirred the kids up too much, had too many incendiary ideas, which I frequently put into practice. That professor should have taken one look at me and realized the downfall of group learning, but no, it took almost forty years for them to figure out that there’s a problem with it.
After a raucous and thoroughly entertaining childhood I hit puberty and the self consciousness gene, that had lain dormant for nigh until thirteen years, burst out of hibernation and suddenly I didn’t like people looking at me. At all. Whoa. What do they think of me? Am I fitting in? Why can’t I look like Teri? That was when I learned to funnel my energy into productivity instead of whatever fascinated me for a nanosecond. I wrote. I drew. I painted. I became invisible and I liked it because there was no pressure.
As I matured, I eventually found a middle ground between bouncing off the walls and being invisible. I have the ability to say what other people are thinking out loud and not worry about it. But I can also blend into the scenery when I feel exhausted by my own species. I love my middle ground and I think it helps me with my characters. I know how it feels to be a rabble rouser, a performer and a shy artist who doesn’t want anyone to look at them.
What kind of child were you? The good kid? The shy kid? The rambunctious kid? How about your teen years? Did things change?
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What a fun post, Jeannie,
What a fun post, Jeannie, and I can really picture what you must have been like as a kid; you were probably the kind of person I wanted to be more like, LOL! I was the definition of Painfully Shy. I didn't like anyone looking at me, either, but in my case the gene was apparent from Day One. I still have memories of burying my face against my mother's leg so that I wouldn't have to greet people, and of putting my head down on my desk if my teacher called on me. I think I spent most of my childhood afraid of something. My mom always said I was an easy child because all she had to do was give me a stern look and I dissolved. Of course, that all changed when I turned sixteen and discovered boys! My dad claims I am responsible for every gray hair on his head, LOL.
WOW
Great post!
I was the painfully shy but managed to have one special friend kind of kid. I went to boarding school in England and, eventually, outgrew it to the extent that I became a Head Girl (in charge of the dorm) but there's still a kernel of shyness inside me.
If I go to a social gathering with my husband for his work, I'm likely to stick like glue to him or find a quiet corner to observe the goings-on without being part of the goings-on.
Eventually, I'll work my way into opening up with others.
I have a weekly management meeting I must attend and I'm the quiet one in that group (even though I've worked here for 6+ years), too, until its a topic that is important to me. Then it's hard pressed to shut me up!
I'm much more outgoing online than in real life!
ani
Fun
I was completely a tom-boy. I wore jeans, not dresses, and I was the one who would be jumping ramps on my bike, skateboarding, climbing and catching snakes or doing other things that ultimately led to sprained ankles, which was a common childhood injury for me along with various bruises, scrapes and cuts. I never had to have stitches, though, thank goodness. I got along with boys much better than with girls, needless to say.
Always was an animal lover, always liked being outdoors. I was creative in my play, but again, a tomboy -- I was pretty good at spending time by myself, keeping myself busy, and actually preferred it. I didn't always play well with others (not a lot has changed, apparently). I never saw the use for dolls, except that you could pull the heads off of them and use them to transport other stuff, like dirt or water. One of my favorite things was sidewalk chalk, though, and no, not drawing flowers or rainbows, but planning cities on a huge square expanse of pavement in my parent's backyard. I drew the entire city, and the buildings and neighborhoods to go with it. Why I am not a city planner, I have no idea.
In school, I was the "smart" kid -- NOT popular, except when someone wanted to cheat off my work, and I was mouthy, didn't know when to keep my trap shut (I think this has improved slightly with age), and consquently was picked on a lot as well, reinforcing my preference to be by myself. I did well in my classes, but I wasn't particularly interested in them, I just knew how to get good grades, and then do the stuff I wanted to do. I spent a lot of time reading and writing (imagine). In middle school, even the kids who wanted to beat me up otherwise would read my fanfic stories with rapt attention. *G*
I found a crowd I liked that I was able to hang out with by high-school (and weirdly, I was that person everyone would tell their issues to, like, when the most popular girls who never talked to me otherwise thought they were pregnant? they wanted to tell me. I have no idea why.), and it was vastly improved over the first 8 years of torture.
I did get to be more of a girl in high-school -- make-up, dresses, etc -- but luckily that subsided by my mid-twenties, and I think mostly I have reverted to form now. *G*
Sam
Way shy!
I've outgrown it a bit finally, but I wasn't very outgoing as a kid. I was definitely quiet and geeky and not terribly athletic--starting in college, I feel like I grew up a bit and was more willing to try some new things and be a bit more of a risk-taker, but I'm still not the most outgoing person on the planet ;) Trying to nudge my oldest into being a bit more open to stuff earlier--we'll see how well that works :)
I have been shy all of my
I have been shy all of my life.
Wow
With the exception of Sam, we have a lot of shy kids here. I'm shy, too, which surprises people, and I really work to overcome the shyness. When that hibernating gene awoke, it kind of took over my life, lol. I guess I'm extroverted on the outside, shy on the inside.
Sam--You remind me so much of my best friend in high school. I think the reason the girls wanted to tell you their problems is because you probably seemed like you had it all together. Anyone who isn't afraid to walk their own path in high school obviously knows what they're doing. I went to school with a girl who wore vintage clothing--dresses from the 1930's and big hats with roses on them. She was super intelligent, a doctor's daughter, rich, and did as she pleased. People made fun of her for a while and then realized she didn't care. That took all the joy out of tormenting her.
I was the kid who was shy,
I was the kid who was shy, but not really. Among strangers I was the quietest thing you ever saw, but around people I felt comfortable with, I really came out of my shell. And I got into too much trouble (that no one ever found out about of course).
J.K. Coi
Immortals To Die For
www.jkcoi.com
Getting into trouble no one
Getting into trouble no one finds out about is a talent, J.K. I hope you appreciated that ability, lol.
I love this post
I was a school teacher's daughter and as such I was expected to behave. I also had two smart older siblings so was expected to be smart too. It was hard to live up to the expectations.
Hi Kaelee
Amen. My mom was a goody two shoes in school. I later found out that she had her share of adventures when she wasn't in class, but she wasn't telling me about them. I guess she didn't want to give me ideas. But she was well behaved in school.