Author Information
The World as I Know It- Chapter 3
Folder:
Prose/Short Stories Chapter 3
Socializing did not come easily for me. And it didn’t help matters that kids my age aren’t as understanding about psychological problems as my parents and doctors were. Consequently, I spent a lot of time by myself or with my family. My sister being five years older meant that the age gap was too great for us to really have anything in common. But most times my parents coerced her to spend time with me. Friendship is not something that should be done begrudgingly though.
I also had a difficult time getting good grades. Studying and taking exams just did not come easily to me. I could study and study for hours and the information would just not stick.
I wish things came easier for me because I was not the type of person that liked to be the center of attention. No, I liked to disappear into the wallpaper but that would never happen given my condition. At least not around the people that knew about it. The other students at school had no trouble ignoring me. So, even though I was considered a pariah by the other kids, I'd much rather be in school than at home.
Teachers treated me like their own little pet project. I didn’t like that but at least they weren’t as bad as my parents. You could tell that they sincerely wanted to help. They would take extra care to make sure I learned the material without embarrassing myself in front of my classmates.
In second grade, there was one teacher that changed my life, in a good way. She didn’t think it was healthy to treat me like I was fragile. So she treated me like any other kid. When she commented about my progress, I believed her unlike when my parents said it. She had a sincerity that I was not used to in the plastic bubble I called home.
By third grade, I was genuinely making strides in my studies. I even managed to make a couple of friends with two transfer students that took pity on me. They said they didn’t understand why no one else talked me, that I was a good and interesting person.
I don’t know if they were being honest but I appreciated the compliment all the same. Things were steady through the rest of elementary school. But once I reached middle school, change would rear its ugly head.
