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Inspired by Grix, boredom and a desire to write a long, perhaps pointless, waffling post..
*
My birth is as good a place to start as any; born into a small family of a mother, father and half-sister, just seventeen years ago. My family has always been fairly contained and small, with my dad's mother and my mum's father being dead several years before my birth. It basically consists only of my parents and Scottish relations (cousins, aunt, uncle). My half-sister is a complicated attachment in that. She sort of 'distanced' herself by choosing to live with her biological mum and came back towards the start of the Millennium only to ask for money. I haven't seen her since. She's in her 20s and was a product of my dad's first marriage. This is still something I know next to nothing about..
So, childhood. The early years. I've lived in a reasonably small semi-dettached house all my life, since the first few months in hospital. I can't really complain, it's got a large garden and is in a quiet area, both elements which were great when I was younger. The area itself is semi-rural, on a private lane just next to a typically suburban setting, from what you'd expect in the .. lower middle-class.. South. It's near a village which has some basic facilities but nothing really to entertain, despite a decent enough collection of pubs. The house is in walking distance of the station, which is basically the only means of accessing the outside world. Anyway, back to the point. My first holiday was to Tobago & Trinidad when I was around six months old, and I've been on long-haul and short distance flights many times during my life, making me pretty used to flying. My first memory is from when I was 3 and tried to jump into someone's arms from the edge of a deep pool, only to miss and sink down to the bottom of the pool, seeing the 15, 30ft markings pass before my armbands carried me back to the surface and I ran to my parents at the edge of the pool, pretty shaken up. The first holiday I'm still conscious of was to France in '96. I went to Disney Land, so it could be said I've been used to theme parks from a reasonably young age, but, that's done nothing to make me like the larger, more intense rides any more.
I went to a infant and junior school which was about a ten minute walk from my house, meaning I could walk to school with mates most days as I went into the later years of Primary School. The school itself was average, with a mix of people with learning disabilities and the 'harder', respected, kids. I've always fitted in reasonably well, though, when I was younger I was considered a bit of a 'geek' and wasn't particularly good with girls. I could make most the guys in my class laugh and I participated in the 'next big thing' phases through the early '90s, such as Pogs, Digimon, Pokemon etc. However, I never really joined the football crowd, which has left me almost unable to play. I used to be quite quiet and sensitive when I was younger, and unable to defend myself in a fight. As I got into Year 4ish there were people in the above year who bullied me quite a bit, and although when I look back it was pretty tame stuff, like insults and the odd punch or kick... it hurt at the time, more so because no-one in school seemed able to help and my parents simply told me to 'stand up to them'. Easier 'said than done'. This perhaps helped ease my transition into a bit of a bully when I was in Year 6, as well as having a bit of a waver in what happened outside of school. I did stupid sorts of things like hitting people with sticks and getting in a few fights, rather than targeted bullying, but it landed me in trouble and hurt me because the people who seemed unable to stop what happened to me effectively stamped out what I did. Outside of school I hung around with the 'cool' kids mostly, skateboarding or just going out. I used to get teased quite a bit as I never learned to ride a bike (something I only accomplished in Year 10, and my friends from Secondary School have never learned). I was sort of the group just below 'cool', where I've stayed throughout most of my school life. I got an official warning from the police in Year 6 for a stupid incident involving putting dirt up a motorbike engine after a woman got aggressive and sprayed myself and a friend with a hose... it's pretty hard to explain but either way it got me back on track.
I've attended a Grammar School since Year 7, which has been a pretty decent experience, despite the odd bit of bullying for things like my hair which I tried to grow, but which never really worked for me as I have thick, annoying, curly hair. It's not been good in that almost everyone there seems to excel in sport and seem to be much cleverer than me, as well as having to go on a 10 mile trek to school each morning, resulting in a half 6 wake-up. The single sex system was and still is quite a shock, and despite the girls school being a short distance away, is annoying. However it's allowed me to develop as a person and show my personality without the worry of girls in classes all the time which affects most boys in Primary School.
