School: The Pits

I did kindergarten and first grade at Play Palace. I did second grade through 8th grade at a private Catholic school in a suburb of Houston. When I first got there, people didn't like me. They thought I was weird and I thought they were too. THey had known each other since kindergarten but I hadn't. I did pretty bad those couple of years. It wasn't until 4th grade that a teacher noticed my creativity. I guess lying about my aunt beating me just so I could get attention was pretty creative. I played on the American taboo of anyone but your parents spanking you as taboo. I think Mrs. Brelsford saw through that. She saw the kid that needed attention. She actually liked me. She took interest in me. She didn't label me as "average" like the other teachers. Her positivity changed my life and encouraged me. The authoritarian discipline at home was balanced by her laizzes faire one. She let me be me. I never thought I was gifted and talented. She thought I was. She changed my life and made me love writing and learning.
High school sucked. Period. It was like all the cool kids in high school were Bananas. And I, alas, was a fucking orange. Yea, I love the puns: it was the pits, I was pitiful, etc etc. I truly hated myself. I was depressed. I feel like I didn't belong. I became semi-anorexic but I was still fat. Throwing bologna sandwiches away doesn't help much. In fact, when mom found all the bologna sandwiches half rotting under the drawer in my bedroom, that didn't help at all. She got on me for wasting food. She didn't know that I was not eating. She just thought I didn't like it. It turns out that little episode left me anemic. I always felt faint and tired. I just wanted to die most of the time.
I was a total dork. I remember I refused to answer a question in class even though I would lose points if I didn't. I was in honors English. I would get a B if I didn't participate. I didn't answer just to spite the teacher. She wrote some retarded comment on my paper. I guess at the time I really didn't take well to criticism, constructive though it may be. And I hated the people in my class. Someone in my class was like, when they were all patiently waiting for me to say something so they could leave early, "just say something!". "Fuck you" I thought and shook my head. I can be extraordinarily stubborn. I still graduated top 10% in my class and went to UH main campus like everyone else.