My Unconventional Journey: Growing Up

My name is Adam, and I grew up in Southern California in a house that always seemed to have too many people. At first, there were nine of us under one roof, but over the years, that number grew as my family adopted two more children and housed various relatives going through their own life challenges. While I sometimes complained about the crowded living conditions, I eventually developed an understanding for the situations people were going through. I guess sometimes, everyone just needs a break.

We weren't the wealthiest family, but we kids never went without the basics. There was always food on the table, even if it was often something like "Hamburger Helper" or the occasional strange lunch of bologna and ketchup. Strangely, as a kid, I thought that bologna and ketchup sandwich was amazing, but by my teen years, I discovered that it was, well, an abomination. Tastes certainly change over time.

My school days were a mixed bag. Elementary school was relatively uneventful, although I distinctly remember signing up for Selective Service, in case I ever needed to be drafted during a national emergency – a surreal thought for a young student. Middle school, on the other hand, was a bit of a struggle. My science and math teachers didn't seem to be on my side, and it felt like they were speaking a different language. I didn't really grasp math until I saw shortcuts in movies like "Stand and Deliver" where they showed the "multiply by nine with your hands" trick. It was pretty cool. My English teacher was a bit of a weirdo, and my History teacher was, well, quite attractive, which didn't help my focus in that class.

Physical Education class was a challenge for me; I considered the sun to be my mortal enemy. My last year of middle school was like a whirlwind of life experiences all at once. I got into my first fight with the school bus bully, and, well, I lost that fight. But strangely, the fact that I didn't back down seemed to make all the difference, and nobody messed with me after that. I've often wondered why school bus stops seemed to be the place where students squared off. Ours was located at a church, which somehow made it feel worse. I saw plenty of interesting incidents at the back of that church. I still remember little 4'11" Edwin thinking it was a great idea to pick a fight with 6'2" Andre. That fight was over before it started, but watching that little dude do a spinning uppercut move straight out of the game "Street Fighter" was pretty awesome, even if it didn't seem to faze Andre in the least.

High school marked a shift towards more positive experiences. I had a fantastic group of friends, dated some amazing girls, and, despite not being the most diligent student, I had some pretty awesome teachers. One teacher, in particular, passed me in his class even though I never completed a single sheet of work for him. It just goes to show that if you know how to hold a conversation and hang out while they're grading everyone else's hard work, it can reflect positively on your grades.

One of my fondest high school memories was getting out of trouble with the principal. My friend and I had been engaged in a bizarre chicken sandwich-throwing contest in the halls, and we told the principal a story about how we were conducting a physics experiment to understand gravity better. He bought it, and we escaped punishment.

I managed to make it to senior year before I got expelled for making some questionable decisions, but I'll save those stories for another blog post. I eventually earned my GED at an adult school, so at least I managed to complete my education. Transitioning into adulthood was a bit of a drag. I briefly worked at Little Caesars Pizza for about a week because I just couldn't figure out how to get the pizza out of the pan. By the way, if you ever visit Little Caesars Pizza, make sure to ask for extra Crazy Sauce – that stuff is incredible. And request your pizza to be made well done because they tend not to cook it thoroughly if you order it regularly.

After my pizza-making misadventure, I ended up working at Amazon for about seven years straight. Amazon often gets a bad reputation, but for me, it was probably the best job I could have had, even though it felt a bit like being back in high school in all the wrong ways.

So, that's a summarized version of my growing up experience. I look forward to sharing more stories and getting to know everyone better in the future!