[Olivia]

When I was a child, I was misunderstood but didn't realize it. I'm still often misunderstood, but I recognize the signs of it more easily (most of the time).

[RetroVortex]

@RetroVortex Whoa, you sound like a real prodigy! Schools can sometimes be boring, conventional places. Education should really be more student-centred and tailored for individual needs.
And I love reading, but I can't read classics because of how slow they are! Pace can totally overshadow content.

Heh. Thats only the start of it.
I mean, I DID eventually get to a Grammar School (passed the 11+ exams with some tutoring), but there were always signs I was clever.

(Though its evident from my transistion from INTP (what I used to test), to INFP over the teen years, that my intelligence evolves with it! XD (It may explain why I went from a straight A student to a C student. My mind just eventually decided to change how it worked, what information it prioritised! XD)

Take this one. In my primary school (we are talking years 4-6 I think) they had to merge year 5 and year 6 students because of the lack of children in this village school for that year.

I was a year 5 student, and I was keeping pace with year 6 students! XD

But I digress, I'm pretty sure I'm not a genius of any capacity, especially not now! XD

[Elena]

In elementary school I was completely intimidated by kids my age from day one. They would fight every single day, so I simply refused to play with them. It's funny because when I was in 1st grade I would hang out with the misfits of 6th grade. They were very nice to me and I liked them a lot. Afterward I was pretty much alone until 5th grade, when my (current, 7 years and counting) best friend tranferred from another school. But then a year later I moved across town. :(

I used to get teased a lot, and I cried a lot too, until I realized that when I didn't cry they would stop. I can say I was pretty mature for my age, and I also loved studying.

I had lost a bunch of friends at different time periods so it was hard to make new ones once I got to junior high. I would be friends with people and then something would happen and we would stop hanging out together. It was pretty frustrating so I stopped trying to make new friends and was content with reading all the time. Even at school I always had a book with me.

I always had a lot of aquantancies for some reason, and when I got in high school I would go out with people every once in a while although I wasn't very comfortable with thm. Somehow most people from school knew me and talked to me but I knew barely half of them. Also I had a weight issue, so when I went to school after summer vacation having lost 44 pounds, I started becoming increasingly popular. My turning point from invisible to.. I don't really know.. cool, I guess, was in 11th grade. I confessed my love to guy, and he rejected me, but I was different and it really didn't bother me anymore. Popular kids liked me for my personality and opinions, and I made some really amazing friends and I was really happy until I graduated a few months ago.

Oh, if this is a bit confusing it's probably because I went to school in Greece, so elementary is from grades 1-6, junior high 7-9, and highschool 10-12.

[ThatOne]

I remember someone from Primary School talking to me and describing me as "bubbly".

No. No I'm not. I was never really bubbly. Maybe a little when I was happy and carefree, but I've always been a pretty deep thinking introvert with a hunger to learn.

I think being misjudged was an understatement for me really.

I was a fast learner and reader, and no-one recognised and really knew how to nurture it.

In playschool I wanted to go to real school. I was shunned for being different. That hurt little 3/4 year old me. A LOT, because even if I wasn't playing like the other kids, I still wanted to feel involved, I still wanted to join in the picknic with the others. I even had my teddybear for it, but somehow I was in that locker room. Alone. Crying as my mother found me.

In junior school I read so fast, the school could not keep up, and I wanted to read highlevel books, but got stuck with the same level books for about a year or two.

Little me wrote stories and poems, good enough to place high in competitions.

But then, the slowness put me off literature somewhat. Even now, despite being able to really appreciate it, I struggle to get into books sometimes, especially lengthy ones.

And I got teased so much by those around me and even by my own family for being so sensitive. I used to cry. A LOT. But those weren't crocodile tears like other kids may of had, they were real ones. I got genuinely upset about a lot of things, and I got ridiculed for it. My old man barely understands why I cry now, but he's a little more sympathetic ever since we bonded a bit more over recent years. (My asshole brother really likes to twist the knife though, the vindictive bastard! >:X)

EDIT: I don't ever blame my parents though. They did a fantastic job raising me. Tried to get me everything I wanted/needed.
They also had to raise a highly autistic child at the same time as raising two other boys, and I admire them for their strength.