Physically I have a few defects.. such as: thick, fast-growing hair which has almost been near impossible to style, a bit of a collection of moles, an allergy to cat hair, hayfever, and a tight 'hood'! However, I can laugh most of it of and although not entirely comfortable with myself I can live with what I've got. My life's been reasonable so far, despite almost constant anxiety and trouble in the earlier years of Secondary School and a feeling of a reasonable number of opportunities. I seem to know myself as a person now though, and where I want to go in life, which is always reassuring.
*
So, hopefully you've found the time to read this and haven't found it a self-indulgent, narcissistic piece of crap. Feel free to present your own brief life story and do what I was trying to do, which was to open up a little and hopefully make myself seem like a little more than just a name on a screen.
*
My birth is as good a place to start as any; born into a small family of a mother, father and half-sister, just seventeen years ago. My family has always been fairly contained and small, with my dad's mother and my mum's father being dead several years before my birth. It basically consists only of my parents and Scottish relations (cousins, aunt, uncle). My half-sister is a complicated attachment in that. She sort of 'distanced' herself by choosing to live with her biological mum and came back towards the start of the Millennium only to ask for money. I haven't seen her since. She's in her 20s and was a product of my dad's first marriage. This is still something I know next to nothing about..
So, childhood. The early years. I've lived in a reasonably small semi-dettached house all my life, since the first few months in hospital. I can't really complain, it's got a large garden and is in a quiet area, both elements which were great when I was younger. The area itself is semi-rural, on a private lane just next to a typically suburban setting, from what you'd expect in the .. lower middle-class.. South. It's near a village which has some basic facilities but nothing really to entertain, despite a decent enough collection of pubs. The house is in walking distance of the station, which is basically the only means of accessing the outside world. Anyway, back to the point. My first holiday was to Tobago & Trinidad when I was around six months old, and I've been on long-haul and short distance flights many times during my life, making me pretty used to flying. My first memory is from when I was 3 and tried to jump into someone's arms from the edge of a deep pool, only to miss and sink down to the bottom of the pool, seeing the 15, 30ft markings pass before my armbands carried me back to the surface and I ran to my parents at the edge of the pool, pretty shaken up. The first holiday I'm still conscious of was to France in '96. I went to Disney Land, so it could be said I've been used to theme parks from a reasonably young age, but, that's done nothing to make me like the larger, more intense rides any more.
I went to a infant and junior school which was about a ten minute walk from my house, meaning I could walk to school with mates most days as I went into the later years of Primary School. The school itself was average, with a mix of people with learning disabilities and the 'harder', respected, kids. I've always fitted in reasonably well, though, when I was younger I was considered a bit of a 'geek' and wasn't particularly good with girls. I could make most the guys in my class laugh and I participated in the 'next big thing' phases through the early '90s, such as Pogs, Digimon, Pokemon etc. However, I never really joined the football crowd, which has left me almost unable to play. I used to be quite quiet and sensitive when I was younger, and unable to defend myself in a fight. As I got into Year 4ish there were people in the above year who bullied me quite a bit, and although when I look back it was pretty tame stuff, like insults and the odd punch or kick... it hurt at the time, more so because no-one in school seemed able to help and my parents simply told me to 'stand up to them'. Easier 'said than done'. This perhaps helped ease my transition into a bit of a bully when I was in Year 6, as well as having a bit of a waver in what happened outside of school. I did stupid sorts of things like hitting people with sticks and getting in a few fights, rather than targeted bullying, but it landed me in trouble and hurt me because the people who seemed unable to stop what happened to me effectively stamped out what I did. Outside of school I hung around with the 'cool' kids mostly, skateboarding or just going out. I used to get teased quite a bit as I never learned to ride a bike (something I only accomplished in Year 10, and my friends from Secondary School have never learned). I was sort of the group just below 'cool', where I've stayed throughout most of my school life. I got an official warning from the police in Year 6 for a stupid incident involving putting dirt up a motorbike engine after a woman got aggressive and sprayed myself and a friend with a hose... it's pretty hard to explain but either way it got me back on track.
