i was pretty imprisoned during school years. i was just very quiet, and didn't bother with the peers. i was never a socialite, and am still not (asperger's.) there was people who seemed to pity me, because i was pretty much the bottom of the pyramid as far as popularity. i had no friends whatsoever, just pity.

For the girls I was funny, charming, and suave. For the boys I was the leader, martial artist, motocross champ, and chick magnet. For the old people I was cordial, friendly, respectful, good manner, helpful.

I was so popular not only with the boys, but also with the girls and the old folks. To the people who knew "strawberry" I was a paradox, something they could not wrap their minds around.

I must qualify this reply by saying that I was never a male, people just thought so.

I was never really the type who knew everybody, etc. My brother was, though that's another story... I had a few friends. People always said I had a good sense of humor (which I never understood what they saw there at the time). I was popular for about a week in high school when I wrote a calculator program that could do the chemistry homework. It wasn't too popular with the teacher though...

I wrote a calculator program that could do the chemistry homework. It wasn't too popular with the teacher though...

My HS would have written a press release for you.

Not me. Never been popular.

Definitely not.
I was always picked on throughout elementary school by both boys and girls, not because of my personality or anything but just because I was relatively short (shortest in my class all the way to grade 9 or so when there was one girl that was the same height as me (literally one). I would avoid standing up for myself because I was acting under the assumption that they were trying to get a reaction out of me. However, after giving them many many warnings and chances to back off, I would eventually fight back, becoming as vicious as possible. In general, they would leave me alone after that, and the teachers were always on my side of things.

Aside from bullies, I was very quiet and composed. Anything I would say was carefully calculated beforehand, but I would not talk often. Most my mental time was spent observing others and analyzing them... usually coming to the conclusion that there were many people I thought were idiots and didn't want to associate with. If I met someone new, I'd be polite, but shy and avoid them almost entirely, until I had enough observational data to make a conclusion as to whether I wanted to associate myself with them or not. The most common comment people would say about me is that I was "weird", though thats usually as far as the critique would go.

In high school it was much the same story. I would have a good relationship with the teachers because I was one of the very few students that actually did my work, and didn't cheat constantly, and was quiet, polite, and followed the rules. I'm pretty sure I managed to get through high school without anyone really noticing. I had a running joke that I'd never appear in school pictures or be mentioned anywhere for one reason or another (In a class picture for the yearbook for example, I'd always seem to be blocked by someone or something, even though I was putting no effort into doing so). I was fascinated to hear from a friend that one of the other teachers actually held a impromptu class discussion about me in a class section that I was not a part of. I still don't know what was said, but the teacher seemed curious and concerned. That teacher was unanimously hated by both the student body and their parents and was eventually fired. One other teacher eventually noticed me and was concerned enough that he pulled me out of class to chat, and later talked to my parents and encouraged them to send me to a psychologist. Though, for the wrong reasons. The goal of those sessions was to correct my "personality problems". I don't remember much of those sessions except for a few things: the doc wanted me to try and be more open, worry less, and just try to have a little more fun... Reserve some time for me. The teacher that spoke to me, in retrospect, seemed to be entirely concerned that I had hated 99% of the student body. Using my usual "observation and assessment" routine I came to the conclusion that, with the exception of a number of students you could count on two hands, the entire student body was made up of immature, spoiled brats and I wanted nothing to do with them. I didn't go to any parties (not that I was invited, but I wouldn't have gone even if I was) and even skipped my semi-formal. I would have skipped Prom as well, but the principal decided to make it mandatory. I have NO idea why but they also decided to make it mandatory that every student bring a date... Though I was interested in girls, I never made any moves because I both didn't actually want to have any of the girls in my school be my girlfriend and because I felt that I would not fit the role of a boyfriend whatsoever. I hated the whole situation. Eventually my Dad ended up finding a date for me. Some friend of his's daughter I had never heard of. After I was informed of the arrangement, I ended up speaking to the girl over the internet, but I could never keep a conversation going for more then 20 seconds. Then we met when we picked her up on the way to the Prom. My anxiety was through the roof the whole night... it was so awkward. At one point we had to dance, but after what seemed like forever (about 30 seconds) I couldn't take it anymore. I was basically crying at this point. I just said I was sorry and that I hope she has a good time and walked back to my seat at one of the tables. Ehh I just felt horrible about everything.

Anyways... Today I'm in university. My mindset is different now but I'm still very anti-social. I've been at this school for 5 years now and I never struck up a conversation with any classmates. I don't know anyone other then people my pre-existing friends have introduced me to, and I've completely forgotten the names of people in my high school. I am sure many people here share my feelings of anger regarding the loss of a meaningful childhood. Whenever I think about it I can't help but come to tears.

So yeah... There's my school experiences in a nutshell. I'm glad that some of you seem to share my experiences, at least partially. It's nice to not be alone.

Quote from: HitOrMiss. on July 06, 2011, 11:03:50 PM
I am sure many people here share my feelings of anger regarding the loss of a meaningful childhood. Whenever I think about it I can't help but come to tears.

Oh yeah, you're definitely not alone in that. I often wish that I could have had a normal childhood, normal college experience, etc. Maybe in my next life...

I had contact with the popular boys... usually with their fists.  And then I got suspended for getting hit because Columbine was a ruthless place for a goth, and the administration allowed popular kids to do what they wanted to anyone who wasn't popular.

Not at all, unless one considers being picked on by bullies to be "popular"    I was very much a loner, and immersed myself in playing and listening to music and reading books. My few friends in high school were other outcasts.

Z

I'm a loner. Everybody acts nice to me, but I don't talk to them or anyone, including my friends.

I can't.