Its the eductational system I blame, for not realising and sufficiently supporting talent.

I somehow managed to befriend quite a few people in elementary and kindergarten. One of my kindergarten friends is now a really hot guy as well :x No wonder I had a silly, vague, 3-year-old crush on him. But yeah, the school I went to had an introduction kind of stage, where they taught kids how to read and write. My mum warned them that I could already do things like write my name and shit, but they couldn't take her word for it, understandably enough. Apparently I came home one day, absolutely horrified that this kid couldn't even pick up a pencil.

In hindsight, I feel bad for the kid. I mean, it wasn't his fault, as I'd failed to realise when I was younger. I don't even remember being in the introductory class, and according to my mum they only kept me there for about a month or two before I joined the big first years.

[ColorsOfTheMoon]

@RetroVortex and @ThatOne You mean all INFP kids were semi-geniuses?! They didn't include me in that club
And going from INTP to INFP sounds like a pretty drastic change! I'd feel alien to myself if I developed a thinking preference

[IndustrialClef]

I honestly felt very alienated. I was an incredibly sensitive child and kind of understood things differently. Every other kid seemed devoid of emotion and compassion. Apparently I was really weird and was seen as the 'smart' kid. I imagined a lot and was a really excitable kid. I was also really happy and smiled a lot.

[FreeBeer]

Never liked books, I couldn't stand still long enough to read one. Didn't stay inside the house either...that was too boring for me (no computer then). I used to be outside all the time, even while learning I went into the garden or if it rained I turned on the tv. The noise helped me not feel alone.

I was very active and outgoing, climbed all over the place, did chemical and physical experiments, went biking, fishing, built ant farms, dinosaurs out of clay and dried them in the oven. Built electromagnets, sand castles, parashute dropped soldiers, shot birds, played socker, fixed radios, game consoles, played supermario, fixed up the bikes, built fishing poles, aquariums and cought little fish, dug for dinosaur bones, played various group games, did a LOT of gardening...etc.

Basically I was always out and always active....even on rainy days, just that then I was covered in muck.

The one perticular thing about me is that I was always curious and eager to learn, my mind was so active I stuttered because I had a ton to say, but my mouth couldn't verbalize it all at once. For me to get exited about something and then stutter was the daily thing.

I was always sensitive and shy thou, anxious.

This all changed on day when I was 9 and went camping with the church-scouts. After that I despised people and shut myself in. The world suddenly became dark and threatening.

^^; I still don't like to read but I'm back to my curious Ne driven self :\....can't honestly say I'm ENFP thou as I still tend to be hostile towards unknown people and expect the worst from them, especialy from groups of people.

That was the first time I truly felt alienated by other kids. Idk if I was misunderstood, didn't feel misunderstood. The "I hate people, they scare me." was pretty clear.

[Diamondeyes]

I'm still misunderstood. Always have been. Maybe more now than ever before. I've accepted who I am, and won't hide or mask the true me to fit in with others.

[ColorsOfTheMoon]

@Elena People who like their studies and even express a genuine interest in them tend to get typecast a lot. Were you ever the best pick for teacher's pet? I was, somehow. Without trying. I'd see all these other kids doing all kinds of things to get into their good books. I did none of that and still ended up as a favorite. Same with you?
Also, being INFP, I realized that sometimes I drifted away from people because of my lack of initiative to stay connected and then later I just made some assumptions instead of talking things out. It's always better to confront people.

[ColorsOfTheMoon]

When I was a child, I was misunderstood but didn't realize it. I'm still often misunderstood, but I recognize the signs of it more easily (most of the time).

Can you please elaborate the signs part for me? :)