I've attended a Grammar School since Year 7, which has been a pretty decent experience, despite the odd bit of bullying for things like my hair which I tried to grow, but which never really worked for me as I have thick, annoying, curly hair. It's not been good in that almost everyone there seems to excel in sport and seem to be much cleverer than me, as well as having to go on a 10 mile trek to school each morning, resulting in a half 6 wake-up. The single sex system was and still is quite a shock, and despite the girls school being a short distance away, is annoying. However it's allowed me to develop as a person and show my personality without the worry of girls in classes all the time which affects most boys in Primary School.
Physically I have a few defects.. such as: thick, fast-growing hair which has almost been near impossible to style, a bit of a collection of moles, an allergy to cat hair, hayfever, and a tight 'hood'! However, I can laugh most of it of and although not entirely comfortable with myself I can live with what I've got. My life's been reasonable so far, despite almost constant anxiety and trouble in the earlier years of Secondary School and a feeling of a reasonable number of opportunities. I seem to know myself as a person now though, and where I want to go in life, which is always reassuring.
*
So, hopefully you've found the time to read this and haven't found it a self-indulgent, narcissistic piece of crap. Feel free to present your own brief life story and do what I was trying to do, which was to open up a little and hopefully make myself seem like a little more than just a name on a screen.
Hurray!
If this carries on I might write at length about myself..! Oh wait I do that all the damn time
If this carries on I might write at length about myself..! Oh wait I do that all the damn time
Nice read tnc. I'm going to write about myself tomorrow :)
Yeah, thanks for the first, and when I get into a relationship I think I'll actively seek that one out.
As for a fear of the water, it's never actually affected me. It seems strange considering the age I was at and how much it scared me, but at the end of the day it was all over in seconds and I didn't swallow any water.
I was never a very good swimmer, only really got proficient in the water again when I was ten, after having those 'gromet' things in my ears, but it's one of my favourite activities now. I'm comfortable snorkelling around in almost any depth of water and going on huge swims at a ridiculous distance out. If anything the jellyfish I nearly bumped into in the water a few years back instilled a greater fear of the water.
As for a fear of the water, it's never actually affected me. It seems strange considering the age I was at and how much it scared me, but at the end of the day it was all over in seconds and I didn't swallow any water.
I was never a very good swimmer, only really got proficient in the water again when I was ten, after having those 'gromet' things in my ears, but it's one of my favourite activities now. I'm comfortable snorkelling around in almost any depth of water and going on huge swims at a ridiculous distance out. If anything the jellyfish I nearly bumped into in the water a few years back instilled a greater fear of the water.
Nice read, thanks for writing that. I just had to log in to post and I checked bingo whilst I was at it, so don't think I'm pretending because I just posted in the bingo thread.
Two things, as for your er.. hood problem, I've got a friend with the same thing, had an operation, couldn't have sex for a while but it all came out peachy. No idea how much of a problem yours is though so just in case you ever wondered, it's common it seems and nothing to worry about.
The second thing, after the incident in the pool, do you find yourself scared of the water now?
Two things, as for your er.. hood problem, I've got a friend with the same thing, had an operation, couldn't have sex for a while but it all came out peachy. No idea how much of a problem yours is though so just in case you ever wondered, it's common it seems and nothing to worry about.
The second thing, after the incident in the pool, do you find yourself scared of the water now?
Inspired by Grix, boredom and a desire to write a long, perhaps pointless, waffling post..
*
My birth is as good a place to start as any; born into a small family of a mother, father and half-sister, just seventeen years ago. My family has always been fairly contained and small, with my dad's mother and my mum's father being dead several years before my birth. It basically consists only of my parents and Scottish relations (cousins, aunt, uncle). My half-sister is a complicated attachment in that. She sort of 'distanced' herself by choosing to live with her biological mum and came back towards the start of the Millennium only to ask for money. I haven't seen her since. She's in her 20s and was a product of my dad's first marriage. This is still something I know next to nothing about..
So, childhood. The early years. I've lived in a reasonably small semi-dettached house all my life, since the first few months in hospital. I can't really complain, it's got a large garden and is in a quiet area, both elements which were great when I was younger. The area itself is semi-rural, on a private lane just next to a typically suburban setting, from what you'd expect in the .. lower middle-class.. South. It's near a village which has some basic facilities but nothing really to entertain, despite a decent enough collection of pubs. The house is in walking distance of the station, which is basically the only means of accessing the outside world. Anyway, back to the point. My first holiday was to Tobago & Trinidad when I was around six months old, and I've been on long-haul and short distance flights many times during my life, making me pretty used to flying. My first memory is from when I was 3 and tried to jump into someone's arms from the edge of a deep pool, only to miss and sink down to the bottom of the pool, seeing the 15, 30ft markings pass before my armbands carried me back to the surface and I ran to my parents at the edge of the pool, pretty shaken up. The first holiday I'm still conscious of was to France in '96. I went to Disney Land, so it could be said I've been used to theme parks from a reasonably young age, but, that's done nothing to make me like the larger, more intense rides any more.
I went to a infant and junior school which was about a ten minute walk from my house, meaning I could walk to school with mates most days as I went into the later years of Primary School. The school itself was average, with a mix of people with learning disabilities and the 'harder', respected, kids. I've always fitted in reasonably well, though, when I was younger I was considered a bit of a 'geek' and wasn't particularly good with girls. I could make most the guys in my class laugh and I participated in the 'next big thing' phases through the early '90s, such as Pogs, Digimon, Pokemon etc. However, I never really joined the football crowd, which has left me almost unable to play. I used to be quite quiet and sensitive when I was younger, and unable to defend myself in a fight. As I got into Year 4ish there were people in the above year who bullied me quite a bit, and although when I look back it was pretty tame stuff, like insults and the odd punch or kick... it hurt at the time, more so because no-one in school seemed able to help and my parents simply told me to 'stand up to them'. Easier 'said than done'. This perhaps helped ease my transition into a bit of a bully when I was in Year 6, as well as having a bit of a waver in what happened outside of school. I did stupid sorts of things like hitting people with sticks and getting in a few fights, rather than targeted bullying, but it landed me in trouble and hurt me because the people who seemed unable to stop what happened to me effectively stamped out what I did. Outside of school I hung around with the 'cool' kids mostly, skateboarding or just going out. I used to get teased quite a bit as I never learned to ride a bike (something I only accomplished in Year 10, and my friends from Secondary School have never learned). I was sort of the group just below 'cool', where I've stayed throughout most of my school life. I got an official warning from the police in Year 6 for a stupid incident involving putting dirt up a motorbike engine after a woman got aggressive and sprayed myself and a friend with a hose... it's pretty hard to explain but either way it got me back on track.
I've attended a Grammar School since Year 7, which has been a pretty decent experience, despite the odd bit of bullying for things like my hair which I tried to grow, but which never really worked for me as I have thick, annoying, curly hair. It's not been good in that almost everyone there seems to excel in sport and seem to be much cleverer than me, as well as having to go on a 10 mile trek to school each morning, resulting in a half 6 wake-up. The single sex system was and still is quite a shock, and despite the girls school being a short distance away, is annoying. However it's allowed me to develop as a person and show my personality without the worry of girls in classes all the time which affects most boys in Primary School.
Physically I have a few defects.. such as: thick, fast-growing hair which has almost been near impossible to style, a bit of a collection of moles, an allergy to cat hair, hayfever, and a tight 'hood'! However, I can laugh most of it of and although not entirely comfortable with myself I can live with what I've got. My life's been reasonable so far, despite almost constant anxiety and trouble in the earlier years of Secondary School and a feeling of a reasonable number of opportunities. I seem to know myself as a person now though, and where I want to go in life, which is always reassuring.
*
So, hopefully you've found the time to read this and haven't found it a self-indulgent, narcissistic piece of crap. Feel free to present your own brief life story and do what I was trying to do, which was to open up a little and hopefully make myself seem like a little more than just a name on a screen.
*
My birth is as good a place to start as any; born into a small family of a mother, father and half-sister, just seventeen years ago. My family has always been fairly contained and small, with my dad's mother and my mum's father being dead several years before my birth. It basically consists only of my parents and Scottish relations (cousins, aunt, uncle). My half-sister is a complicated attachment in that. She sort of 'distanced' herself by choosing to live with her biological mum and came back towards the start of the Millennium only to ask for money. I haven't seen her since. She's in her 20s and was a product of my dad's first marriage. This is still something I know next to nothing about..
So, childhood. The early years. I've lived in a reasonably small semi-dettached house all my life, since the first few months in hospital. I can't really complain, it's got a large garden and is in a quiet area, both elements which were great when I was younger. The area itself is semi-rural, on a private lane just next to a typically suburban setting, from what you'd expect in the .. lower middle-class.. South. It's near a village which has some basic facilities but nothing really to entertain, despite a decent enough collection of pubs. The house is in walking distance of the station, which is basically the only means of accessing the outside world. Anyway, back to the point. My first holiday was to Tobago & Trinidad when I was around six months old, and I've been on long-haul and short distance flights many times during my life, making me pretty used to flying. My first memory is from when I was 3 and tried to jump into someone's arms from the edge of a deep pool, only to miss and sink down to the bottom of the pool, seeing the 15, 30ft markings pass before my armbands carried me back to the surface and I ran to my parents at the edge of the pool, pretty shaken up. The first holiday I'm still conscious of was to France in '96. I went to Disney Land, so it could be said I've been used to theme parks from a reasonably young age, but, that's done nothing to make me like the larger, more intense rides any more.
I went to a infant and junior school which was about a ten minute walk from my house, meaning I could walk to school with mates most days as I went into the later years of Primary School. The school itself was average, with a mix of people with learning disabilities and the 'harder', respected, kids. I've always fitted in reasonably well, though, when I was younger I was considered a bit of a 'geek' and wasn't particularly good with girls. I could make most the guys in my class laugh and I participated in the 'next big thing' phases through the early '90s, such as Pogs, Digimon, Pokemon etc. However, I never really joined the football crowd, which has left me almost unable to play. I used to be quite quiet and sensitive when I was younger, and unable to defend myself in a fight. As I got into Year 4ish there were people in the above year who bullied me quite a bit, and although when I look back it was pretty tame stuff, like insults and the odd punch or kick... it hurt at the time, more so because no-one in school seemed able to help and my parents simply told me to 'stand up to them'. Easier 'said than done'. This perhaps helped ease my transition into a bit of a bully when I was in Year 6, as well as having a bit of a waver in what happened outside of school. I did stupid sorts of things like hitting people with sticks and getting in a few fights, rather than targeted bullying, but it landed me in trouble and hurt me because the people who seemed unable to stop what happened to me effectively stamped out what I did. Outside of school I hung around with the 'cool' kids mostly, skateboarding or just going out. I used to get teased quite a bit as I never learned to ride a bike (something I only accomplished in Year 10, and my friends from Secondary School have never learned). I was sort of the group just below 'cool', where I've stayed throughout most of my school life. I got an official warning from the police in Year 6 for a stupid incident involving putting dirt up a motorbike engine after a woman got aggressive and sprayed myself and a friend with a hose... it's pretty hard to explain but either way it got me back on track.
I've attended a Grammar School since Year 7, which has been a pretty decent experience, despite the odd bit of bullying for things like my hair which I tried to grow, but which never really worked for me as I have thick, annoying, curly hair. It's not been good in that almost everyone there seems to excel in sport and seem to be much cleverer than me, as well as having to go on a 10 mile trek to school each morning, resulting in a half 6 wake-up. The single sex system was and still is quite a shock, and despite the girls school being a short distance away, is annoying. However it's allowed me to develop as a person and show my personality without the worry of girls in classes all the time which affects most boys in Primary School.
Physically I have a few defects.. such as: thick, fast-growing hair which has almost been near impossible to style, a bit of a collection of moles, an allergy to cat hair, hayfever, and a tight 'hood'! However, I can laugh most of it of and although not entirely comfortable with myself I can live with what I've got. My life's been reasonable so far, despite almost constant anxiety and trouble in the earlier years of Secondary School and a feeling of a reasonable number of opportunities. I seem to know myself as a person now though, and where I want to go in life, which is always reassuring.
*
So, hopefully you've found the time to read this and haven't found it a self-indulgent, narcissistic piece of crap. Feel free to present your own brief life story and do what I was trying to do, which was to open up a little and hopefully make myself seem like a little more than just a name on a screen.