I got into a very uncaring mode for several years of high school. So, I supposed I rebelled quite a lot which naturally put me into a "popular" position. I was angry at well... pretty much everyone, particularly my dad for forcing me to be something I wasn't. So, I took it out on everybody else. Some how this equated to me being really well liked and a rock star of sorts. To this day I don't know how that happened. It's ironic, because one of the points in my life when I was most liked was also what I consider the darkest moment of my life.  I will admit though, I had a blast making the jocks fight for "control."

Prior to high school though was a nightmare. Like many others, I was picked on a lot because of "personality problems." I think that also had a hand in me saying screw it.

To this day I still have some of that rebellious fight in me though.

Quote from: Pinkfluff on July 06, 2011, 11:15:44 PM
Oh yeah, you're definitely not alone in that. I often wish that I could have had a normal childhood, normal college experience, etc. Maybe in my next life...

I agree, In the U.K I was a target for the bullies at a badly run down gritty all boys comprehensive school where physical violence against me happened on a regular basis everyday.....it was about as far away as you could get to the middle class mixed American high School setting! my childhood and schooling were the worst years of my life.

I didn't even make it to high school. I was thrown in a mental hospital for wearing womens clothes and i never went to high school. I ran away in 1969 and ended up at a gay / lesbian commune in N. Calif by 1970 in southern humboldt county.

In junior high 7th grade i was harrassed and beaten up but treid to fight for my life. Some girls did like me because i had long hair but that was short lived. I was in catholic school until 6th grade where i was sexually abused by a nun.. I then was put in a mental hospital two times in 7th grade in junior high. I never went back to school.

No i was never popular.. maybe popular for screwing up and being a class clown.. and being kicked around and during grade school having my legs separated and my body ran into a sign pole by the bigger kids..

Interesting question....
I was not popular with the boys, but I was always with the girls. I was excepted with them with no questions asked, so I was popular in that senesce, but not with the boys... I mean I could go hang around with that group and they were fine with me being there. But as soon as they started to do something that would get them into trouble I would leave ect.
I was never a party person, I went to like 3 parties going though high school. I would get invited to one almost every week, but I hated that environment! So I just never went unless it was like my best friends party.

Time is an interesting telescope.  I did not think I had ANY degree of popularity in high school or lower, but at my last two class reunions (35Th &40Th year) I have had people tell me how much they remember about the good things I did, and how important I was to the class (1966).  They are going to get a shock a little later this year though when I show up as ME.  I had been a sports team manager (water boy/statistician) and had "saved" a school athletic record because I had taken a picture at a critical moment of and athletic event, I had also appeared in two school plays in junior and senior years, although I had "forced some real acting" by totally forgetting my lines.  (Funny, but the two roles were male characters and while in a play, I liked the male roles, it was offstage that they were tough. 

I was sexually molested in both Junior and Senior high school by the same other boy, the first time, on a Boy Scout overnight (Kicked and grabbed in the crotch and also in the High School locker room, same story as before. The scoutmaster and the gym teacher both brushed the incident off as "boys will be boys".  The teacher had been one of my Sunday School teachers as well.   Its only been the last two years I have been able to give what the classmate did the full, proper name, molestation.  He is one of the "lost classmates" on our class list, hmmm, I wonder--------Nawww!!   

I was a ghost a secondary school(Junior High and High school combined).    Some times I hated being so isolated and yet at other times I liked being invisible.    I didn't have any girlfriends(in the non-sexual sense or otherwise) as the girls were either snooty and held themselves aloof from the boys or they only ever had eyes for the alpha boys.


When I was at primary school(age 5 to 12) I was quite popular and certainly more conspicuous than I became later.   I played football(soccer) as lunchtime and at each break - though not every day.     I knew I was different from the other boys, I used to look over at the girls whistfully and want to hang about with them, and to be one of them.   At the time I couldn't explain why I felt like that.  I had never heard of transsexuality or ->-bleeped-<- so I just thought that I was weird in some way.

I did alright during jr high, as the school was on base(army).  Once in high school, I was bullied.  I moved to another high school when dad got out of the army and was bullied some more.  I did have a small group of loyal friends though.  I wasn't necessarily quiet--I was just "different"

Quote from: Princess of Hearts on July 07, 2011, 07:36:18 PM
I knew I was different from the other boys, I used to look over at the girls whistfully and want to hang about with them, and to be one of them.   At the time I couldn't explain why I felt like that.  I had never heard of transsexuality or ->-bleeped-<- so I just thought that I was weird in some way.

100%.
**edit**
I just wrote another big post about this, but I decided it was too off topic so here is a tiny version =P

I had thoughts like that quite often, yet every time I would think about it I'd forget about the thought almost right away. I'm not sure if was some sort of defense mechanism or something, but it was really powerful. One night I finally came up with the idea of ->-bleeped-<- (don't ask me how that happened... I have NO idea) and, while thinking about if that was what I was, I had lots of flashbacks where I recalled all the instances when I had envious thoughts of girls or just flat out said "Wouldn't it be awesome to be a girl?", and every instance where my behavior or thought processes were "girly". The historical evidence seemed to answer the question pretty clearly for me =).

I was not very popular or unpopular... just normal but emotionally my relationship with school was a very bad one. I skipped class a very significant number of times because I didn't want to be there, I could not relate to my "friends" who were boys but I was too young to be able to, as a boy, make friends who were girls.

I left school very young though (just after 6th grade). I had a lot of anxiety about it and the then-pubescent boys made me more and more uncomfortable as they started to get into more "teenager" things and getting more aggressive and competitive... I just could not stay there at the time.

By the time I went back to college I was decided on transition though and while I still hated being treated like "one of the guys" (though I had kind of a weird status as the small, short, young one that put me in slightly different category at least) I was able to ignore it because I knew I only had to put up with it for a little longer, and because of the support of my boyfriend.