Your first memories of being "different"?

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since 4th grade.

Teachers would usually assign 'bright' students to a special program called LOFT (lots of fun thinking) and they pulled us out of classes that were not important (aka religion/ethics and PE).

We were given 'free thinking' projects on certain subjects. We had to read about the thing, come up with our own ideas about it, make a report and a presentation about it.

The other kids would set up little science fair like presentations and one or 2 page long 'reports' (written in like font 40 handwriting) .. and the ideas were mostly copied from books they had read.

Mine were serious stuff. My first memory was from one of those presentations.

While others put up displays of why vinegar does this and that to an egg after a few days or why an ice cube melts and then re-freezes if you pour salt on it...

my project was 'designing' a 'flying' train using electromagnets. I know that in the early 80's these trains existed but heck, I was little and the internet didnt really exist back then. I actually made one of them work ..it ran for about 10ft and even did a 90 degree turn and all.

it was perfect. I gave my written report (12 pages) and went up to give the presentation...


awkwardness sets in...

verbal presentation a disaster yet I get my point accross somehow...

and spent the next week being picked upon by the $@#!@ sore losers.

I remember standing when I was 5 years old and stare at the other children and wonder why I was so different, so I must have been aware of it by then. They all seemed so confident like they took everything for granted. I thought everything was scary and uncharted territory, I could take nothing for granted. I remember I was the best at drawing and I taught the other children how to pretend to faint. They would all fall down completely erect with their arms pressed to their sides and I got very upset trying to explain to them that you lose bodily control when you faint. I made them practice over and over until they finally got it "right".

The kindergarten teachers tried to make my mother take me to see a psychologist so they must have thought something was wrong, but my mother refused. One of the teachers would always make fun of me in front of the others, how I couldn't walk in a line at the same pace as all the other children etc. She'd compare me to her own daughter and tell me how miserable I was, until I apparently had a melt down and beat up a teacher for 30 minutes (but I can't remember that). At one point the teachers put me in a room with two of them accusing me of having done something. Since I couldn't make eye contact with them without crying in panic I was found guilty.

Stupid, stupid memories.

When I was in first grade. Everything seemed so simple - the teacher once had students try to recite the 12 months in order and I couldn't believe no one could do it! I was taken out of all my classes and sent to "Mrs. Adams" because I was too bored. Waste of time. She gave me things like those drawings you copy into a grid. For entire school days. On the other hand, I once had a meltdown because the Halloween math worksheet said "____ pumpkins" and I couldn't handle the fact that the answer was 1 but the word "pumpkins" was plural.
Also, like many of the posters, I remember feeling awkward because everyone could tie their shoes but me. I eventually learned how in Grade 5 (only about 7 years behind everyone else!) because my class went on an overnight hiking trip and you can't get Velcro hikers.