As a child, I was never an
. Always have been a
.
I had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and it was a severe form. It was often uncontrollable.
All my life as a child, I had always been an extremely hyperactive kid. Irontically, I happened to be one of the smartest students at NCSD as well as in public schools.
I had a very difficult childhood. It first started when my biological parents were having martial problems and our small family became dysfunctional as the family cycle repeated. As a result, I was taken to live in a foster care home at the age of 2. Therefore, I grew up as a foster kid - almost was adopted by my primary foster parents.
I was also a very emotionally distracted kid. I often had many psychological and behavioral problems. I had to see a child psychologist on regular basis especially during my teen years.
I often was teased by some Deafies because of my poor eyesight and my thick (magnified) eyeglasses. They would call me "Frog's Eyes" or "Four-Eyes" or "Blind". Such teases died down when I was a sophomore. Afterwards, I gained respect from many NCSD students. I even got a lot of support from them when I was struggling with my progressive eyesight loss and went through 3 eye operations. I really appreciated the support I got from most NCSD students because it meant a lot to me.
I was also teased by hearing children because I'm Deaf and legally blind. They name-called me "Dumb Monkey". They got the retailation from me by calling them "Cheap Turtles".
Of course, I was also called a nerd, geek, or dweeb many times before as a kid because like I said I happened to be one of the smartest kids. I usually was a straight A student, depending on the time of the year. When it comes to my psychological problems or eyesight problems or repeated cycle of hyperactivity, my grades tended to lapse. However, I managed to regain excellent grades and aced every test.
I was not a true athletic kid, however, I loved to play sports. Especially basketball and watching Duke Blue Devils basketball games. The kids and I often would fight over Duke vs. UNC competition.
How did I dress as a kid? I was a tomboy who did not care much for girly clothes. My foster mother tried to get me to dress girly clothes, but I often threw them away. Sometimes I wore them to shut up my foster mother's ranting and raving. Fortunately, in high school, I finally had my ways whatever I wished to dress. I very much prefer wearing jeans/shorts and t-shirts. I had always wanted to wear men's basketball shoes, but my foster mother won't let me. So I finally got to wear them after I got out of high school.
I was once accused of being a transvestite! In fact, I was never a transvestite. I was far from being a lesbian or bisexual. It does not matter if I'm a tomboy and like to dress like boys would dress. I was also known to be one of the flirters in school. I managed to get dates whenever I wanted to. Unfortunately I ended up having a fruitless relationship with my ex-husband for 7 years on and off before our marriage that lasted only for 2 years. I guess I wanted a man in my life permanently. I was the type of kid who "wanted it all" like college degree, job, husband, family, etc. But as I went into my 20's, I began to mature. I finally put things in life together.
I was also known to be a bigheaded because I always bragged to a lot of people at NCSD how smart I was, how well I scored on all kinds of my tests, what I know, etc. I often "stole" my classmates' opportunities to raise their hands in order to answer the teacher's question or comment. I'm sure Whoa remembers that.
Earlier in this post, I have stated that I'm no angel. This is because I was always a troublemaker, despite my academic excellence. I had too many in-school, in-dormitory, and home suspenisions. By the time I was a senior, I was given a final warning if I added 2 days to in-school suspenisions, I will be expelled. So I decided to work out my problems and to try to go through my senior year without additional in-school suspensions. Yes, it was hard at first, but with support i got, I managed to make it through my senior year. Then I graduated from NCSD with honors and was ranked 2nd. Yes, I did say I was a salutatorian.
What troubles did I get in? Oh, all sorts of mischievous acts. I did anything I can get myself into trouble. Bullying was one of them. Not to mention by the time I was 11, I was a juvenile deliquent!
I know I've said quite a lot, but that's how my childood was. It's just that I went through a LOT of stages in my childhood life.
I'm now 26 and am a lot different from what I was as a child. However, people who know me still see some hints of my childhood. I am still the wild type, but tamer. I am still the intellectual, but more educated. I am still the devil, but more angelic. I guess people CAN and WILL change when it comes to age.
Am I popular? It's up to those who know me very well to decide. Some would say I am and some would say I am not. I really don't care what people think of my popularity. It's just that I was never involved in a particular clique like most people are. I'm somewhat a gregarious kid and still am a gregarious person. It depends on who is the person I'm talking to. If the person doesn't stoop up to my intelligence level, I'm more likely to ignore the person.
I used to be a religious fanatic as a teenager despite all the epsoides I went through. Today, I am no longer a religious fanatic, but am more liberal and flexible. I used to be very narrow minded years ago, but as of today I'm much more open-minded thanks to Gallaudet University and online Deaf forums.
:boink: